Utah
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| Snow Canyon SP just outside St George, Utah |
Joan and I are half way through our 2 week 'vacation' between our winter volunteer job at Lake Mead and our summer job which starts April 13th somewhere southwest of Provo Utah. We have had a great time so far and are excited about this next week. We spent the first weekend in Mesquite, NV where the LVSSA Raiders softball team went 1-2 in our softball tourney. But remember, there's always a silver lining........we were out of the tourney on Saturday leaving Sunday open to spending time showing our friends Dave & Maxine some back roads around Zion.
On Monday we caravan'd with them to Torrey, Utah just outside of Capitol Reef NP where we spent all of last week exploring the area and giving our jeeps a good workout.
Check out some of the pics below.........
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We drove up these switchbacks between Burr Trail
and Grand Staircase NP |
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| Bentonite Deposits |
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| Temple Rock in Cathedral Valley |
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| Temple of the Sun & Temple of the Moon |
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| An old drill rig that got stuck, then abandoned many, many years ago |
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Petroglyphs in Fruita Valley
Is anybody thinking extraterrestrial? |
Capitol Reef is one of 5 National Parks located in southwest Utah and it's well worth the visit. Make sure you check out Cathedral Valley, Burr Trail and Pleasant Creek Trail while you're there.
We took a day trip to Goblin Valley SP and Little Wild Horse Canyon.
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| Goblins up high.... |
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| Goblins down low.... |
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| And an entire valley of Goblins! |
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Little Wild Horse Canyon features a interesting slot canyon which we took the opportunity to hike. The 50 degree temps weren't too bad...but the 20mph winds and blowing clouds of sand detracted from the experience. And being Spring Break for nearby areas and the Thursday before Easter made things a little crowded. In several sections the slot canyon is only 18" wide, impossible for groups to pass each other if hiking in different directions. At one point we ran into a Boy Scout group headed in while we were headed out. The scouts graciously made a bridge and allowed us to pass under.
We spent Saturday avoiding the crowds and working around the RV. We did our spring cleaning, made a few minor repairs. Sunday Dave broke out his smoker and cooked a ham, pork loin and some tri-tips which the 4 of us shared for Easter dinner. Monday we headed to Moab where we'll spend a few days exploring in the jeep.
Well, that's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come.
I think it qualifies as a vacation when you only have a couple weeks between gigs. Capital Reef looks beautiful, we will have to make it down there sometime!
ReplyDeleteWe're definitely returning, probably closer to Escalante. See you guys this weekend
DeleteCan you believe we have never explored Zion or Capital Reef...they were on this years list that got cancelled because we needed to here in Tucson for doctors...hopefully next year!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! I love slot canyons.
Enjoy Moab and all it has to offer on foot as well as wheels!
Joan checked back on your Moab blog for some good off road ideas. I think she got a couple of good ones.
DeleteThis post was a walk down memory lane:) We have friends that live in Torrey so we did all the Jeep trails two years ago. There are some great roads and scenery in the back country. We still have to get to Goblin Valley SP and Wild Horse Canyon which we hope to do at the end of this month. I can see you are loving the Jeep!! The red dirt looks great:) We head to Moab on the 13th. We are just going to miss you two by a few days! Darn! Have a fun visit!
ReplyDeletejust a quick visit here this time. Thursday we're headed towards Price for a couple of days before we start our new job near Provo the 13th. We drove Chicken Corner today. Check it out if you haven't already
DeleteWe really enjoyed Torrey and Capitol Reef. Yes, we consider our "positioning" periods between jobs vacation time, and big vacation each year is Disney :-). We'll be stopping overnight in Provo about 4 weeks from now.
ReplyDeletePlease call when you know the date you'll be in Provo. We expect to be close by into May. Maybe we can get together
DeleteI didn't think anyone else had heard of Goblin Valley! So far out there. I can't wait to revisit this area in the late summer/early fall.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the last weekend of your vacation! Good luck with your jobs on Momday. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures.
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