Saturday, October 14, 2017 (Thousand Lakes RV Park, Torrey, UT)

Surprise surprise we still have a leaky shower!!!!!! But for now, we are going to ignore it...it's a weekend, we can't do anything about it right now...so we're going to check out the area and figure out what to do come Monday.

We spent the next two days sightseeing and hiking in Capitol Reef National Park...such beauty, especially with the fall colours! As usual, pictures just don't do justice! Steve took a TON of pictures and it was a big job to edit the numbers down to the best.

Today, we headed out at about 9:00...we continued east on hwy 24, through Torrey. Capitol Reef NP is about 6 miles further east...


We stopped to check out the Orientation Map at a pull out near the border of the park...
                          (Click on photos to enlarge)

"Twin Rocks"...
We stopped at Panorama Point Overlook and took a short walk...it was so cold and windy!!

Below is the gravel road that takes you to Goosenecks Overlook...

"The Castle"....


The Visitor Center is a few miles into the park. Unfortunately, the parking lot was small and jammed packed...we ended up parking further down the road and walking back about a quarter mile. The center itself is small. Steve commented to one of the Rangers about how busy it was and he said that the infrastructure just hasn't kept up with the number of visitors the park is now getting.

We obtained a park map from him, wandered around the displays and watched a park movie.
Cool rock(s) outside the center...

Then we started the 20-mile (return) trip along the Scenic Drive (pictures taken from website)...


The orchards that lie within a mile or two of the visitor center are evident remnants of the pioneer community of Fruita, settled in 1880.

History
Early settlers planted the orchards as a cash crop and for subsistence. No more than ten families lived in Fruita at any one time, and the last residents moved away in 1969. Today, the orchards are preserved and protected as part of the Fruita Rural Historic Landscape listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The orchards contain approximately 3,100 trees including cherry, apricot, peach, pear, apple, plum, mulberry, almond, and walnut. The National Park Service now maintains the orchards year round with historic cultural irrigation practices, pruning, mowing, pest management, planting, mapping, and grafting.
Harvest
You are welcome to stroll in any unlocked orchard but fruit may not be picked until the orchard is posted as open for picking. When permitted, you may sample ripe fruit in any unlocked orchard. Orchards that are open for picking are signed as such. Fruit taken from the orchards must be paid for. A self-pay station with scales and signs listing fruit prices is located near the entrance of orchards open for fruit harvest. Bring your own bags. Ladders and hand-held fruit pickers are provided to help you reach the fruit.
We drove passed the Gifford House and the campground...we'll check them both out on our way back...









Most rock at Capitol Reef is sedimentary, formed in layers from loose materials, like mud and sand. Geologists classify the rock layers into various formations. Many formations also have different parts, or members. These layers record the landscapes and lifeforms of a younger planet Earth.
Thin beds of reddish-brown shale were formed from silt and clay that came to rest in the quiet waters of lagoons, mud flats, and coastal flood plains. This 225 million year old rock is the Moenkopi Formation. The Moenkopi, more than 950 feet (290 m) thick in places, was laid down in a moist, tropical climate. The banded gray and burgundy layers above the Moenkopi contain volcanic ash. The Chinle Formation, a complex, 700 foot (213 m) thick formation rich in petrified wood ascends to the base of a sheer cliff wall.




The rugged western escarpment of Capitol Reef tells the essentials of a complex story. Rock bands of differing thickness, colors, and textures lay one upon another like layers of a cake. The rocks of Capitol Reef were once sediments (silt, sand, clay, and gravel) laid down in many different environments during the past. Younger rocks lie on top of older rocks. 
Intense crustal pressure reactivated a fault buried deep beneath the sedimentary rock layers of the Colorado Plateau. In response, the overlying sedimentary rock layers folded or bent into a one-sided slope called a monocline. This 100 mile (161 km) long (but relatively narrow) feature was uplifted approximately 6,800 feet (2,000 m) higher on the west side. It is named the Waterpocket Fold because of the numerous small potholes, tanks, or "pockets" that hold rainwater and snowmelt. 
The Waterpocket Fold has been beset by erosion since its creation. Erosion includes weathering, the transportation of material, chemical wearing, and the effects of gravity. Frost, plant roots, internal water seepage, and flash floods have all played a part in the drama of Capitol Reef. Deposition, uplift, and erosion are the major geologic processes which created this landscape.


We reached the end of the line...well, for us anyway. From this  point, the road is unpaved...the entrance to Capitol Gorge. There is also another unpaved road to the right...Pleasant Creek Road (high clearance vehicles recommended)...
Yup...it's still windy and cool, but the sky is blue!
























After wandering around, reading the displays and taking in the beauty of the area, we hopped back in the truck and headed back.


Slickrock Divide separates two large drainages. To either side of this hill, streambeds channel rain runoff and debris into Grand Wash to the north, and Capitol Gorge to the south. When rain does come to Capitol Reef, it often descends in torrents. Large expanses of bare rock and thin patches of soil can do little to absorb and hold it. 

Poets sometimes speak of water as "carving the face of the land". However, rushing water shapes this landscape by carrying away material already loosened by weathering. Gravity draws loosened debris to washes where it is picked up by moving water. This slow process of gravitational "creep" is accelerated by the deluges of desert thunderstorms that wash down slopes and flush loose debris into channels soon filled with a tumbling, red torrent.












We took a quick drive through the campground...very nice but few spots large enough for us.
Then we parked the truck in a large parking area just down the road from the campground and close to the trail head. We got ready for a hike but first of all, we walked across the road and checked out Gifford House...


The former kitchen (a non-historic addition to the original house) has been converted into a Natural History Association sales outlet. Items for sale include reproduction utensils and household tools used by Mormon pioneers in their daily tasks. These unique handmade items are made by local artisans and craftsmen and include such things as butter churns, flour sifters, rag dolls, quilts, aprons, woven rugs, soap, crockery, candles and toys. A wide selection of books, historic postcards, jams, jellies and dried fruit, as well as locally baked fruit pies and homemade ice cream, are available.
Gifford Homestead Barn...

After walking next door to the campground to use the washrooms, we walked cross the road to the Cohab Canyon Trailhead...time to hit the trails!






The start of the trail was straight up...described as strenuous for the first .3 mile/.5 km and they weren't kidding! I wish I had counted the number of switchbacks as we ascended to the top...








Hard to see but Steve is waving his hand through the hollow rock...







We'll be seeing that mushroom looking pillar from above...
To stay on the trail you have to follow the stacked rock when on slick rock...




Looking down on the mushroom pillar...

Almost at the North Overlook...
Made it!
Looking towards the Visitor Centre...


Then we walked over to the South Outlook...

Volcanic boulders...
One last picture at the South Outlook before heading back. These love birds were sitting with their legs dangling off the edge!
Heading back the views are different...

Must be why we didn't notice this arch...


Back onto the slick rock and the mushroom pillar...






Campground below...

Now the steep decline starts...
Gifford House and parking area below...

We arrived at the bottom, exhausted but exhilarated...what a fabulous hike! So good getting out on the trails again! The hike to the North and South Outlooks and return is only about 3.4 miles/5.47 km with a 440' elevation change but it sure seemed like a lot further...so much up and down, I guess.

As we were leaving the area, this buck was just grazing by the side of the road as we drove by...
More pictures on our drive back to the RV park...

Chimney Rock...



Folks boon docking on BLM land outside the park. That was suppose to be us but with an unresolved shower leak, and 24F/-4C this morning we're glad to be where we are. At least it warms up quickly when the suns up.
And that completes day one of our visit to Capitol Reef NP...stay tuned for more adventures tomorrow!


6 comments:

  1. Very nice blog entry. Thanks for all the info on CRNP.

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  2. What a hike! Great pics from the overlooks. Glad you had a good time there.

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  3. This is such an amazing National Park...my favorite in southern Utah. The Cohab Trail is awesome. The rocks are so neat. I hope you picked up a couple pies!!

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  4. So nice getting out on the trails again! The fall colors are a bonus too!

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