Capitol Reef and area (Sept. 2021)
Cottonwood Canyon Road Scenic Drive, southern Utah
90 million year old oyster bed along the roadside of Cottonwood Canyon Road
Candy Land, beautiful formations on Cottonwood Canyon Road
Grosvenor Arch, a double arch on Cottonwood Canyon Road in Escalante, named for a president of National Geographic Society
Formations surrounding the arch are just as impressive!
Welcome to Capitol Reef National Park! Doesn’t it look inviting?
First view of Reunion Arch
Actually a double arch!
Burro Wash Arch – hike to it is filled with narrows and scrambles, but well worth it
Another view of the “capitol” dome
Secluded Arch, a bonus arch next to Burro Wash Arch
Another bonus, Secluded Arch Two
Dessert sunflowers adorn our trail back.
Bright yellow rabbitbrush, chrysothamnus viscidiflorus, graces the desert everywhere!
Capitol Reef, a most majestic national park
Another of the white domes that gives Capitol Reef its name; on the trail to Cassidy Bridge
To repeat, Capitol Reef is a most majestic place!
Be aware, the trail to Cassidy Bridge Arch is steep and rugged.
View from the trail
Cassidy Bridge, named for Butch Cassidy who was a real person
Another view of this massive arch
Looking out from the summit
Chimney Rock, an eroded pillar of red sandstone, is easily viewed from the parking lot.
Chimney Rock is surrounded by magnificent red sandstone.
Hiking Sheets Gulch requires scrambling boulder falls and winding through narrow slots often with pools of water. It is a fun hike for a more experienced hiker.
Views in the gulch are magnificent!
Sheets Gulch Arch
Getting up to Sheets Gulch Arch requires scrambling up a steep slope of loose rock.
Fruita, a historically restored Mormon village, with a wonderful pie shop. Perhaps this guy wanted some pie.
When visiting Capitol Reef, don’t miss the scenic drive.
Parking lot at the turn around is majestically scenic.
Rabbitbrush in the foreground brings out the colors of the rock formations!
Namesake Capitol Reef dome at trailhead for Hickman Bridge
View from the trail
Nels Johnson Natural Bridge, a small bonus hiking to Hickman Bridge
Hickman Bridge, steep one mile trail to, perhaps, parks most popular featue
Photographers’ favorite view of the arch
Fremont River at base of Hickman Bridge trailhead
Saying good-bye to Capitol Reef National Park
On to Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument
Beautiful morning hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls
Easy flat hike
Lower Calf Creek Falls, 130 feet high with a swimable pool at the base if you can take the cold water
A bit of a rainbow in the mist
Calf Creek which feeds the falls
Desert primrose – amazing what some water does to the desert
Prickly pear
Thistle
Indian paintbrush
Asters
Scarlet trumpet also known as skyrocket
Pictograph, three human-like figures painted in red wearing headdresses and holding hands, 700 – 1300 AD., are from the Fremont people, a pre-Columbian culture of the area.
Desert varnish, an interesting phenomenon caused by microbes of oxidizing iron and manganese
Lush rabbitbrush showcasing the desert varnish
Buffaloberry, Shepherdia rotundifolia, grows only in the Colorado Plateau of the Southwest. It is called that because settlers used the cooked berries in a sauce for eating buffalo meat.
Devil’s Garden, a delightful area of formations on the rough and rugged Hole in the Rock Road
Mano Arch of Devil’s Garden
Catching the morning sun in Devil’s Garden
Trailhead to Broken Bow Arch: a vigorous drive down Hole in the Rock Road and then navigating a difficult to follow trail
Broken Bow Arch, spanning nearly 100 feet
Worth the hike!
Excellent example of desert varnish
Candy Land of Cottonwood Drive while leaving this beautiful area
The dropping sun behind the rock formations
Candy colors of Candy Land
Final rock formations of the trip
We were so fortunate to be in the area as The Peregrine Fund did their condor release in the Vermillion Hills!
Swarovsky Crystal, a sponsor of the event, set up telescopes for the public to use to view the condors.
A mesh habitat next to their field office housed five 1 to 2-year-old condors. They attracted the adult flock with carrion. Condors are so social that the adults will take care of the young ones once they leave the habitat.
The population of condors world-wide is now up to about 500. The Vermillion Hills hosts a resident population of over 30.
The Navajo Bridge over the Colorado Bridge is a favorite gathering spot for condors.
With a wingspan of 8 to 10 feet and lifespan of 60 years, they are North America’s largest land bird.
This is condor R8. He was born in Portland on April 29, 2015. He was released in the Vermillion Hills on Sept. 30, 2017.
