The drive from Escalante to Torrey on highway 12 is spectacular. Sorry, no photos, since we were pulling the trailer and scenic turnouts (with enough notice) were hard to come by. You drive through miles of sculpted sandstone then over a 9,600 foot pass with views into Capitol Reef, surrounded by aspen and herds of deer and elk. As we dropped into Torrey, UT, we reentered the colorful, dramatic high desert landscape of Capitol Reef country.
We're staying in the pretty and quiet
Thousand Lakes RV Park, in an excellent end site with a view of red rock cliffs from our door.
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| View from our front yard. |
The afternoon we arrived we took a short leg-stretcher hike into the colorful canyons nearby. It's impossible not to be awed by the beauty around us.
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| Seen on unnamed trail off hwy 12, just West of Capitol Reef NP. |
Yesterday we hiked about 9 miles from the Chimney Rock trail head. We went down Chimney Rock Canyon, turned upstream into Spring Canyon for about a mile, then back to Chimney Rock for the views. Going upstream in Spring Canyon gave us an unusual feature for this area, water!
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| A petrified log seen from the Chimney Rock trail. |
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| Chimney Rock Canyon. |
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Heading upstream in Spring Canyon there are lots of cottonwoods.
We followed the tiny stream from two springs for about a mile. |
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| LOVE the crazy designs formed by wind and water in sandstone! |
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It's mostly sandy walking in the canyon bottoms,
fortunately the scenery will take your mind off the trudging... |
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| Dramatic walls wearing their best pinstripes. |
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| The views from Chimney Rock Mesa are breathtaking and the wind was about to blow Hans off the edge! |
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| The Waterpocket Fold stretches out before us, a bit hazy due to the dusty, windy conditions. |
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| Pretty Pallid Milkweed. |
Check out this moth we saw in the RV park...it is huge, at least three inches long.
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| Love the antennas! |
Today we have unsettled weather, very cold, chance of rain; we're even getting the tiniest of snow flurries! Seems like a good day to snuggle up in our RV cocoon, enjoy the awesome view out our window and let our bodies rest up from all the hiking we've done lately!
We are loving the green here in northern CA, but enjoy seeing your wonderful red rock photos.
ReplyDeleteI love that area! Enjoy..
ReplyDeleteOoh, very nice. Love Capitol Reef, lots of good hikes. Torrey has a small pizza restaurant. When we were there we sat outside where there are lots of hummingbird feeders and lots of hummingbirds to watch. The pizza was awesome too.
ReplyDeleteCool... we may just check it out. We really enjoyed the bookstore/coffee shop today.
Deleteand don't miss the bakery/sandwich shop. They have wi fi and great goodies.
DeleteBox Canyon Mark
P.S. LOVE the moth.
ReplyDeleteWow! Incredible moth!! I want one.
ReplyDeleteI love the Waterpocket Fold. That area is just gorgeous. Yes, trudging through the sand is somewhat tedious. My boots were pink for months from the red sand.
ReplyDeleteHans uses our air compressor to blow out our shoes after the sandy hikes...shoes are like "new"!
DeleteStunning as always. I don't have a favorite they are all fabulous. What are those on the ground on your first photo? trash?
ReplyDeleteThe unsettled weather might just be what the doctor ordered for you, take a rest, keep warm and stay safe.
Those are rocks separating the water/electric sites!
DeleteLooks like you have settled in just fine! Loved the beautiful hike. There were amazing rock formations there, weren't there! I am so looking forward to your time there. Hope the weather warms:)
ReplyDeleteIt was gorgeous! I think you saw even more interesting rock formations by going downstream on Spring Canyon, but the trees going upstream were wonderful too!
DeleteWe had a wonderful down day with the crazy weather, it was just what we needed!
Such a gorgeous photo tour of that beautiful Chimney Rock hike! We love that area -- I understand why you didn't get photos while driving highway 12. ;-)
ReplyDelete:-) Yeah, it's a great drive, but a keep-your-eyes-on-the-road drive!
DeleteWe had hoped to be at Capitol Reef this spring too but stuff happens so I'm really excited to see these gorgeous pictures. What a wonderful hike. Even the moths are red and beautiful. :-)
ReplyDeleteYet more stunning Utah scenery. So many unique and amazing sites to see. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a stop we will need to make! Absolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on blowing the sand out of your boots...I'm definitely passing that on to Joe!
So many of you are mapping the way for us when we head back out west. With so many beautiful hikes posted, we may need several months to explore Utah. Look forward to more!
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