Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks

September 21, 2016

Got up and broke camp.  Stopped at Ruby's Inn for breakfast.  It started raining hard while we were eating and it pretty much rained on and off all day.  Drove through John's Canyon on our way to Capitol. Reef. While on this section of the road we saw 5 pronghorn.  We planned to stop at the visitor's center at Capitol Reef NP, but it was so crowded that there weren't any parking spots.  We just drove through this park, stopping at a pullover spot to eat lunch.  It was still raining so we didn't get out to walk or anything.  We did see some wild turkeys in the park, as well as some pretty scenery.  Once outside of Capitol Reef we saw between 30 - 40 wild turkeys in irrigated alfalfa fields.  We got to Moab, UT about 2:30.  We are staying in a private RV park in the middle of Moab (Canyonland RV park).  It is okay.  Very crowded, but lots of trees, and some nice views of some bluffs.  After setting up camp, we walked to Moab Brewery for supper.  It was okay, nothing special.

Some views in Capitol Reef

Some more views.  Traffic was awful.

September 22, 2016

It was so windy during the night that it rocked the trailer.  We decided it was too windy outside to make coffee so Mike walked to the store in the RV park and bought coffee.  We ended up taking the awning down because it was so windy.  After breakfast we drove to Canyonlands NP which is about 36 miles away.  We mainly drove to some scenic overlooks and looked around.  We did do 2 short hikes, but it was threatening rain and very windy.  Not a very good day for hiking.  The views of the canyons and features are beautiful.  It started raining hard just as we were leaving the park.  Supper in the trailer tonight and Arches NP tomorrow.

Views of the Green River area

Mike looking at the views

Upheaval Dome

Mary at the Green River viewpoint 

Green River and canyon

Mike at Mesa Arch

Mary at Mesa Arch

Mesa Arch

September 23, 2016

We got up early so we can get to Arches NP before the big crowds.  Bought coffee at the campstore and egg McMuffins at McDonalds.  Got to the park visitor's center by 8:00 and got maps.  Drove to the Devil's Garden area at the end of the road and hiked about 2 miles seeing the Tunnel Arch, the Pine Tree Arch,and the Landscape Arch.  All 3 very pretty.  Landscape Arch was our favorite.  On the way back down the road we stopped and hiked 1 mile to view the Sandstone Arch, and then stopped and hiked to the Upper View of the Delicate Arch.  The Delicate Arch is very pretty.  We tried to stop and hike at the Windows section, but it had gotten so crowded that it took us 30 minutes just to drive through the parking lot.  We just kept on driving and went back to camp.  We ate supper out at the Moab Diner (it was gross), then got everything ready to head home in the morning.

Court House

Fiery Furnace

Tunnel Arh

Pine Tree Arch

Posing at Pine Tree Arch

Arch close to Landscape Arch

Landscape Arch

Sandstone Arch

Trail to Sandstone Arch

Delicate Arch

Arches at the Windows

September 24 - September 26, 2016

Left camp early on the 24th.  Drove through Cortez, Colorado and Farmington, New Mexico on our way to Albuquerque where we spent the night.  The next day we got on the road early, taking I40 for the entire day.  I started off driving and everything was good at first; but after about one hour it got so windy that I pulled over at Cline's Corner and had Mike start driving.  He drove until we got to the east side of Amarillo then I took over again.  It was still windy, but not as bad as it was earlier.  We spent the night at the Elk City/Clinton KOA.  Got up the 26th, stopped for coffee and breakfast then headed on home.  Not much to talk about on this drive, still windy but not as bad.  Made it home after 3 weeks.  Glad to be home - it was a fun trip.  We really enjoyed seeing all the national parks we visited.  In all we went to 7 national parks on this trip.  What really surprised us was how crowded it was in September.  Our favorite park was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  The campground had the feel of being in nature more so than any others.  Even though there were a lot of people there, it never was over crowded.  We were able to hike and enjoy some viewpoints without a lot of other people there.  All the other parks were really crowded.  Zion and Bryce took care of that by providing shuttles.  Some of the other parks need to provide shuttle service and prohibit private vehicles in the park.

Wilson Arch just outside of  Moab

Bryce Canyon National Park

September 18, 2016

Staying at Ruby's RV park in Bryce Canyon City just outside of the national park.  The campsite was okay, so level that we didn't have to unhook, but no shade and no place to grill.  They do have good facilities, and the showers are free. It got very cool over night, so we got our electric heater out this morning to warm things up. After breakfast we took the shuttle into the park.  Bryce has a free shuttle that will pick people up at Ruby's Campground, but the park still allows visitors to drive into the park.  This makes everything very crowded.  We were happy to just ride the shuttle.  We got off at the Visitor's Center to ask about hiking, etc.  The ranger that was answering questions was not very helpful.  We just used the paper given to us at the shuttle stop by the campground to figure things out for ourselves.  We got back on the shuttle and rode to Inspiration Point.  The farthest point (Bryce Point) was closed for maintenance to be done on the road and trails.  It opened back up the day we left.  Bummer.  We walked to an observation point, but not the top one; and looked at the views.  Very pretty.  Then we walked the Rim Trail to Sunrise Point (1 mile).  We ate lunch at Sunset Point where there was a bench in the shade overlooking the canyon.  All of the viewpoints were gorgeous.  I was battling sinus problems, so we rode the shuttle back to Ruby's and I took a 2 hour nap.  It seemed to do the trick because I was okay after that.

View from Inspiration Point

Mike at Inspiration Point

Mary at Inspiration Point

Views from the trail

Another view from the rim trail

Mike on Rim Trail

Mary by Rim Trail

Another view by the trail

Enjoying the views

September 19, 2016

Slept in again, kind of a habit with us now. It was cold again during the night, but with the sun shining during the day it warms up pretty quickly.  After breakfast, we rode the shuttle to Sunrise Point.  We hiked the Queen's Garden and Navajo Combined Loop trail (about 3 miles).  Not a hard hike until we had to come up out of the canyon.  It was a beautiful and fun hike.  After getting back to camp we took showers and then just rested.

Views of part of the trail we walked

Views on the trail

A place at the bottom of the trail

More spots on the trail

A narrow section of the trail

Natural Bridges

One more view

September 20, 2016

We got up early (for us anyway) so we could catch the Rainbow Vista Tour Bus by 9:00.  This is a free tour , you just have to call and make reservations.  After picking everyone up, the bus went all the way to Rainbow Point where we did a short hike and looked at the view.  This was at an elevation of 9100 feet.  The bus driver is also the guide and he led the hike and talked about vegetation and the views.  It was cloudy, windy, and cool.  On the way back down the mountain we stopped at Ponderosa View (just to drop off some backpackers), at Natural Bridge, Farview (Mike and I barely got to see this because we had to wait so long to use the restroom), and finally Fairyland View.  All very interesting.  Jay, the driver guide, did a very good job.  The entire tour took about 3 hours.  When we got back to camp, we ate lunch and then did laundry.  We did some things around camp to get ready to head to Moab in the morning for the last leg of our trip.

View from Rainbow Vista

Another view from Rainbow Vista

Natural Bridge (really an arch)

View from Fairyland View