The drive from Arches to Capitol Reef went by quickly as I was looking forward to returning to this special place. On my way into the park, I caught a picture of the Navajo Dome, that funny looking mountain that looks like a white Hershey's Kiss.
From the campsite in Fruita, it is only a short walk along the Fremont River to visit the Gifford House, a restored farmhouse built by early Mormon settlers in the 1880's.
The farmhouse is open to the public and sells homemade pies and ice cream. They even have coffee which was quite a shock to me as it is historically a Mormon farmhouse.
Beautiful orchards,a barn and horse pastures surround the farmhouse. Kids of all ages rode their bikes down to the barn to visit with the horses.
My second campsite in Capitol Reef. I had to move after the first night as there were so many kids riding their bikes, scooters, skateboards and Ripsticks around and around, playing football in the grass, blowing whistles and running through my site. I love kids, but it was a little much. My second site proved to be quite peaceful, plus I met two delightful ladies from Washington who shared my campfire and invited me for breakfast the following morning!
The sunsets were beautiful and reflected off the mountains in living color.
Petroglyphs carved into the sandstone cliffs have endured for centuries.
That would be my Subaru, my trusty little friend that has taken me all over the western United States! The colors and layers in the cliffs are simply gorgeous as you can see.
The scenic drive takes you back into the canyons, gorges and dry washes. It is very cool because after you drive along the highway for many miles, then drive down a dirt road for another couple miles, you can get out and walk for miles on end into the back country so to speak. This rock looked so awesome to me, as if it had just split in half.
The colors in the canyon are mostly orange, rust, brown, black, green, white, pink and red. The black stripes are desert varnish, mineral stains on the red sandstone.
I love to walk down dry washes and find animal tracks and colored stones. I was in heaven walking down the Great Wash and Capitol Gorge, two outrageous places along the scenic drive.
In the Capitol Gorge, the cliffs are so high and massive that it makes you feel minuscule in comparison. Its amazing that even though we are small in comparison to God's creation, we are loved by Him so immensely.
I wish you could have seen me driving down these dirt roads through these immense canyons; a regular Indiana Jones on an adventure. It was really quite amazing.
The river was cloudy with silt but still captured my heart as all river do.
On my way out of the park, I stopped and climbed up these hillsides, exploring the rocks and catching the views.
The most extraordinary colors, shapes and patterns are found all along the hillsides. Sort of makes you feel like you are on Mars.
The drive from Arches to Capitol Reef went by quickly as I was looking forward to returning to this special place. On my way into the park, I caught a picture of the Navajo Dome, that funny looking mountain that looks like a white Hershey's Kiss.
From the campsite in Fruita, it is only a short walk along the Fremont River to visit the Gifford House, a restored farmhouse built by early Mormon settlers in the 1880's.
The farmhouse is open to the public and sells homemade pies and ice cream. They even have coffee which was quite a shock to me as it is historically a Mormon farmhouse.
Beautiful orchards,a barn and horse pastures surround the farmhouse. Kids of all ages rode their bikes down to the barn to visit with the horses.
My second campsite in Capitol Reef. I had to move after the first night as there were so many kids riding their bikes, scooters, skateboards and Ripsticks around and around, playing football in the grass, blowing whistles and running through my site. I love kids, but it was a little much. My second site proved to be quite peaceful, plus I met two delightful ladies from Washington who shared my campfire and invited me for breakfast the following morning!
The sunsets were beautiful and reflected off the mountains in living color.
Petroglyphs carved into the sandstone cliffs have endured for centuries.
That would be my Subaru, my trusty little friend that has taken me all over the western United States! The colors and layers in the cliffs are simply gorgeous as you can see.
The scenic drive takes you back into the canyons, gorges and dry washes. It is very cool because after you drive along the highway for many miles, then drive down a dirt road for another couple miles, you can get out and walk for miles on end into the back country so to speak. This rock looked so awesome to me, as if it had just split in half.
The colors in the canyon are mostly orange, rust, brown, black, green, white, pink and red. The black stripes are desert varnish, mineral stains on the red sandstone.
I love to walk down dry washes and find animal tracks and colored stones. I was in heaven walking down the Great Wash and Capitol Gorge, two outrageous places along the scenic drive.
In the Capitol Gorge, the cliffs are so high and massive that it makes you feel minuscule in comparison. Its amazing that even though we are small in comparison to God's creation, we are loved by Him so immensely.
I wish you could have seen me driving down these dirt roads through these immense canyons; a regular Indiana Jones on an adventure. It was really quite amazing.
The river was cloudy with silt but still captured my heart as all river do.
On my way out of the park, I stopped and climbed up these hillsides, exploring the rocks and catching the views.
The most extraordinary colors, shapes and patterns are found all along the hillsides. Sort of makes you feel like you are on Mars.