Mar 15th
We drove to Capitol Reef National Park today. Driving in from the East, you can see an amazing array of rocks and mountains in many colors and shapes. It starts out as brown sand, then you turn a corner and you have tall yellow hills that look like giant piles of sand, then the next corner you are in red rocks, then finally you come into canyons that have every color, from yellow to green to purple all arranged in layers. We are staying at a BLM site just outside of Capitol Reef NP, and the Canadians met us in the afternoon. In the evening, Melissa, Stephen and family also joined us. The four children had a lot of fun exploring the red rocks around us.
Mar 16th
The six of us, Margie, Shannon, Sequoia, Kathleen, Mia and Myself, drove the truck into Capitol Reef NP this morning. Our first stop was at the ranger station to pick up the junior ranger packets. The valley in Capitol Reef NP used to be a Mormon settlement, and the park has preserved the ranch and acres of orchards. The museum sells fresh pies and preserves made from the fruit produced in the orchards. If you come to the park during harvest season you are allowed to wander the orchards and pick apples, peaches, pears and more. We bought a couple of fruit pies to have after dinner. We hiked part of the Grand Wash trail system, and saw some amazing rock formations and colors. At 3pm we stopped at the park amphitheater to hear a ranger talk about the geology of the area, and what created all of the colors. The girls received their junior ranger badges and we went back to the campsite.
Mar 17th
We said our goodbyes to Stephen, Mellissa, Lillian and Thomas this morning, and made our way towards Zion National Park. Stephen and Mellissa are heading East. We drove through some gorgeous valleys with snow capped mountains on either side. We stopped for lunch at Otter Creek Reservoir. It is surrounded by BLM land and you can camp right next to the water. We will have to come back to this place. We found a free BLM camping site about 10 miles East of Zion National Park. We have a nice view of some red canyon walls outside of our trailer. The Canadians spent the day in Bryce Canyon NP, and then joined us in the evening.
Mar 18th
Shannon and Margie had planned to hike to Angels Landing in Zion today. It is a 5.5-mile hike that goes along some cliffs that are so shear, that the park has installed chains to hold on to as you hike. Not the trail for me. I went with them, but was going to do a different hike. Kathleen stayed at the trailer, and the two girls were ecstatic that they could stay with her and not hike. Zion is one of the busiest parks in the US, so we left at 7am, to try and beat the crowds. It didn’t work. Apparently, all of the serious hikers start showing up by 4:30am just to get a parking spot. The scenic drive was already closed to traffic when we arrived at 7:30am. We drove on to the visitor’s center, to decide what to do. We learned that today was the last day that car traffic was allowed on the scenic drive, and starting tomorrow, you must park at the visitor’s center, and then take the parks shuttle buses through the scenic drive. We were also told to get to the visitor’s center by 8:30am, or we would not get a parking spot. The Angels Landing hike is so popular that staring in April, the park will limit the number of people who hike it by instituting a lottery system. The trail is so crowded now, that hikers going up, must pass hikers going down on the shear ledge, while still holding on to the chain. Yikes! We chose instead, to hike the Watchman Trail, which left right from the visitor’s center. It was a nice 3.5-mile hike that climbed straight up the canyon walls and ended with a beautiful view of the park. After the hike we grabbed junior ranger books for the two girls and headed back towards our campsite. The park was now overrun with people. All parking lots and pullouts were crammed with cars. On the East side of the park, we found a pullout with room for us to stop. We got out just to see the scenery, but discovered a trail that led down to the wash below us. The trail continued through tunnel under the road and up the other side. We followed it to some petroglyphs on the canyon wall, then we found a dead big horned sheep. The rangers had set up a trail cam, to see who might be eating the sheep. The trail split and Margie and Shannon climbed the canyon walls, while I took the branch that led further into the canyon and eventually led me to a narrow slot canyon. We met back later at the intersection and then headed back to camp.
Mar 19th
We dragged the kids out of bed early so we could get into Zion and get a parking spot. At 8am, when we arrived, the parking lot was almost full. The Zion shuttle leaves every 5 minutes, and stops at multiple locations on the scenic drive. We all hopped on and rode the bus all the way to the end of the line, at the Narrows Trailhead. The Narrows trail is a slot canyon with a river running through it. In order to hike the trail, you need to have a wet suit and walking stick, because in many sections you have to walk in the river. We walked as far as we could, and then watched several groups of people wade into the river with their gear on. We later found out that you can rent the gear from the parks service. Mia wants to come back and try it. We rode the bus to the Lodge, where we hiked up to the Emerald pools. They are a series of pools in the canyon walls that have waterfalls. Our hike up was strenuous, but by the time we reached the upper pool, the trail was packed with people. It was 11am, and the masses had arrived. (Just a note for anyone coming here. Get up early and pick an activity to do in the morning, then leave by 11:30am, as it is way too crowded after that.) The hike back to the shuttle was like walking through the mall before Christmas, just a mass of humanity. We took the shuttle back to the visitor’s center, where the girls received their junior ranger badges. We had multiple cars vying for our parking spot when we left because the lot was full. Zion is beautiful, but because of the crowds, I have no desire to come back. We went back to our campsite and relaxed for the rest of the day.
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