Tuesday, October 24, 2017
After a very windy night next to a 5AM up and noisy group camp, we decamped in the wind, two tired and cranky campers, and headed out toward Capitol Reef National Park.
We stopped for breakfast at a local cafe then got back on the road.
Capitol Reef’s geologic formations are very red – when the sun hits them just right they fairly glow with color. There are striations of red, brown, yellow, white and gold. A beautiful rainbow of earth tones.
We checked in at the Visitor Center then drove out on the scenic byway. From there we rove up Hwy. 24 and explored the petroglyphs, enjoying searching, and finding, various drawings from ages ago. Alan even spotted a tiny lizard crawling up the stone face nearby.
Alan felt adventurous and we drove down the dirt road of the Grand Wash, home to one if the hideouts of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. There is even an arch on one of the trails called Cassidy Arch.
We drove a out to the Trailhead of Goosenecks, but didn’t do any hiking, just looked around.
Tired and cranky still, we checked into a hotel in Torry and took a naps, showers and, feeling a little refreshed, went out to eat at Cafe Diablo. We had rattlesnake cakes as an appetizer – similar to crab cakes, and very tasty. The meal was delicious and we retired for the night content.