Day 60-July 28

Next stop is Capitol Reef National Park.  It is only a couple of hours to the park so we hope to have most of the day to see the sights before moving on to Moab.  This park provides its visitors with something we have not seen before.  The families that lived in this area before it became a national park planted orchards.  The park service has maintained many of the fruit trees and visitors to the park are encouraged to pick whatever happens to be in season.  The scenic drive into the southern area of the park is undergoing some construction work so we decided to stay on Hwy. 24 and check-out the sights along the way.  Our first stop was to see the petroglyphs inscribed on a rock wall by an ancient group of people called the Fremonts.  Then it was on to our hike of the day.  A couple miles out to Hickman Bridge afforded us with a great view of Capitol Dome and then by some interesting structures left behind by the prehistoric Fremont people.



Petroglyphs



Capitol Dome

Granary used by the Fremont people to store seeds and food.  It is high on the side of a rock cliff

Hickman Bridge

Day 59-July 27

The sun is shinning again and we are off for a day in Bryce Canyon National Park.  The road through the park runs along the rim of the canyon, so all of the overlooks are on the left as you travel south through the park.  The best way to handle this issue is to drive the 20 miles to the south end, then turn around and see everything on the way back north.  At the very end we took a mile hike to see a small Bristlecone forest and the views into the southern end of the canyon.  Our day was spent being amazed by the incredible rock formations all along the drive.  We stopped at every overlook and were astounded by the vistas throughout the canyon.  After a late picnic lunch at Sunset Point we finally committed to a hike into the canyon.  It is beautiful from above, but Jess had been itching to get a view from below all day.  The idea of the hike back up out of the canyon made us a little hesitant about taking off on any of the side trips we had seen so far.  Upon arriving at Sunrise Point we discovered a trail called Queens Garden that is listed as the least difficult trail into the canyon.  It is about 2 miles with a drop of about 357 ft. so off we go.  Jess was right!  Looking at the intriguing formations from below is definitely worth the hike back up.  It is impossible to describe all of the awe inspiring sights we have seen at Bryce Canyon, hopefully the pictures will bring some of the scenes to life.



A couple of scene steelers.

 

Natural Bridge

One of many structures called hoodoos.

Bryce Point

Queen Victoria

Days 57 & 58-July 25 & 26

Our journey today has brought us back to Mountain Time Zone.  I guess our summer really is drawing to a close.  We still have 5 more parks to visit before heading for Alabama in earnest.  Our first stop will be to get the truck serviced and the laundry done.  No matter how much fun our trip has been we still have certain chores that must be accomplished.  Cedar City, Utah was large enough to take care of both of these issues, but it did take up most of our afternoon.
We left Cedar City headed east on Hwy. 14.  This mountainous road gave us great views of the distant bluffs in Zion National Park to our south.  We also passed large areas of lava flow left behind by a volcano in the distant past.  Since we have been away from services for quite some time we decided to stop at a campground that has Internet so that I can get caught up with the blog.   It was a great idea, but the wi-fi didn't work so I still didn't accomplish anything.  It rained most of the night and was still raining in the morning so we moved to another park close by and have taken this day to rest up.  We want to see the sunshine on the rock formations in the park and are hoping for a better day tomorrow.
Jess took a nice nap and I typed until late afternoon.  The weather cleared enough for a walk through Red Canyon.   We needed a little exercise to compensate for the scrumptious homemade pies that the local restaurant is famous for.


Views along Hwy. 14.



Aspen grove.



Red Canyon.

 

Days 55 &56-July 23 & 24

Up and out as we head for another national park.  Our plan was to ride through the park and then head on into Utah for the last week or so of our trip.  When we arrived at the visitor center in Baxer our plans changed abruptly.  The educational area at this visitor center is one of the best we have seen at any of the parks we have visited this summer.  It was full of very interesting information about what we would find at Great Basin.  When I read the display about stargazing I knew I had to stay at least one night in the park.  This area is one of the best locations in the continental U.S. for viewing the night sky.  Let's face it we are out in the middle of nowhere, so there is not very much artificial light to effect star viewing.  The very helpful ranger encouraged us to try to get a campsite and spend a couple of days seeing the park.  This is a holiday weekend for residents of Utah so we were very lucky to find a site available at Lower Lehman Creek campground.  The creek runs right beside the campsite and with the snow melt it is so loud you can hear it even inside the camper. 
In the south end of the park there is an arch that can only be reached by a dirt road and then a 3 mile hike.  Sounds like fun, so off we go.  Jess has a few new scratches on his truck where the bushes grew so close to the road that we rubbed on both sides as we squeezed by.  He swears it was worth the trip.  The hike was a little more strenuous than our usual, but the view from the top was amazing.  We are at such a high elevation that breathing going up steep hills can be a challenge.  The best part of the whole excursion was that we were entirely alone.  Of course a heart attack at this point may be a problem since we have had no cell coverage since arriving in the park.  Anyway Lexington Arch was beautiful and it was all ours for this moment in time.
After getting back to camp we discovered that there was going to be a Stargazing program offered by rangers at the Lehman Cave Visitor Center that evening. They provided telescopes that enabled us to see Saturn, some double stars, and even galaxies beyond the Milky Way. What a wonderful evening as we joined other campers for this amazing show.
We began Sunday with a tour of Lehman Caves.  We have toured many caves over the years, but this one is truly awesome.  It contains a rich display of formations, both the familiar like stalactites and stalagmites and many that were new to us like the shields that the cave is most famous for.  The abundance of formations is unbelievable as there is something to marvel over at every turn.
Our afternoon was spent hiking to another awe inspiring sight.  We drove up to the base of Wheeler Peak where we struck out to see the Bristlecone Pine forest.  These trees are believed to be the oldest living things in the world.  Many of them in this area are estimated to be as much as 4000 years old and are still alive. The oldest Bristlecone Pines live along the tree line where they struggle to survive in the harshest environment possible.  Scientists believe that this endurance is what contributes to their longevity.  It is humbling to look up at the gnarly branches and know that they were already here many years before Christ walked on the Earth.  Jess reluctantly left the trees behind as we continued our walk to see some alpine lakes that are formed from the snow melt.  We ended our travels in a beautiful aspen forest.  The museum had a display showing carvings on the trunks of aspen trees that had been done many years ago by sheepherders living in the area.  The display said that some of the carvings that had been found were of nude women.  I searched for the examples of this artistic talent but didn't find any. 
Considering we had just planned for a quick drive through, we are very glad we took the time to enjoy all this park had to offer.

Cliffs along hike to arch.

Ground squirrel filling his cheeks with seeds.

The first mile was quite steep.

Proof I made it!

Lexington Arch



Old homestead.  I made Jess take the pictures.  There are rattlesnakes around here.



Lehman Caves.  Obviously I should have warned her about a finger too close to the lens.

Bristlecone Pine

Their trunks are beautiful and as smooth as silk.

A baby Bristlecone Pine.  It is approximately 400 years old.

Teresa Lake-Elevation 10230 ft.

Stella Lake with a view of Wheeler Peak.

Primrose by a rushing stream.

Lehman Creek by our campsite.