Category: US National Parks
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Middle Fork of the Salmon River – Day 4
I walked up from camp to a plateau to get some nice views of camp. I expected to see elk or sheep, but all I saw was lots of poop. Later I asked Ron what it was, and he said elk. It is surprising how much poop I have seen, but rarely see an animal.…
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Middle Fork of The Salmon River – Day 3
Monday, July 19, 2020 I woke up early and almost stepped on two sleeping guides on my way to pee in the river. “Dilution is the solution”, as Steve told us. I went for a little walk, looking for the trail that runs one side of the river for 110 miles. While in high school,…
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Middle Fork of the Salmon River – Day 2
Saturday, July 18, 2020 Ron picks this week in July because it has the least chance of rain. It was a perfect, cool morning. I don’t know what elevation we are, but I know the further down river we go, the warmer it gets. Sleeping was great last night. Everything is organized (or unorganized) in…
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Middle Fork of The Salmon River, Day 1
I slept late! I never do that, but today I woke up at 6:00, and quickly panicked. At VMI we called it “getting in a shitty”. I had to hook up the trailer and get out of this difficult camp. Just making the turn out onto the road would be a bit hazardous. Then it’s…
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Following The Salmon River
Thursday, July 16, 2020 45 degrees this morning, 92 in the afternoon I enjoyed a drive down Rt. 75, taking pictures along the way. It is one of the prettiest roads I have ever driven, following the Salmon River downstream. I will let the pictures do the talking. I stopped at one spot to do…
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Walking Pleasant Creek Road in Capital Reef National Park
Saturday, July11, 2020 There is only one rational time to hike in Utah in July, and that is early. I slept in this morning until 6:30, made coffee, grabbed two Cliff bars and the cameras and took off. It’s an hour drive to the end of The Scenic Drive, where I had decided to walk…
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Cathedral Valley, Capital Reef National Park
July 9, 2020 50 degrees in the morning. 92 degrees in afternoon, sunny all day At 6:00 AM I drove The Scenic Drive to take pictures. I stopped for coffee at a place whose name I can’t remember not, but It’s east of the Phillips 66 station, and they have meat pies. I was too early…
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Capital Reef National Park: The Scenic Drive and The Goosenecks
Early morning and sunset pictures from a stop called The Goosenecks and along The Scenic Drive through the center of the park. Capitol Reef encompasses the Waterpocket Fold, a warp in the earth’s crust that is 65 million years old. It is the largest exposed monocline in North America. In this fold, newer and older layers of earth folded over each…
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The Loneliest Road, Capital Reef National Park: The Fremont River Trail and Capital Gorge Trail.
Exploring “The Scenic Drive”, I walked through Fruita where Mormons settled and farmed. Of course Native Americans had been coming here for thousands of years. The Fremont River gives it wonderful, cold, clear water. Bighorn sheep have thrived here, and deer just walk around the park. I wandered through the orchard next to the campground,…
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The Loneliest Road, Capital Reef National Park
Monday July 6, 2020 I woke up at 2:30, wide awake, got up, made coffee and caught up on the blog, thanks to my new favorite laundromat. I did a search for campgrounds near Capital Reef National Park, since theirs were full. I found Sand Creek RV Resort on the other side of Capital Reef,…