Hikers have been eagerly awaiting the reopening of the Lassen Peak Trail, which closed in 2009 after a tragic accident. In the years since, the park has been rebuilding and…
Last week we attended a beautiful wedding in the Alabama Hills (yay Paige and Fred!) Before the ceremony we had some down time so we decided to explore some of…
This year, we took a more laid back approach to our annual Memorial Day Trip in the Eastern Sierra. In past years we’ve bagged peaks and escaped snow storms, but this year we decided to take it easy. Why? Well, first of all, David was recovering from minor surgery and couldn’t lift or do any strenuous activity. But also? It was Mighty Thor‘s first camping trip! We didn’t want to overwhelm the guy, so we just tooled around the Eastern Sierra and let him have a lot of new experiences.
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If you've ever driven on Highway 5 through Northern California, you know Black Butte. Despite Mt Shasta dominating the view from a distance, when you're in between the two cities…
The moment we decided we were driving to Denver for this year’s GABF, I decided that I would determine our route home through Southern Utah based on one factor: where can I get a permit? There are two places on my desert bucket list that have access restricted by permits, so I applied for them both. If I got one, that would determine our route. If I got none, well, we’d figure something else out. If I got both? I would be very fortunate and would make it work somehow.
The first permit lottery to be drawn was for the Wave, something I have tried for (and not gotten) in the past. Unfortunately, I wasn’t selected. The second was the Subway in Zion National Park, and I got my second date choice. Woo hoo! Once that was on the calendar I was able to plan out the rest of the week that you’ve been reading about up until now.
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Our dispersed campsite down Hole-In-The-Rock road was no less beautiful in the morning when the sun hit the cliffs that parallel the road. We had driven to the furthest point out the road that we intended on going the previous day, so today’s agenda had us heading out, stopping at several places along the way.
The first stop of the drive out was the side trip to the Dry Fork Trail. This trail leads to several slot canyons and we planned on spending a few hours exploring them. Accessing the trailhead from Hole-In-The-Rock road involves a short ~1.5 mile drive down a dirt road that had a big rut running through it from the recent storms. I don’t think the truck has ever been that off-canter but we made it just fine.
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After our fantastic visit to the Great Gallery, we drove over to Capitol Reef and snagged a campsite in their campground. Considering that October is the busy season for the Southern Utah parks, I was pleasantly surprised by the peaceful and quiet nature of the half-occupied campground. Everyone wants to hit the ‘big boys’ like Zion and Bryce, and Capitol Reef is often overlooked.
The campground is in an area known as “Fruita”, an old mormon settlement that still has old buildings standing between the red rock walls, including the school and the blacksmith shop. There is even an old home where they bake and sell pies. Several orchards still grow among the buildings. A large herd of deer wandered through camp and we watched some males fight at sunset. Hello ladies.
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Sunday marked the end of our beer adventure and the start of our Southern Utah adventure. The Federal Government still had parks closed, but the state of Utah had opened…
We woke up on Sunday morning and did a double check: nope, not dreaming, parks still closed, Congress still run by selfish asses. Grr. So instead, we decided to head out on a recommended wildlife-spotting loop for spring when the snow has not yet melted, followed by a visit to Big Sky. We drove around Hebgen Lake and did not see any wildlife, but we did see the fascinating remnants of an earthquake that decimated a local recreation area and essentially created a new lake. It was windy and 25 degrees, though, so we didn’t linger.
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