NatVenturesUSA

After leaving the Grand Canyon, we drove to Capitol Reef NP in Utah, USA. We only stayed in Capitol Reef for one night, but I really liked it. Although Capitol Reef is not very well known, it has beautiful rock formations as well as an interesting history. From Native Americans to Mormons, the Capitol Reef area has been inhabited by many people. There are services (gas, food and lodging) in the nearby town of Torrey. The temperatures in Capitol Reef were moderate, and it even rained while we were there!

Capitol Reef is very different from the other parks we visited on this trip. In addition to having some desert and

The view from the end of Cohab Canyon looking over the valley

sand, it has a lush valley with orchards, a pie vendor (with amazing pies!), historical sites, and green grass. There is also a river/stream that flows through the park. When we saw the ranger, he suggested that we hike Cohab Canyon, see the petroglyphs, and have some pie made the pie vendor. We did all three during the trip.

We camped in the Fruita Campground (named after the Mormon settlement) in site #64 at $10.00 per night. The campground has water as well as bathrooms, sprinklers, an orchard, and deer! The sprinklers keep the lawn around the campsites very green, but I’m not sure they should be wasting water like that. Anyway, there is an (apple?) orchard really close to the campsite, and a herd of deer wandered through and ate the fruit off the trees.

The next day, we drove to see the petroglyphs, which are very near to our other destination, the Cohab Canyon trail.

Some of the petroglyphs

To see the petroglyphs, we walked down a boardwalk alongside a cliff. There are trees, so it’s in the shade, which is nice. The petroglyphs are in many places along the cliff, but some are easier to see than others. The

Native Americans who made them lived in the Capitol Reef area for thousands of years, but at one point they just packed up and left. There is no evidence of a war, famine, disease, natural disaster, or anything that would 

have made them leave. Why did they disappear, and where did they go? Nobody knows, and many are trying to find the answer.

Cohab Canyon

After that, we crossed the road to the Cohab Canyon trailhead. It took us a few minutes to find it because it was really badly signed. However, you’ll know it when you see it. We walked uphill for a few minutes, and by that time it had become a bit overcast. We walked through the canyon, and it was kind of sandy, but there were some plants, as well as giant rock faces with holes carved into them by wind or water. There were also large flat expanses of rocks, and tiny side canyons. Now it was fully overcast, and the clouds were dark. Thankfully, we reached the end of the canyon without it raining. We had lunch there, looked at the view, took a few pictures, and then it started to rain. We hurried back to the car, and the sky was dry again. Then, we drove back to the campground to pack up our stuff to drive to where we were going to camp that night.

Our new campsite was in a different part of the park, and to get there, we were going to have to go through sand and road construction. We got past the construction, but we got stuck in the sand. Our car, being a Prius, didn’t agree with the sand, and we ended up being saved by a car full of very nice Swedish people. They helped us get the Prius back on the sand we could handle. It was threatening to rain again, so we decided to turn back and just go home. This was our last park for the 2012 trip, anyway. Right as we got onto paved road, it started to rain. We got really lucky that it didn’t rain while we were in the sand, or we would have been really stuck. Then, we started the long trek home to the Bay Area, California.

This post concludes our 2012 Desert Parks Trip. We went to Great Basin NP, Canyonlands NP, Arches NP,  Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Grand Canyon NP, and Capitol Reef NP. Coming next is Acadia NP, and the 2013 Western Loop Trip, which includes Rocky Mountain NP, Grand Tetons NP, Yellowstone NP, Glacier NP, and North Cascades NP.

See you in Acadia!

The Grand Canyon at sunset

The Grand Canyon winds through a few states, but we stopped off at a popular point in Arizona.  Although we stayed  at the North Rim, I’m definitely going back because I can’t say I really experienced it. We only stayed one night, and left early the next morning. We saw the sunset at Angel Bright Point. We also had pizza there – which was really good – and in the morning, we saw a Kaibab Squirrel! The Kaibab Squirrel is really special, as it only lives at the North Rim, and no where else in the entire world. It is gray with a white tail, and is larger than normal squirrels.

Then we left, and drove to Capitol Reef NP, Utah.

After Zion NP, we drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce is in Utah, USA. It took us about 2 hours to get there from Zion. Bryce NP is most famous for its sunset colored hoodoos – columns or pinnacles of weathered rock. I would also like to commend the park for its decent temperature. When you visit the park, you can choose to either hike through the hoodoos, or simply gaze upon them from a distance. There is food at the nearby lodge (a pizza place/cafe) and in the nearby town of Bryce. There is a restaurant in Bryce (the town) called Bryce Canyon Pines which serves delicious food, has funny books. and really nice waitresses. There are also showers near the lodge which you can pay for at a little general store. Ask the rangers for more information.

We stayed at the North Campground in site #75 for two nights at $15.00 per night. There was water available, and flush toilets. I really liked this campsite. For one, it was in a forest, so there was a lot of shade. It was also flat, and it had a picnic table.

When we first drove into the park, we encountered a wildlife jam. All the cars in front of us were parked in the road, their drivers taking pictures at the left side of the road. We parked as well, and saw what they were looking at. It was two pronghorn antelope families, with two fauns each! The fauns were all wobbly, still getting used to their spindly legs. After the jam cleared, we went to the visitor center, and planned out what we were going to do the next day. We would see the Sunset Point, and then hike the Navajo Loop via Sunrise Point and the Queen’s Garden, and then cut off to the Peekaboo Loop Trail. On our way out (two days from then), we would go by a few viewpoints.

The hoodoos from Sunset Point

The next morning, we woke up, ate breakfast, and headed out to Sunset Point, the main viewpoint for the Bryce Amphitheater. The view from Sunset was spectacular. You stand on a almost-cliff (don’t worry, it has a railing) and get a panoramic overlook of all the hoodoos. The Native Americans thought the hoodoos were men turned to stone by an angry deity. I’m not so sure most of them look like men, but there is at least one that looks like a person. I’ll get to that in a minute.

The Queen’s Hoodoo vs. Statue

We walked a bit on Sunset Point, until we reacher Sunrise Point. From there we headed down the trail to the Queen’s Garden. The Queen’s Garden Loop is really only .8 miles, so it’s not too far. There is one hoodoo there that gave the Queen’s Garden its name. It looks like the Queen of England. There is no way you won’t see the resemblance. They even have a sign with a picture of a statue of the Queen, and it looks exactly like her!

The adorable chipmunk

We continued, and eventually reached the Navajo Loop Trail.  By this time we were hungry, so we stopped for lunch. A chipmunk immediately scurried over to us, waiting for us to drop something. I didn’t give it anything, but I got some really cute pictures of it. PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE, NO MATTER HOW CUTE IT IS! A little farther along, we came upon a strange sight. Rock cairns were everywhere. On the ground, on top of larger rocks, stuffed in the bark of trees, and on tree branches. I made a new cairn, took a picture, and moved on. The Navajo Loop takes you through the hoodoos, but once we reached the Peekaboo loop, the scenery changed.

The Peekaboo Loop takes you through the forest, and then after a while it deposits you at a higher elevation. It’s around 3 miles. There are outhouses just outside the forest. Once you get out of the forest, you walk among even more hoodoos (as well as a wall called ‘The Windows”), and eventually almost get back to where you started. Almost. First, you have to go through the switchbacks, and through a narrow canyon. The narrow canyon has a huge tree growing in the middle of it, and is a popular subject of photographs. When we were climbing the switchbacks, there were quite a few swallow nests built in crevices in the cliffs on either side of us. When we finally reached the trailhead, we walked back to our car, and went to the general store to shower.

Natural Bridge

On our way out, we stopped by a lot of overlooks. We went to Natural Bridge (an arch reaching between two cliffs), Agua Canyon, Rainbow Point, Inspiration Point (I have no idea how many places I’ve gone named Inspiration Point), and Bryce Point. My favorite was probably Natural Bridge, because it was different from what I had already seen at Bryce. After the viewpoints, we headed off to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Hi! Moving on from Arches NP, we are now in Zion NP, in Utah, USA, my favorite park of the entire 2012 Desert Park trip!  We stayed in Zion for 1 day and 2 nights. Zion National Park is simply amazing. It is well known for its stunning views, Angel’s Landing, The Narrows, and its abundant wildlife. There are services (such as gas, food, and lodging) in the nearby town of Springdale. It was (once again) very hot, at 105 degrees out.

It took us 8 hours to get here because of a fire detour. There had been a huge fire, and a whole city was being evacuated. We got caught up in the traffic, and ended up having to drive 100 extra miles. In the end, we got to our campsite at 2:00 in the morning. I have discovered a new dislike. I hate having dinner after midnight, in the dark, when I have just spotted a huge, shiny cockroach. Anyway, we stayed in Watchman Campground, in site F008. There was water, dish washing stations, and well kept up bathrooms. Watchman Campground is named after the huge rock face that towers above it, of the same name.

Me hiking in the Narrows

In the late morning, we woke up and went to the visitor center. The ranger suggested that we take the Narrows hike that day, and Angel’s Landing the next. There was a shuttle to the Narrows in 15 minutes. We waited, and eventually the shuttle came. We got on, and we saw a lot of wildlife along the way to our destination. We saw 3 deer families (of 2 fawns and 1 doe), turkeys, foxes, and squirrels. Finally, we reached the trailhead. We started along the trail, which was paralleled by a refreshing river. Many people were swimming in the cool, fresh water. We kept walking, and found ourselves being swallowed by a deep canyon. It had gotten darker, and the temperature dropped drastically. It was a great break from the sweltering weather. The farther we waded through the river (most of the trail is wading), the less people we saw, until it was just us and 4 or 5 other people. We stopped when we reached a waterfall, and it was about 3 in the afternoon. Then we headed back, feeling really refreshed.

The incredible view from Angel’s Landing

The next day before we left, we hiked Angel’s Landing. Warning in advance: This is NOT a hike for people who are afraid of heights, or falling off cliffs. A few people have died doing this hike.  We got up really early to beat the heat, and it was a pleasant temperature for about three-quarters of the way up. We crossed a river, and then went up, and up …and up. There are a lot of switchbacks before you get to Refrigerator Canyon (RC), but they are not as famous as Walters’ Wiggles (which are right after you exit RC). RC is really like a refrigerator. As soon as you step inside, it becomes green, lush, and a lot colder. It feels really good walking through there. After you exit, you must climb up Walters’ Wiggles. They take a while, but when you get to the top there is a place to sit and rest. If memory serves, there is a Porta-Potty there as well. If you choose to snack, PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE CHIPMUNKS!!!! Yes, there are adorable, but many problems come from feeding animals. Here is some more information. http://www.nps.gov/zion/naturescience/encountering-wildlife.html  After you have a snack (don’t forget water or you will become dehydrated), you may start up the hardest part of the trail. The part with chains and cliffs. Here is the dangerous part where every so often, people fall off. Luckily, I did not. You hike across the steepest rock slopes imaginable, only clinging onto very strong metal chains. Once we got to the end, it was amazing. We were standing on a huge rock super high up in the air, with a stunning view of the valley on three sides. There were just as many chipmunks here as at the place to sit and rest. We sat at the top for a while, then began to trek back down.

Once we got to the bottom, we got in the car, and drove out of the valley, towards Bryce National Park!

After Canyonlands, we traveled to Arches National Park in Utah, USA. It took us about 1.5 hours to get here. Nancy (my cousin) was still with us. Arches was one of my favorite parks on this trip. If you are driving through Utah, this is a great place to spend a night and do some sightseeing! This is a good park for people who don’t want to do a lot of hiking, because most of the arches are pretty near the road. We saw most of the park in 1 day. It would have been nice to be able to hike some more, but it was still great.

We spent one night in Devil’s Garden Campground, in site #21, at $20.00 per night. There was water available. I didn’t really like this site, because it barely any shade, and with it being 100 degrees F outside, it wasn’t that great. It was really sandy at our campsite, and windy, too. During the night, we had a little surprise. There was a storm! It rained, it was windy, and there was lightning! I was scared (I don’t remember why, since rain and wind can’t hurt you, and there is a very slim chance of being struck by lightning), but the only harm that came to me was a lot less sleep. When we awoke in the morning (after finally falling asleep), we found that our tent had become a sandbox (because the fine sand came through the mosquito netting on our tent), and our sleeping bags were filled with sand! That was a big drag to clean up. Anyway, let’s get on to the famous arches of Arches NP!

Delicate Arch – side view – at sunset

Delicate Arch is the most famous arch of Arches. There is a (1.5 hour, 3 mile) hike to it, and it is amazing at sunset! The whole arch glows orange, and you can sit on the smooth rocks and watch the vibrant colors change in the sky. Be sure to bring your camera and a flashlight. A camera because you should -no, you must- take pictures, and a flashlight because it will be dark when you are coming back. I recommend having dinner beforehand, because trying to fix dinner in the dark is not fun. As we walked back to our car in the dark, we spotted (and snapped a picture of) a little Kangaroo Rat. It was so cute!

Balanced Rock was not all that great, but Nancy and Daddy went to walk around it. I was hot and tired, and you can see it from the road, so I decided to sit under a tree and drink water. It looked just like how it sounds -a rock balanced (formed?) on top of another rock.

In some places, there are things called Windows. Windows are sort of like arches. There is a place called Windows, with two windows, hence the name. Windows was really cool. If you looked through them, you could see forever. It was fairly breezy, so some person’s hat flew off 

Turret arch – doesn’t it look like a castle?

and through the window.

Right next to Windows is Turret Arch. Turret Arch was really cool because it looked like a castle. You can walk up to it, and then walk inside. It was really fun.

Across the parking lot from Windows and Turret Arch is Double Arch. There is a (5 minute?) walk to Double Arch, and it was way bigger than I expected. It was really shady, and a good place to lie down and relax. If you lie down on the smooth rock, you can look up at the two arches towering above you.

Double arch in all its glory

Devil’s Garden was really beautiful. It is a lot of orange rock ridges and arches. We did a few hikes in this area, and there were a few sketchy areas (Not good for people with bad ankles, knees, etc.), but I thought it was a really fun hike with lots of different spectacles. There are a lot of hikes off of the main trail, each heading to a different arch.

Finally, Fiery Furnace is a formidable hike. We did not attempt it, and I would not recommend it if you are not very experienced hikers. It is very easy to get lost in this maze of tall rocks. There was a person who got lost in there and a few days later had to be search-and-rescued out by helicopter. He was very dehydrated and in a bad medical condition. Anyway, the moral of the story is to not hike into Fiery Furnace, just look at it from the outside viewpoint. If you do hike into it, bring lots of water, flashlight, and tell someone where you are going.

All in all, I really enjoyed Arches. It was probably my second favorite park on this trip.  Join me for Zion (my favorite park), in the next post!

The View from Green River Overlook

Canyonlands NP is in Utah, USA. It is known for its amazing views of the Colorado River. It was amazing, and even better at sunset. There are 3 separate sections to Canyonlands (Island in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze), but the only way to get to each section is from the outside. There are no bridgesin between. It took us 8 hours to get here from Great Basin NP.

We stayed at Willow Flats Campground for 1 day and 2 nights. We were in site #1, for $10.00 per night. I really liked this campsite, but it had no water. It was around 100 degrees F, and we had to get up early (like 6 in the morning) to beat the heat and sun. Oh, and I forgot to mention that my dad and I were also camping with my cousin (I’m not quite sure what the relationship is, but I think she’s my cousin) Nancy.

From our campsite, we drove (although we could have easily walked) to Green River Overlook. We went at sunset, and it was stunning. The sky was bright orange, and the cliffs shone. We stayed there until after dark, and watched the night sky and the stars. There were large, smooth rocks to sit on and look at the sky. It is a must-see.

Murphy Trail
note- my dad is the tiny blue dot in the middle of the photo.

We hiked the Murphy Trail, which I didn’t think was really all that enlightening. Murphy Trail goes from the top level (where the Visitor Center and our campsite were) to the bottom level (where we looked down onto at the Green River Overlook)  We had to beat the heat, and there is no point in going all the way down, because even if you hiked down in the shade, you would have to hike back up in the hot sun.

Mesa Arch is a short 5 minute hike (one way). It is fun, because once you get there, you can stand on top of this (maybe 7-foot tall?) arch, and take pictures with your family. Whatever you do, don’t fall, because you could possibly go backwards, and fall to your death. And that would not be good, because we would all miss you very much. Anyways, moving on.

Upheaval Dome

The next hike we did was Upheaval Dome. I think it would have been fun, but I was tired, and it was hot, with really high winds. The Upheaval Dome is really cool, and there are many theories about how it was created (I don’t remember what they were, but its something about volcanic activity). It was a medium-length hike, and you can go farther than the Dome, but because of the wind, we didn’t.

After that, we visited Grand View Point Overlook. It had almost the same view as Green River Overlook, but from a different angle. It was okay, but I guess this is sort of a “if you see one view, you’ve seen them all” kind of park. I don’t know. Maybe the reason why I liked the first overlook so much was that it was my first view, or that we saw the beautiful sunset. Either way, I liked the other one better. And if you hike further…

Yet another overlook! This time it’s White Rim Road Overlook (WRRO, since I don’t want to write it all out). I would have liked this overlook, but there was no shade until you reach WRRO. That really killed my experience of this hike. Once you actually get to the overlook, it’s one of those very similar views. There are several large rocks there that provide shade.

Well, that pretty much wraps up our trip for this park. Adieu, friends, and join me for the next post, on Arches NP!

The “glorious” 100-mile view from the Visitor Center.

 Great Basin National Park is in Nevada, USA. Great Basin  NP is known for its spectacular 100-mile view. Well, its supposed to be spectacular, but I didn’t think it was all that great. In my eyes, it’s a view of 100 miles of “a whole lot of nothing”.

Our campsite.

Anyway, we drove there from our home, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It took us about 11 hours. We stayed in Baker Creek Campground in site #18. It was $12.00 per night. I really liked site #18 because we were right across the road from a water spicket, and was a bit removed from the other campsites. We stayed there for one day and two nights.

It was about 80-100 degrees F out, but cold because of the wind. Our freeze-dried dinner almost blew over in its plastic container. We were planning on hiking to Wheeler Peak and Glacier, but it was too windy. we drove partway up the mountain to get to the trailhead, but we decided against hiking because our car was rocking from the high wind! However, we did hike to the Alpine Lakes, (Teresa and Stella) via the Alpine Lake Loop Trail. It was beautiful, but too cold for my taste.

One of the Parachutes at Lehman Caves.

I think that the highlight of Great Basin National Park was the Lehman Caves. It is a must-see. I really recommend the long tour, as opposed to the short tour.      It is definitely worth it. There are all kinds of rock formations, and you get to hear about the history of the caves as well. You can sign up for the tour in the              visitor center. Make sure to bundle up, and bring a flashlight, because although there are lights in the caves, it is still rather dark.

Me at one of the Alpine Lakes, with Wheeler Peak and Glacier in the background.

After Great Basin, we traveled to Canyonlands National Park, in Utah, USA.