Day 8 - Torrey, Utah - Capitol Reef National Park
We decided to spend one more night in Torrey to visit Capital Reef National Park and Grand Staircase Escalante. Karen is also determined to find the backroad a friend told her about years ago. And, yes there is still the intriguing Cathedral Valley Loop.
Highways today were east from Torrey on State Hwy 24 to the Cathedra Valley Loop. Once back on Hwy 24, we drove the Scenic Drive in the Park, then back on State Hwy 24 to Torrey. Google Map
Capitol Reef National Park
We stopped at the Visitor's Center to pick up the tour maps and ask about Cathedral Valley. As expected, the navigational director overrode all my objections. We were on our way - a new adventure, a new road, and a very scary river ford. I cant even imagine what that would be like. I get an adrenaline rush just thinking about it. With maps in hand and our safety checklist "mostly" filled (minus a shovel) we were on our way.
We were in familiar territory on the the first part of the route along State Hwy 24. We've been this way many times and over the years have stopped at most of the pullouts, overlooks and tourist attractions.
 |
| Goosenecks Point (2008) |
Goosenecks Point Overlook
Three miles before the visitors centre, the Goosenecks Overlook is 800 feet above the meandering Sulphur Creek carving its way through the oldest rocks exposed at Capitol Reef.
The canyon rim has no barriers. I get weak kneed and view everything from the safe distance of 10 feet back. There's even a bench for me to sit on. Karen has no problem looking over the edge.
Fruita Schoolhouse
We stopped at the Schoolhouse. We've been here before but never walked around the building or looked in the windows. It is quite impressive. The property for the Schoolhouse was donated by the Behunin Family. The early pioneers in the community (then known as Junction) built the one-room schoolhouse around 1892-1894.
 |
| Fruita Schoolhouse (2008) |
The log building also served as a meeting house and church. The Schoolhouse was was Fruita's only public structure. Besides being Fruita's only school, it served as a church. The building also functioned as the community center for dances, elections and celebrations.
In 1964, the National Park Service restored the structure to the 1930s period. The Fruita Schoolhouse was listed in the National Register of Historical Places on February 23, 1972 as #72000098.
Fruita Petroglyphs
The petroglyph figures can be seen along a sheer cliff that parallels Hwy 24 just east of the Visitor Center in Capitol Reef. The Petroglyphs cover several rock panels and the diversity of images is amazing. Boardwalks and viewing platforms have been established to make it easy for visitors to see them.
 |
| Fruita Petroglyphs (2013) |
Fremont petroglyphs (carved or pecked into the rock) depict people, animals and other shapes and forms. The human-like figures are often elaborately decorated with headdresses, ear bobs, necklaces, clothing items and facial expressions.
A wide variety of animal-like figures include bighorn sheep, deer, dogs, birds, snakes and lizards. Abstract designs, geometric shapes and hand prints are also common.
Behunin Cabin
The Elijah Cutler Behunin Cabin was built to house Elijah Cutler Behunin's family in 1883–84.The Behunins lived there for only a year, leaving for Fruita after a flood threatened the house.
 |
| Behunin Cabin (Wikipedia) |
The one story sandstone structure measures 13 feet by 16.5 feet with a single room. Elijah and his wife and their 13 children all lived within the home. I cant imagine living in a one room cabin let alone with 13 children.
The cabin was renovated in the 1960s by the National Park Service and represents the most intact example of a settler cabin in Capitol Reef National Park. The Behunin Cabin was listed in the National Register of Historical Places on September 13, 1999 as #99001094.
Cathedral Valley - Capitol Reef National Park
Cathedral Valley was named in 1945 by Frank Beckwith and Charles Kelly, the first superintendent of Capitol Reef. The upward-sweeping, tapering lines, and three dimensional surfaces reminded them of the temples and Gothic-style Cathedrals.
The monoliths are composed of the earthy, buff-pink Entrada Sandstone. Deposited 160 million years ago, this fine grained sandstone crumbles easily to a fine sand which is rapidly removed by water. Therefore, slopes do not form and Entrada cliffs tend to rise sheer from their base.
Cathedral Valley Loop
Now for the main event! The information says it will take 6-8 hours to complete the loop. Karen figures, since we are not hikers, we can do it in 3-4 hours. She's probably right. Of course, everything is virtually perfect. The roads are all freshly graded, the weather is warm with no chance of rain, and the river ford is low enough that we can easily cross it. Cathedral Valley - NPS
The Cathedral Valley Loop passes through a stark desert characterized by beautiful sandstone monoliths and desert vistas. Many of the Valley's structures have interesting, highly descriptive names. Cathedral Valley Loop Map
The Fremont River Ford
With map in hand we found the turnoff to Hartnet Road and were immediately confronted with the Fremont River. NPS River Ford Map
The NPS Website says "Do not attempt to cross the river during floods or other periods of high water. The ford has a hard packed, rocky bottom and water levels are normally a foot or less deep." So how exactly are we supposed to know if the water is high or not and exactly how high is too high?
I don't like words like "normally". Should I send Karen out with hip waders to wander into the water that "should, normally, maybe, might" be passable to check the depth? Hip waders were not on our check list!
 |
| Fremont River Ford |
Let's just assume I managed to get through the river still breathing and without having a heart attack! After all, we still have the whole Cathedral Valley Loop to finish!
Bentonite Hills (9 Mile Mark)
The Bentonite Hills appear as softly contoured, banded hills in varying hues of brown, red, purple, gray, and green. The hills were formed during Jurassic times when mud, silt, fine sand, and volcanic ash were deposited in swamps and lakes.
 |
| Bentonite Hills (Wikipedia) |
Bentonite clay (altered volcanic ash) absorbs water and becomes very slick and gummy when wet, making vehicle or foot travel difficult or impossible.
 |
| Jailhouse Rock (Wikipedia) |
Lower South Desert Overlook(14 Mile Mark)
National Park Service says that Jailhouse Rock, elevation 6123 feet, and the Lower South Desert are visible from the end of the road, but it is worth making the additional ¼-mile walk for its unobstructed vistas.
The shelf suddenly drops off, affording a terrific view of the sandy South Desert below. I'll assume we take this short hike - but once we get there reality might settle in.
Upper South Desert Overlook (27 Mile Mark)
The Upper South Desert Overlook views the same valley from the opposite side. All indications are that we will be able to walk to the overlook from the parking lot without a strenuous hike - that the short 1/10 mile trail to the rocky outcrop overlooking the South Desert is level and easy to cross.
 |
| Cathedral Mountain (Wikipedia) |
Upper Cathedral Valley Lookout (30 Mile Mark)
We drove the short trail to the overlook but passed on the hike to the Cathedral Trail along the base of the wall.
All indication is that we don't want to take the hike to get up close and personal with the cathedrals, rock castles and spires. We will leave that up to more able bodied enthusiasts.
Shortly after the Overlook, the top of the loop turns right as FR 022 and FR 206 continues to eventually meet up with Hwy 72. This is the road I was looking for yesterday. Now I'm glad we waited or we would have missed half the loop. The return journey passes the Cathedral Valley Campground then starts down a series switchbacks into the Upper Cathedral Valley.
Cathedral Valley Corral
An interesting structure appears at this point on the map but it doesn't look like tourists have access to it. I wasn't able to find very many pictures of it either. The Cathedral Valley Corral was constructed around 1900 by local cattlemen. The corral site uses sandstone cliffs as part of the enclosure.
 |
| Cathedral Corral (Wikipedia) |
Gypsum Sinkhole (33 Mile Mark)
We took the spur road to see the Gypsum Sinkhole. We took the short hike to the edge of the hole. With no railings, I just couldn't get close. The Gypsum Sinkhole was formed when groundwater dissolved a buried gypsum plug. The cavity left behind collapsed under the weight of overlying rock layers. This collapse has created a massive sinkhole 50 feet wide and 200 feet deep.
Volcanic Dikes
The dikes and sills seen in Cathedral Valley formed as recently as 3-6 million years ago. Dikes and sills are the result of molten lava flowing into vertical joints (dikes) or between horizontal layers of sedimentary rocks (sills), then solidifying.
 |
| Volcanic Dikes (NPS) |
More resistant to erosion than the surrounding layers, the lava rock outcrops provide a stark and rugged contrast, forming jagged ridges and pointed outcrops. (NPS)
 |
| Black Basalt Boulders (NPS) |
Black Basalt Boulders
Black basalt boulders strewn across the landscape are remnants of lava flows that capped Boulder and Thousand Lake Mountains about 20 million years ago.
Short glacial periods on these peaks broke up the underlying basalt. Glacial outwash and mudslides, along with the natural process of erosion, helped move the boulders far from their original location. (NPS)
 |
| Glass Mountain (Wikipedia) |
Glass Mountain (42 Mile Mark)
Glass Mountain is a large, exposed mound of selenite crystals. Selenite is a variety of gypsum in the form of glassy crystals.
Gypsum was deposited as sea water evaporated 165 million years ago and then buried under other sediments. The gypsum migrated upwards through fractures in the sediments forming layers and, very rarely, domes like the Glass Mountain called a "gypsum plug."
 |
| Temple of the Sun (Wikipedia) |
Temples of the Sun and Moon (42 Mile Mark)
Temple of the Sun at 5,822 feet elevation and Temple of the Moon at 5,665 feet elevation summit are located in the Park's Middle Desert of Cathedral Valley District.
The free-standing monoliths tower over 400 feet above the surrounding terrain.
The rest of the loop went relatively quickly as there were no more overlooks and pullouts just a fantastic drive through the valley back to Hwy 24. At least we don't have to ford a river on the way out!
The Gifford Homestead
Before heading back to Torrey, we drive the length of Scenic Drive in the Park and on our way out stopped at the Gifford House near the Park's visitor's center for pie and coffee. The Gifford farm lies in the heart of the Fruita valley.
 |
| Gifford Homestead (2008) |
It is operated by the Capitol Reef Natural History Association and offers many local and handmade items for sale. In addition to the farmhouse, the Gifford homestead includes a barn, smokehouse, garden, pasture, and rock walls.
Capital Reef - Dark Sky Park
Capital Reef National Park is a Dark Sky Park. In fact, several National Parks have this distinction. A Dark Sky Park is a land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment. International Dark Sky Parks - Wikipedia
The International Dark-Sky Association recognized Capitol Reef National Park as an International Dark Sky Park in 2015. Torrey hosts an annual Heritage Starfest in the fall.
Burr Trail vs Notom-Bullfrog Road
We debated tonight which route we wanted to take from Torrey to Bluff. There are a few options.
- The top route through Hanksville direct to Bluff.
- The lower route over the Burr Trail to the Bullfrog/Halls Ferry.
- The middle route down Notom-Bullfrog Road to Bullfrog/Halls Ferry.
We have never been on the Notom-Bullfrog Road. A look at the map shows that this "maintained dirt road" running along the eastern side of the Waterpocket Fold, meets up with the Burr Trail at about the half way point. It connects connects Capitol Reef National Park with the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The draw back would be that we would miss the scenery on Hwy 12 and the switchbacks on the Burr Trail. The Notom-Bullfrog Road might just be the mystery road that Karen heard about years ago. Notom-Bullfrog Road
As much as we would like to drive this new road, in the end we opted for a trip down Memory Lane - Hwy 12 and the Burr Trail to the Ferry. I guess we are still putting things on our bucket list for future years!
 Post Note - Day Eight:
I really think that if we had just forded the river then turned around, Karen would be happy to call it a done deal. In reality we might just do that. But once we had Cathedral Valley in our sights, I felt the need to reach the the finish line. I got really bogged down today. With no idea what to expect, I spent a lot of time reading the NPS pages, tourist articles, and personal blogs. Somewhere in between the most adventurous off-roader to the squeamish white knuckle granny, we needed to find our comfort zone.
Torrey hosts an annual Heritage Starfest in the fall to celebrate it's Dark Sky status. I thought about virtually changing the dates so we could attend the Festival tonight - but I think we are too tired after today's touring (and I'm not sure how the residents of Torrey would feel about the change.)
I know that Karen is going to argue the merits of taking the Notom-Bullfrog Road instead of the Burr Trail. I'm going to stand firm on this debate. I have some surprises up my sleeve for tomorrow.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment