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Tag: capitol gorge

Weekend Wandering Along the Waterpocket Fold

Canyons of the Waterpocket Fold | Another Birthday Weekend in Capitol Reef National Park
President’s Day Weekend | Friday – Monday, February 12-15, 2021

I guess you could say I have a love for exploring the long sandstone monoclines that are found on the Colorado Plateau. I’ve already spent some quality time along Comb Ridge and the San Rafael Reef this year, so I figured it was about time I got back to the Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef National Park. Aside from last year, I typically spend the three-day holiday weekend after my birthday in Capitol Reef, so this seemed like the perfect time to get back again this year! I left straight from work on Friday afternoon and headed west into Utah. The sunset was looking like it was going to be good shortly after I passed through Green River, so I turned off onto the Old Highway 24 between the San Rafael River and Green River to take a few photos.

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Another Birthday in Capitol Reef

Saturday & Sunday, February 9-10, 2019

I don’t spend as much time in Capitol Reef National Park as I would like, but for some reason it seems like I frequently end up here around my birthday in February. Two years ago Diane and I spent the weekend closest to my birthday in Capitol Reef (I did that in 2010, too), and I decided earlier this year that I wanted to go back and do it again! We left home early on Saturday morning and spent the rest of the weekend hiking trails around the Fruita Historic District that are typically pretty busy during the rest of the year and we saw almost no one else all weekend. We found some new rock art and took plenty of photos along the way.

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Sunrise in Bryce and the Drive Home

Las Vegas Trip 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012

It was the last day of our trip to Las Vegas and Southern Utah and we would finally be heading back home. Of course we would be making some more stops on the way back! After another night in another hotel we were up early again to catch one more sunrise. I was looking forward to photographing Bryce Canyon at sunrise and was hoping for a good one as we drove into the park in the dark.

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Capitol Reef to Chimney Rock

Southern Utah Wanderings 2010 | Day 1
Saturday, October 2, 2010

On Saturday morning I left Grand Junction and headed into Utah. I made my way through Green River and Hanksville before reaching Capitol Reef. My destination was Escalante, but I would be getting off of the pavement for a little bit on the way. I took the Scenic Drive past Capitol Gorge where the pavement turned to dirt. With all the storms Southern Utah had seen this year, I wasn’t sure if the road was going to be washed out or not, but I got lucky and it wasn’t too bad. There were a few rough sections, but nothing a high clearance vehicle couldn’t handle.

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Southern Utah Wanderings | Day 1

Saturday, October 3, 2009 | Starting Odometer: 143517

I woke up early on Saturday morning, finished loading up the Jeep and then headed out for a quick breakfast with Amanda before starting on my week-long trip to Southern Utah. After breakfast I hopped onto I-70 west and made my way to Green River and then south to Hanksville, where I topped off my fuel tank and filled my extra gas containers, just in case. Heading further west on UT24 I soon reached Capitol Reef National Park and decided to stop at the Visitor’s Center to see if they had any maps or books I was interested in. The park and Visitor’s Center was very busy, so i quickly looked around and then got out of there. There were lots of different license plates from all over the country seen in the parking lot, but the majority seemed to be from California. I wanted to get a quick overview of the park, so that I could plan a winter visit here with Amanda; when it should be less crowded. I ended up taking the ‘Scenic Drive’ that ended in Capitol Gorge. It was a nice scenic drive alright, but there were still too many people around for my taste. I will need to bring Amanda back in the winter so we can do some hiking an exploring with less people around.

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