Going West 2013

Wednesday June 19

Leaving the Black Canyon behind we headed for Capitol Reef NP, I wasn’t sure what we would find but expected something like Arches since that is nearby, along with Bryce Canyon. Rt. 24 is the route, and it follows the Freemont River west into the park and beyond. Every turn and hill presented new and different views and formations of rock. The variety is amazing, the color variation and intensity surprising. The pictures really don’t capture it. From the arid desert the Freemont Valley is striking with green fields between the rocks. The park encompasses part of a geologic formation known as the Waterpocket Fold, a high valley formed by the collision of tectonic plates. This valley captures water and forms the Freemont River. Not quite the Hudson. We attended a ranger program at the petroglyph site and learned the valley had been occupied by Freemont Indians. The range of the tribe encompassed most of Utah at one time. Later the area was settled by Mormons. They established the town of Fruita where they grew fruit, among other crops. This area is preserved in the park. We drove the scenic drive and saw many more rock formations. In the evening we attended a night sky talk, learning about constellations. We viewed Saturn and the moon through a telescope and saw the space station and a couple of other satellites pass over. The camground is very nice. We’re camped under trees at the base of a pink cliff. In the evening a mule deer came to eat the berries from the tree next to our site. It’s a very relaxing park, off the beaten track, well cared for, quiet. Like the Sedona area without the people, electricity, or cell service.

Capitol Reef NP Capitol Dome

Petroglyphs

Capitol Reef N P

Our Campsite - # 59!

Leaving Capitol Reef N P

Thursday, June 20

I really didn’t want to leave Capitol Reef, but we’re on the way to Great Basin NP. The west side of Capitol Reef is quite a contrast to the east side. There were a couple of not very successful villages on the east. The west side has several towns with RV parks and motels and other services, including cell service. We crossed another summit at 9300 feet or so and dopped a couple of thousand feet to farmland and ranches as well as oil fields. A short stint on the interstate and we’re back on Rt. 50 through flat desert, some grass, sage brush, and juniper with more mountains in the distance. Mom’s looking forward to going around a curve. I can see 10 miles, and I don’t see a curve. On the left the sage brush gives way to a dry lake that stretches to the mountains.

We arrived at the park and got a beautiful campsite. There are only 11 sites, no hookups, but we feel lucky to get one. After dropping the trailer we went to the Lehman Cave Visitor Center to sign up for a cave tour. The tour lasted 90 minutes, this cave is more natural than others we’ve been in. In many places you have to duck and walk single file to get from room to room. The cave isn’t as colorful as some, but the number of formations and rooms is amazing. This cave has shield formations and stalactites that have a ball part way down the formation, things not found elsewhere. Tonight we went to an astronomy talk. They had two telescopes set up, and we got to look at Saturn, a double star, an exploded star, and a cluster of old stars

Dry Lake

US 50 decending into a basin

How many ways can you say it?

Lehman cave formations

Some passages got narrow too

Cave Shields

Great Basin N P campsite

Friday June 21

Another “I don’t want to leave” park. Headed west the first town is Ely, NV. This is where the Laundromat is and the closest shopping is. It’s 61 miles from the park. They do have casinos. We passed a wind farm and went over several passes. It’s rather incongruous to see CHAIN UP AREA signs in the middle of the desert, but there is a lot of snow on the peaks. Many of the passes have surveillance cameras at the top. Rt 50 is named “the loneliest road” in Nevada. It’s a close race for that title given some of the areas we’ve been through. We came across another Forest Service petroglyph area along the highway and drove down a short dirt road to it. A self – guided tour took us to several petroglyph panels and a vista of the valley. It was also a good lunch stop. We stopped at Cold Springs Pony Express station, both because of the name and the Pony Express connection. I missed a picture of the sign for the town of Ruth, location of the largest open pit copper mine in the US. We didn’t visit it. As we got nearer Fallon, NV things got greener and we got better cell service. Civilization! We’re camped in Reno at the Grand Sierra Resort, I think it’s the old Bally’s where we stayed in 1990. The laundry is in right now, tonight we’ll go to the casino for dinner and Mom will win the funds to pay for the rest of the trip. Right after checking in we noticed (? Couldn’t miss!) a verrrry unique individual. Several people were trying to push a very unique trailer into a travel trailer. The owner, a singer, serenaded us, both with an acoustic guitar and with the Cadillac with SOUND system. In contrast, from the back window we look out on a babbling brook again, though somewhat larger and known as the Truckee River. Very nice, especially since we’re in downtown Reno.