| Submitted by: Evelyn C. LeeperUnited States |
| Submission Date: 15 February 2005 |
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It was mentioned in some of the tourist brochures we picked
up, but even there they didn't say exactly where it was!
Along the road, we saw what we think where marmots just sitting on the
shoulder watching traffic go by. They were so still they seemed stuffed,
but when we turned around to check on one, it was gone, so it couldn't have
been stuffed, now could it?
This was probably the highest altitude of our trip, though there were
no altitude signs. We did see Navajo Lake about 500 feet (152 meters) below
us.
After this, we went north on Route 89 for 20 miles (32 kilometers), and
east on Route 12 for 26 miles (42 kilometers), retracing part of our route
from Kanab through Red Canyon to Bryce Canyon. As we drove, we listened to
a radio program called 'Discover Utah's Wildlife.' It was sponsored by a
gun and fishing rod shop, and this episode consisted entirely of
instructions on how to apply for hunting permits. 'Discover Utah's
Wildlife--and Kill It!'
This got us to Kodachrome Basin State Park about 10:30 AM. This park
is known for its 'petrified geyser holes,' while are tall spires of mineral
deposits. (Scientists aren't sure they are the result of geysers; that's
just one theory.)
The admission here, as at other state parks, is on the honor system.
You take an envelope, fill in the information, put in your US$3 per car,
tear off the receipt, deposit the envelope, and put the receipt on your
dashboard. What you do if you don't have exact change is not clear.
There's also supposedly a pass for US$10 for unlimited entry to all state
parks for five days, but it's not clear how you get that either.
We tried to hike the Grand Parade Trail, but suspect we got off the
trail, because it was supposedly only a half-mile one way and we walked more
than that out and coming back found ourselves on a different trail on the
way back. In any case, we got back to the car, and drove to the Shakespeare
Arch Trail (named not for William Shakespeare, but for Ranger Tom
Shakespeare, who discovered it in the 1970s). This trail was supposed to be
one-quarter mile each way, which would be 1320 feet (402 meters). However,
it seemed longer, and when we paced it on the way back, it was 940 paces.
That would be an average of about 18 inches (half a meter) per pace, which
seems low, as the country was not that rugged. Oh, well, maybe that's
right.
From here at noon we continued east on Route 12 for 33 miles (53
kilometers) to Escalante State Park, known for its large quantity of
petrified wood. But as soon as we got there (1:30 PM), it started to rain
(in addition to being cold and windy). This is an amazing talent we have:
if you put us in proximity to petrified wood, it starts to rain. It's sort
of like rubbing amber and wool together forms sparks. Anyway, we decided
just to take a quick look at their 'Petrified Cove,' which is a cluster of
petrified wood pieces collected and arranged in the curve of a hill near the
parking lot.
So we continued on, east on Route 12 for 27 miles (43 kilometers).
This took us past the Phipps-Death Canyon and the Boynton Overlook above it.
Legend has it that Phipps and Boynton were partners but had a falling out
over a woman. Boynton shot Phipps and killed him, then turned himself in
the next day. The local law enforcement gave him $10 and told him to go to
the county seat for trial. He was never heard from again.
We also drove over the Hog's Back, a stretch of road that follows a
ridge of rock instead of crossing it, resulting in a steep drop-off on
*both* sides. The roadside sign says you may feel like you're driving a
tightrope, and it's right. It is an amazing experience, in some ways
scarier than the Mokee Dugway even though much shorter. (It's probably a
little less than a mile, or about a kilometer.)
We stopped at the Anasazi Village State Park at 2:45 PM. This was
supposed to have a museum and some ruins, but the museum was closed. Well,
actually, it was open--wide open, with no roof or interior walls. They are
apparently completely remodeling it. The ruins were open though, and
because the museum was closed there was no admission charge. We took a look
at them, but this didn't take very long, and then we continued east on Route
12 for 38 miles (61 kilometers) and then east on Route 24 for 11 miles (18
kilometers) reaching Capitol Reef National Park about 4:00 PM. This was too
late to do any hiking, especially since we didn't have a motel yet, but we
did pick up the orientation flyers to help us plan what to do in the
morning.
We drove into the nearest town (Torrey) and after a couple of tries,
found a room for US$58.06 including tax in the Chuckwagon Motel (which
strangely enough doesn't seem to have a restaurant). This was more than we
had been spending, but the local motel situation was fairly sparse.
We had dinner at Capitol Reef Restaurant. Mark and I shared lemon
grilled chicken and smoked trout (similar to smoked whitefish). I was going
to have a cafe latte but their espresso machine was broken. (I'm not making
this up! And I certainly wouldn't have expected to find gourmet food and
coffee in Torrey, Utah.)
Minimum elevation: 5256 ft (1602 m).
Maximum elevation: ~11000 ft (~3352 m).
Distance driven: 238 miles (383 kilometers).
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We had breakfast at the Wonderland Inn. According to
one brochure, there are only sixteen restaurants in the entire county, so
our choice was limited.
We drove back to Capitol Reef National Park and decided to take the
ranger-guided hike through the Grand Wash. Unfortunately, we misread the
sheet and drove to the wrong end of the wash. By the time we realized this,
it was too late to drive to the other end, so we decided to start walking
through the two-and-a-quarter-mile (three-and-a-half-kilometer) wash and
meet up with the group in the middle.
This trail is also known as the Narrows Trail because you walk through
a narrow canyon between towering walls up to a thousand feet (three hundred
meters) high. Although the round trip is longer than other trails, it is a
very easy hike--the wash is as flat in most parts as a paved street. We
hiked along, enjoying the solitude and silence and, before we knew it, were
halfway through and met the group coming from the other side. They were
just getting ready to turn around and return, so we went back with them and
heard some of what the ranger had to say, much of which at this point was a
plea for us to write our Congresspeople and ask for better funding (or at
least not worse funding) for the National Park Service. She also talked
about how Utah's population was projected to grow from its current 1,800,000
to 3,100,000 in the next twenty-five years, and how this was going to put
pressure on the parks, both in terms of visitors, and in terms of needing
the land.
When we got to the end, we turned around and walked back. As we walked
rain clouds gathered, and I kept looking for alcoves and overhangs where we
could take shelter from the rain. But it didn't actually start until we got
back to the car about noon, three hours after we started.
We finished the Scenic Drive that we partially covered to get to the
(wrong) end of the Narrows Trail. The usual admission is US$4 per car, but
as with the state parks in this area, is on the honor system. (In fact,
they use the state parks envelopes!) The drive climbs gradually, from 5400
feet (1650 kilometers) at Capitol Gorge to 6500 feet (2000 kilometers) at
the Golden Throne. The rock formations here are similar to those at the
entrance of the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, though not as
orderly and regular. In Needles, they were lined up as if a giant city of
massive rock buildings had been constructed; here, the rock buildings were
not as regularly spaced. After this we took a quick look at Goosenecks,
where the river below makes a gooseneck (or S-shaped) turn. (There are
apparently several places in Utah that have such river turns, so just seeing
the name 'Goosenecks' doesn't locate the site precisely.)
At 2:00 PM, we drove east on Route 24 to Goblin Valley State Park, with
a stop at the Luna Mesa Cafe. This rather odd bit of kitsch has a spaceship
(flying saucer type) painted on the front, and advertises that it's 'where
outer space and the elite meet.' It used to have a spaceship on the roof,
but that apparently fell off and is now sitting forlornly at the edge of the
parking lot, reminding me a bit of Harry's All-Night Hamburgers. In
addition to the dramatic scenery (I assume that's Luna Mesa behind the cafe,
or maybe it's just that the whole area looks like a lunar landscape), you
can get a pretty good cup of European-style coffee for only US$0.75.
This was about half-way between Capitol Reef and Goblin Valley, at mile
marker 103 (all the mile markers seem to face west, so if you're coming from
the east, it's 14 miles from the intersection of Route 24 and Utah Route
95). Actually, it's damn near impossible to miss unless you're asleep,
since it's just about the only thing along the road for miles.
So we're driving down Route 24 in the middle of nowhere when we get to
the turn-off for Goblin Valley State Park about 4:00 PM. We took the left
turn and drove five more miles (eight kilometers) on a secondary road
through even more nowhere, and then took another left turn and drove seven
more miles (eleven kilometers) though yet more nowhere, on an unpaved
washboard road. As we drove, the skies got more and more threatening (or
rather, the road kept twisting and turning to take us to the most
threatening part of the sky, complete with lightening). Just as we arrived
at the park (and a paved road again), the skies opened up.
Now this was similar to what had happened to us at Escalante (Petrified
Forest) State Park, and the entry fee system was the same, so we figured we
would take the envelope we still had from Escalante, fill in the information
and stick the tag on the dashboard, and then if the rain cleared enough for
us to see anything, drop the fee off on our way out. Well, it seemed like a
good idea at the time.ail. Luckily, the hail was small, not the golf-
ball (or larger) size we often hear about. Eventually this stopped and we
got off all these side roads and back to where the car wouldn't sink into
any mud that was created.
Having finally gotten back to the main road about 5:30 PM, we proceeded
east on Route 24 for 23 miles (37 kilometers) and then east on I-70 for 11
miles (18 kilometers) to Green River, where we checked into the Motel 6
(US$45.93 including tax).
Dinner was at the Book Cliff Restaurant, named after the cliffs nearby
that look like rows of books. I had a black bean burger, which was okay if
you added steak sauce.
Minimum elevation: 4080 ft (1244 m).
Maximum elevation: 6500 ft (2000 m).
Distance driven: 170 miles (274 kilometers).
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| We got up early (as usual) and had a quick breakfast,
then went to the John Wesley Powell Museum. (Actually before doing this, I
called back to work to make sure that some information I needed on my return
would be ready. |
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| Copyright © - "Evelyn C. Leeper" |
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