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Tag: cathedral valley

Sandstone & Sand Hills: The Paria Plateau

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
Thursday – Sunday, January 24-27, 2019

It’s been almost a full year since the last time I was out exploring and photographing the wonderful sandstone of the Paria Plateau and I was really itching to get back out there again soon. A few months ago I secured a permit to Coyote Buttes South for this Friday and then planned to spend the rest of the weekend exploring other areas of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument outside of the Coyote Buttes permit zones. Unfortunately, after I had already picked the weekend and got the permit I found out that the annual Ouray Ice Festival was scheduled for this same weekend, so I guess I was going to miss it this year. Diane was supposed to be in Las Vegas with a friend this weekend, which is why I originally chose it, but when her plans fell through there were no longer any permits available so I would be on my own this trip.

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Sulphur Creek & Pleasant Creek

Saturday & Sunday, May 13-14, 2017

Sulphur Creek is a canyon in Capitol Reef National Park that I have wanted to hike for way too long, and since I’m making an effort this year to go to places that have been on my to-do list for a long time it was finally time to give it a shot. Diane and I left home very early on Saturday morning and drove west through Green River and Hanksville on our way to Fruita in Capitol Reef. We made a brief stop at the Visitor Center to drop off my bike and then continued down the road a few more miles to the Chimney Rock Trailhead.

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Quick Cathedral Valley Trip

Saturday, March 23, 2013

This wasn’t supposed to be a quick trip. I was planning on camping at the Cathedral Valley Campground and spending the entire weekend in the area, however the cold temperatures and strong winds made me change my mind while I was out there. Instead I drove part of the loop and made a few stops at some of the overlooks and then drove north to I-70 through the San Rafael Swell to make a big loop back home.

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Southern Utah Wanderings | Day 2

Sunday, October 4, 2009 | Starting Odometer: 143789

After a pretty decent nights sleep (even though it got pretty windy overnight), I ended up waking around 7:00am. Though the wind had died down by now, it was still pretty cloudy out. I broke down camp and had a quick snack before heading out through Cathedral Valley and Caineville Wash. After making my way though Upper Cathedral Valley that I had visited the evening before, I passed the Baker Ranch Road that could take me to I-70 if I was headed that way (This is a road I will have to come back to explore some more.).

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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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