Welcome to Capitol Reef National Park! It is 7am and we are headed down the Park’s Scenic Drive to Grand Wash Trail. The hike takes us through the Waterpocket Fold which actually defines Capitol Reef. We will walk at the base of 600-foot canyon walls and through 15-foot wide narrows. The temperature is already close to 80 degrees, but hoping the shade in the canyon will keep us cool for a while. This will be fun!
We’ll be taking a look at the views along Bryce Canyon National Park’s Rim Trail. Although the trail is about 5.5 miles long, we’ll only be exploring the 3 miles that goes around Bryce Amphitheater. There are four major overlooks and we’ll see each one starting with Bryce Point, the highest overlook at the south end of the Amphitheater. Welcome to Bryce!
The road to and through Bryce Canyon National Park is UT-63. However, to get to Mossy Cave’s trailhead and the Water Canyon waterfall, we drive past the junction about four miles on UT-12. On our right is a small parking area and our destination. It is 8am and only five other cars are parked. Getting an early start is a must to secure parking here. This lot will soon be full and will be all day long. Plus the temperature is still cool and the trail inviting. Let’s go my friend!
Heading about 40 minutes northwest from my cabin in Bluff, UT, is Butler Wash Interpretive Trail. The drive up was beautiful, but black clouds are popping up on all horizons. The sun is bright with no clouds overhead, so let’s park and find the trailhead. What a view of Comb Ridge’s east side! There’s the trail, let’s go.
