Late Spring Utah - May 2023: Part 3

Part 3 of 4

Cathedral Valley, Hanksville Dinosaur Quarry, Poison Springs Canyon

May 18th (continued from part 2; go to Part 1)

Click a photo to view a larger size—highly recommended

Capitol Reef National Park

From Boulder Mountain UT-12 drops down into sunny Torrey where I filled my tank for the next leg of my journey. My thoughts were on a return to Cathedral Valley and the weather looked promising. I phoned the Capitol Reef National Park information line and got the latest road conditions—good to go. I drove east on UT-24 and into the park. I had thought maybe I'd drive into the park and drive Grand Wash Road, which I'd missed previously, and maybe take a short hike. But once I turned off the highway at the visitor center I changed my mind. It was a circus in the park with all the cars, trucks, RVs, buses, pedestrians, bikes, and what not. I did spot a couple pop-up campers, and we exchanged waves, but I turned around and got the heck out of Dodge as quick as I could.

I turned back east on the highway exercising caution around the various attractions with their tourist traffic. The road reports didn't mention an issue with the ford on the Fremont River, but I checked out the flow as I drove down the highway anyway.

Hartnet Road

I turned off the highway at Hartnet Road and drove the short distance to the ford. It looked fine, so I ventured across. [The park service cautions that the Cathedral Valley loop is strictly 4WD/high-clearance.] I decided to stop in the shade along the road beneath a cottonwood tree for lunch before venturing into the desert. I set out my little table and my Home Depot bucket with its padded seat.

My picnic spot in the Fremont River bosque.

Many of my readers know about WanderTheWest.com - an interesting and informative forum for campers, most of whom have pop-up truck campers. Many years ago one of the moderators offered bumper stickers and I had applied one to the back of the camper. It just has the tent logo and the letters WTW. Never got any comment about it. As I was having lunch a white pickup with a pop-up camper came through the ford and stopped next to me. The driver yelled out "Wander the West!" Wow, cool.

I walked over and had a short chat with the gentleman and his wife in their full-size pickup with ATC pop-up camper. He introduced himself and I recognized his name and face; I introduced myself to Vic. Thought at first I'd met him at a meet-up, but he assured me I had not. He thought I just recognized him from the forum where he uses his picture as his avatar. A very cool meeting. They drove on ahead and I finished my lunch.

After climbing out of the river valley the land quickly gets interesting.
Double-wide exposure pano—click for a larger version.

A rugged canyon off to the right side of the road.

As I drove north I couldn't help but see the clouds building and there was even a rain storm to the northeast. I crossed my fingers. The road was in pretty good shape though there were quite a number of places where it crossed an arroyo or even continued along the bottom for a short while. The bottom was a fine gravel, very moist from previous rain. I used 4WD as a precaution and kept my momentum up. It was definitely shifty under tire and sometimes there was a ledge on either side. I did drive through a couple of small rain showers. These isolated storms were moving across the area from NW to SE.

The rain clouds were getting closer as I entered the Bentonite Hills.

I skipped the Lower South Desert Overlook road, as I'd done it before and recalled it was a few miles long. I wanted to make sure I got to the official campground while there were still sites available. It has only 6 sites and is first-come. I did, however, turn off for the Upper South Desert Overlook as it was within sight of the "main" road.

As I pulled into the tiny parking area I found my newly met friends already parked. There is a tall hill as part of the overlook and I could see Vic and his wife at the very top. By the time I walked to the lower overlook they had made it down. We got to talking again about camping and travels when suddenly Vic had a eureka moment. He'd misheard me when we'd introduced ourselves. Now he realized he knew who I was. He is a regular reader of this blog and has used my adventures as take off points for his own travels. What makes this small-world moment even more amazing to my mind is that he drove down from his home in Canada. We enjoyed more conversation before they headed on out. They were going to do the whole loop before returning to Fruita where they were staying in a double campsite with relatives. It's great fun, and gratifying, to meet my audience while on the road—it's only happened a couple of times.

The expansive view from the lower overlook.
Double-wide exposure pano—click for a larger version.

Cathedral Valley Campground

When I pulled into the campground I was delighted that the site I'd hoped for was open. When I was last here one of my new friends from the previous days' S.U.W.A.  meet-up was camped in this site. It features a short path to the edge of the bluff with an overview of Cathedral Valley itself. Three of the other sites were occupied when I pulled in and by the evening all would be full. I set up camp.

It was a windy afternoon and evening, but my site was somewhat shielded from the worst. I made a point of making it to my "private" overlook for the golden hour to take pictures. There were quite a few clouds moving across the sky, so lighting was hit or miss. I probably spent about 90 minutes trying to get good light. I'm not always so patient. 

I think of this as the main cathedral complex of the valley.

This is a larger view of Cathedral Valley proper.

And finally, a dramatic view of the eastern end of the valley in the last of the sunlight.

Friday May 19

Cathedral Valley (continued)

The morning started mostly sunny, which was very nice to see. My plan for the day was to head out via Cathedral Valley proceeding easterly. If I timed things right I hoped to reach the highway and scoot up toward Hanksville in time to make the 1pm tour at the Hanksville-Burpee Dinosaur Quarry. BLM announced tours three times a day during the week and twice on Saturday for two weeks in May and one in June (skipping Memorial Day week.)

Cathedral Valley Road

I descended the switchbacks below the campground into the valley. I took pictures of the "cathedrals" from the various angles provided by the path of the road. I again enjoyed the wildflowers; a recurring theme this trip.

Photo of the main cathedrals taken as I started down the switchbacks.
You can see the road farther along in the lower right as it crosses the valley.

An "end view" of the two cathedrals seen in the photo previous to this one.
There was a short path to this view point.

Looking upstream from an arroyo. Notice all the lava rocks rounded by eons of tumbling.

The road crossed a number of arroyos. These were generally narrower with steeper banks than on Hartnet Road. High clearance definitely required as even I dragged my behind in one. There was also an evidence of recent water in many, probably from the storms I saw moving through the afternoon before. There were clouds developing above the snow capped mountains to the west, but most of the sky was clear.

Looking back at the main cathedral complex.

There were lots of lupine around, as well. This one was in a small wash; note the moist soil.

The Temples and Glass Mountain

I turned off onto the short side road to visit the Temples of the Sun and Moon even though I wasn't all that impressed with them my previous trip. That could have been because it was about a million degrees that afternoon. Much nicer this morning. There was a junction with a small sign I hadn't noticed last trip, "Glass Mountain", pointing to the right. Hmmm, I'll check that out first. I soon came to a small loop and to the side was a strange lump. I asked a man standing beside his pickup "Is that Glass Mountain?" "Yes," he replied, "it's much more interesting from the other side." And was he ever right.

Glass Mountain with a human for scale. Really more of a lump than a mountain.

Temples of the Sun and Moon arise behind the Glass Mountain.

I took a number of photos and chatted with another visitor and we speculated what the heck this was. It looked like sheets of soft crystal had been broken up into chunks, stirred up in all directions and orientations, then smushed tightly together to form this hump.

A closer view of the gypsum crystals.

The globemallows were growing every where.

About the time I was going to leave a large SUV came in with "Waterpocket Adventure Company" on the doors. The visitor I had been talking with asked the man who stepped out of the truck about the glass mountain. I overheard him saying that it was composed of gypsum crystals and geologists were not exactly certain on how it formed, but that gypsum as it crystalizes changes direction as it grows, so the haphazard took to the formation was its natural growth. The knowledgable guide was showing two clients the area. He was the owner/operator of a tour company that provides a number of different tours around the Capitol Reef area with a speciality in geology.

He also explained that the Temples, as with the other formations in Cathedral Valley, were built from thin, alternating layers of Entrada sandstone and much softer siltstone overlain by the marine Curtis formation*. This explains their appearance. He sounded like an interesting guide should you be looking for a hosted day adventure.

[* actually, I didn't remember him saying all this, but filled in the details from a USGS paper on the area I found online. ]

Temples of the Sun, foreground, and Temple of the Moon

I returned to the main loop road and continued. I came through some bentonite hills and saw an older gentleman metaphorically scratching his head. I pulled alongside to see if he needed help. He asked if he was on the right road to find the Temple of the Sun. I assured him he was and they were not far up the road. I laughed and said the first time I visited I had to stop and ask someone coming out if I was on the right road, too. The east entrance is a bit more ambiguous than the west due to there being some side roads.

A globe of Evening Primrose along the roadside.

I passed through one more section of rocky undulating terrain, then was approaching UT-24 near Caineville. My GPS said I was about 15 miles to the turn-off for the quarry. The lady at the BLM office said it was 8 miles from the highway and to allow about 25 minutes. I was cutting it close, but thought I'd make the 1pm tour just in time.

A note on camping in Cathedral Valley. The NPS is quick to point out camping is only allowed in the one campground and I don't suggest you ignore this prohibition. However, much of Hartnet Road leading in (or out, depending) is not within the park, but is BLM land where you are allowed to camp providing you adhere to their commonsense dispersed camping regulations. I did see a couple of double-tracks off Hartnet Road where you might find camping, though I didn't explore those, and they might be risky. Close to the campground is Polk Creek Road which comes in from the national forest. Not far past the gate on Polk Creek Road, which marks the park boundary, is a dispersed camping area according to my sources. However, on this trip the gate was reported locked by the park service as the road beyond was still under seasonal closure. There are a number of roads off Cathedral Valley Road on the north (east) side. Exercise good judgement on any of these side roads as it may be a long time before anyone else comes along to help dig you out. There is one obvious site on the main road, west of the Temples turn-off (you can even see it from a satellite map.) 

Hanksville Dinosaur Quarry

Heading east on UT-24 I nearly missed the junction even though I had it marked in my GPS. I was warned there was no road sign for Cow Dung Road, which is the turn-off. The quarry had put up their own sign, but I didn't see it until I'd already turned off. Their sign is green, about 3' wide by 5' tall (not that big if you are going the speed limit) and sits on a small knoll just east of the turn-off. It is hard to make out what it says, but there is a bright yellow arrow mid-way down that points north, toward the quarry and a small, unpainted board under the sign which read "OPEN."

The road travels through sandstone, salt flats, and bentonite hills - the very picture of a Utah desert. The going was slow as you have to watch out for inverted speed bumps, i.e., nearly invisible erosion troughs crossing the road. I passed the Mars Desert Research Station that I'd heard rumors of before. I'd take a photo on the way out. I was really beginning to think I'd drive forever when the road finally arrived at the dig. There was a rail fence with cars parked up to it and two chemical toilets. 

Inside the fenced area was a blue tarp pavilion with a number of folks sitting in camp chairs underneath. It was a couple of minutes past 1pm and I thought these were the other people out for the tour. When I stepped under the awning all heads turned toward me and I said "I hope I'm not too late." "Nope, right on time," someone said to the amusement of all. Seems I was the only one there for the tour and everyone else was part of the crew finishing their lunch in the shade.

Hudson, an intern of the Hanksville-Burpee Dinosaur Quarry, offered to show me around. We started with the area he was working and he explained the pneumatic tools everyone was using—a micro jackhammer device like a vibrating ice pick—to carefully separate the fossilized bones from the surrounding matrix. The sound of the gasoline powered air-compressors to run the tools was a constant. I'll spare you the names of the species and the types of bones as I remember very little to be honest. He explained how every bone was recorded as to position and orientation.

You can see the pneumatic pick in the hand of the man in the dark blue shirt.

Dinosaur bone fossils

Every angular black stone on this random piece of ground is a dinosaur bone.

However, I do remember that the entire area is filled with bones. That this was a Jurassic stream and many dinosaurs washed up here, especially young ones. Hudson pointed to the ground where dark, jagged stones were actually a piece of bone. Looking carefully you could see the pores. Pretty amazing.

A spacial record is kept of the in situ location of every single bone excavated.

A view to the northwest from the quarry. This whole area is full of bones according to Hudson.

Hudson also said that they were always happy to give folks who drove out a tour. You don't have to come at any specific time of day. I'd say look for that green sign near the highway and if the "OPEN" board is up, you can probably get a tour. They only work the quarry for about 6 weeks every year, May and early June. I was told when they leave for the season, they cover all their work in progress so fossil hunters wouldn't be able to find the excavations.

As I drove away I stopped a couple of times to take photos, including the Mars Desert Research Station where they apparently practice "living and exploring" on Mars.

Are we on Mars? Or maybe only in Utah.

On the way out a glimpse of the north end of the Henry Mountains.

When I got back to the highway I drove into Hanksville to top off my gas tank. Then I drove south on UT-95 following the coordinates I'd programmed into my GPS for the junction with Poison Springs Canyon Road.

Poison Springs Canyon Road

The day had stayed clear and it was quite warm. Although the highway intersection is not marked, there is a wooden BLM sign a short way down the dirt road cautioning the road is high-clearance 4WD and giving distances to various landmarks/destinations. As I left the highway a wide vista opened up. I don't know if this rising feature has a name. On an old USGS geological map it is simply labeled "Canyon Lands." Seems reasonable as it's in the general direction of Canyonlands National Park and The Labyrinth.

Road to Canyon Lands.

The road then dropped down into the canyon which had pink sandstone walls. The road followed the bottom and had been graded once upon a time. It was surprisingly rough and bumpy. None of the videos I'd watched mentioned this aspect. I could barely make 5mph. 

Going slow enough to spy this Spiny Desert Lizard.

An early section of canyon with a blooming Cliff Rose.

That's water to the left side of the road. The road itself can become inundated.

It was an interesting canyon, but not unique and not quite up to the praise of the YouTube review I watched, IMHO. Before the trip I had scoped out two possible campsites and entered their coordinates in my GPS. It took the longest time to limp only a couple of miles to the first spot where I found many vehicles already camped. About this time ATVs started to come out where they'd been exploring farther in. The next possible campsite, which hadn't looked as nice as this one, was over 5 miles farther. I felt no inclination to drive that far on this awful road (especially since I'd then have to drive it again on the way out.) I did go a bit farther just to see a little more, found some blooming cacti, then turned around to head out. Many more ATVs passed as I made my way out. Still, if you drive a vehicle that does well on rocky roads you may enjoy the canyon.

This is where I turned around.

Close-up of one of the blossoms in the previous photo.

Go to Part 4 for the Henry Mountains and Red Canyon.

Hidden Splendor and Cathedral Valley - September 2016: Part 2

Southern Utah - September 2016
Spectacular Switchbacks, a Secret (Camp) Site, and Hidden Splendor

Part 2 of 4:
Hidden Splendor, San Rafael Swell, and Cathedral Valley

Friday, September 16 (continued from Part 1)

Click on any photo to see larger versions - highly recommended!

I was looking forward to the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance "Roundup" at an evocatively named area called Hidden Splendor, the location of an old uranium mine. SUWA is made up of people from Utah and around the nation who share the common goal of preserving Utah’s remaining desert wild lands, the redrock wilderness. This non-profit works to defend the wilderness from rampant oil & gas development, unnecessary road construction and destructive off-road vehicle use, and other influences that are threatening the fragile ecosystem and prehistoric native artifacts. The roundup would include guided day hikes. A chance for me to see a wild part of Utah that would be new to me.

I was informed there are two ways to enter the San Rafael Swell to the Hidden Splendor mine area where the SUWA roundup was to be held: from the north off I-70, which was a bit longer, but smoother; from the east off UT-24, cutting through the reef. I decided I'd go in from the north and leave to the east, thus see both.

San Rafael Swell and Hidden Splendor

I took exit 131 from the freeway and drove south. The road across the prairie was in good condition and I was able to cruise atop the washboard quite comfortably. The last section leading off the swell down into the canyons was a little rough, but many folks did it in their passenger cars. Fortunately, SUWA placed small directional signs at the many crossroads to keep us on track.

"Main Street" for the SUWA roundup was an airstrip with the main tent erected beside the airstrip and the entrance road. We could camp along, but not on the airstrip, or along the road that crosses it. We were provided a map showing suggested camping areas with a request not to camp in any previously undisturbed areas. There were already lots of folks set up. I found a spot to the side of the strip near the east end not far from a few other attendees.

Camping area for the SUWA roundup. You can just make out the tent ramada of headquarters.

I set up camp including my new solar panel and tarp-based awning, said hello to my neighbors, and walked down to the SUWA tent for an informal social hour. The wind had come up in the interval and although the awning was still up, it was flapping and making noise by the time I returned to camp. I took it down rather than listen to the flapping. (That night while waiting for sleep I came up with an idea to try in the morning to address the flapping.)

My neighbors, Tracy from Park City, UT and Barry from all over, and I sat out talking and watched the moon rise.

Saturday

I had signed up for a hike down Muddy Creek this morning, but as it didn't start until 10am I had time to erect my awning using my new plan. The edge of the tarp along the roofline had been lifting and catching the wind the evening before. I already had one tensioning line running forward. My idea was to attach a second tensioning line and run it aft - this would keep the edge along the roof taut and prevent it, theoretically, from catching the wind. (A more complete description of my awning can be found on the Wander The West forums.)

Muddy Creek

We gathered at the main tent, then walked down the road to the dugway down to the creek. This was my first look into the canyon and it was much deeper than I'd realized. Half the group was going to hike up the creek. I was with the group going downstream.

Walking down to Muddy Creek

Muddy Creek - looking upstream.

The creek was very wide in this section, but not deep.

As we started out the canyon walls were far apart and didn't appear that high. We walked across the stream a couple of times. It was shallow enough it didn't top my boots as long as I found the right section or well placed rocks. We found a deserted mining camp and a couple blocked mine entrances.

Old mining buildings on the terrace above Muddy Creek.

Old mine entrance.

The canyon walls moved closer together to the serpentine path of the creek. Usually there was a terrace on one side or the other. We frequently crossed one of these from one side of a loop to another. Often following the creek was the only way.

Beautiful reflection in a still portion of the creek.

Fellow hikers pause to examine animal tracks in the mud.

About three miles in we stopped to eat our lunches. Some folks turned around there to head back to camp. I continued about another mile, even though I knew my feet would regret it. The temptation to see what's around the next bend in the canyon is strong. One the way back I had to doctor a blister on my foot despite having used moleskin before starting out.

Red and white cliffs delight!

A couple of us walked up to another of our party who was sketching something. He pointed out a pictograph high on the canyon wall oposite. I didn't have my telephoto lens, so didn't try to photograph it. We could only see it by using the artist's monocular. It was a humanoid figure in red ocher of the typical "broad shoulders with a body tapering down to a point" style.

I made it back to camp in the mid-afternoon. I had time to sit in the shade of my camper, admire the rugged scenery, and rehydrate before the scheduled gathering for the potluck supper.

A closer look at my new awning and solar panel. My chair and a cool drink was on the other side in the shade. The ground was both hard and crumbled around the tarp stakes - I had to use big rocks to help hold the guy lines.

SUWA Dinner and Meeting

I had asked one of the organizers, prior to the trip, if there was something I could bring to the potluck that didn't involve cooking, as that isn't my strong suit. He said cookies were always very popular. So I stopped at the bakery before leaving Albuquerque and bought two big boxes of cookies - they were indeed popular.

SUWA Executive Director, Scott Groene, speaks about the organizations challenges and progress.

We had a delicious dinner thanks to all the other participants. Several officiers of SUWA spoke afterwards on their mission to protect these wild lands in the face of increased pressure of oil & gas development, and the difficulty in dealing with the Utah legislature that seemed to only support development and motorized recreation rather than preservation of this fragile and unique resource.

Sunday

I had taken down the tarp awning and stowed the solar panel the evening before, so had only the usual steps to break camp. I wanted to be all buttoned up ready to travel before driving to the event tent for the furnished continental breakfast, that way I could take off from there. They provided lots of good, hot coffee; fresh fruit; yoghurt; various muffins; juices; etc. They also had a grill fired up and you could have them grill one of the varieties of fresh bagel in butter - that was a treat.

Folks stood around talking about the event, Utah, hiking, camping, etc. while enjoying the food. I initially thought I'd grab a bite and get on the road, but stuck around for a while enjoying the conversation with my new friends and associates.

Looking back toward Hidden Spelendor on the way out.

Temple Mountain

As I left the area I stopped a couple of times to take photos back toward where the roundup had been held. At breakfast one of the organizers told us of a nice pictograph panel to view on the way out. He said it had, unfortunately, been shot up in the past, but was still worth seeing. It was in the area where the road cut through the reef, just past a small campground. I almost missed it as there was road construction equipment parked at the spot where they were replacing a small bridge.

Temple Mountain Petroglyph panel

A closer look at the wonderful figures in the right side of the panel. Most of the damage appears to be due to the facade of the rock panel flaking away over time, but then a few moron humans had to make their marks.

One of the figures had indeed suffered gunshots, but the bigger loss to the panel seems to be due to the facade of the cliff simply flaking away over time. Still it is an amazing scene despite the vandalism.

East entrance through San Rafael Reef. Goblin Valley is to the left. The main highway is behind the photographer.

Once out of the reef, the road is paved. One way leads to Goblin Valley State Park, the other east to UT-24, where I turned south.

Hanksville

I turned right at the junction, still following 24, and gassed up in Hanksville. I stopped for lunch at the same place as my first trip through in 2013, Duke's Slickrock Grill. I asked if they still had wifi, and the receptionist provided their login info. Lunch was good, not great, but I could tell they are making an effort. The wifi was slow, but I was able to check my email.

Cathedral Valley

I was going to enter the Cathedral Valley Loop Drive via the north, Caineville, entrance just west of "town." Town in this case consists of one motel, a Rodeway Inn. I drove right past the turnoff as I was expecting some sort of sign from the BLM or park service, but there was only a county road sign that didn't even say Cathedral Valley Road or Caineville Wash Road. Once I turned around and entered the dirt road there was an brief informational sign to indicate I was on the right path.

There was a fork in the road fairly soon with the better, more heavily traveled side to the left - keep right here. Fortunately, my Garmin navigation app when in general map mode will display the name of the road or highway on which its traveling and as I proceded up the right fork, it displayed "N. Hartnett Rd. Cathedral Valley Rd." (looking at Google maps later, the other fork appears to lead to an airstrip!?) Lots of washboard on this section, or corrugations as our Aussie friends say. Stay left at the next fork lest you end up at Factory Butte.

The rugged landscape along Cathedral Valley Road

Interesting Bentonite hill. Click to enlarge and note the small rock sitting at the apex.

More dips and twists along the road.

The road twists and turns through some wild and interesting lands - sandstone, horizontally stripped Bentonite hills, and lots of rocks, sand, and washes.

Entering Cathedral Valley.

When I got into Cathedral Valley proper, and formally Capitol Reef National Park, I was somewhat surprised to see the cathedral monoliths are a unique light brown sandstone. They were formed by erosion. I stopped to view and photograph the Temples of the Moon and Sun.

Temple of the Moon in the foreground; Temple of the Sun behind to the left.

I stopped to view the Gypsum Sinkhole, which is difficult to photograph. It's kind of interesting, but if you're running low on time for some reason, you could skip it. Though I did photograph some cool volcanic dikes on my way back to the main road.

Volcanic dikes.

At the end of the valley the road climbs steeply and is extremely bumpy and rocky. There are views of the valley along there. Shortly after achieving the top, there is the turn off to the campground.

View of Cathedral Valley from along side the road.

Cathedral Valley Campground

I pulled into the official, first-come, no-fee campground. One is only allowed to camp in official campgrounds in the national park. It has six sites and five of them were occupied. I left my orange "occupied" bucket at the site as I wanted to check out the Upper Cathedral Valley Lookout before settling. My friend, Achim, said it was too rough to drive, but I had no problem. It was a nice view north over the valley.

[If you want view Cathedral Valley by a shorter route, I'm told you can enter from UT-72, north of Loa. I cannot vouch for the road, as I didn't go that way, but I can tell you it took me about 5 hours to drive in from Caineville, and 4 hours to drive out via the river ford.]

My campsite with solar panel deployed.

I returned to the campground and began sitting up. I heard a greeting from behind me and turned around to find one of my new friends from the SUWA roundup remarking about it being a small world. I'd met Kathy on the Muddy Creek hike and later ran into her at the rest stop on the way out of San Rafael Swell earlier in the day. She'd driven in from Hartnett Road across the ford, while I was winding my way in from the Caineville entrance.

Unfortunately, even though there is a view of Cathedral Valley from the campground, I was so wrapped up in setting up camp or having dinner or something that I lost track of time. By the time I realized I should have been taking photos of the monoliths in the valley, the sun had sunk too far down. If I had a photographers guild card, I'd have to give it up after this fiasco.

View toward Moab and the La Sal Mountains.

Later in the evening Kathy rescued me from the blunder of not having a corkscrew and was rewarded by sharing my wine as we told stories of journeys past and recounted favorite books & authors.

Sunset over Thousand Lakes Mountain. You should be able to just make out the groves of golden aspen on the mountain's flanks.

Monday

Cathedral Valley (continued)

After leaving the campground I turned right, then at the junction, left on Hartnett Road. I stopped at each and every overlook to take photos and admire the view. The road wound though some amazing and strange formations and geology.

Cathedral Valley from the upper valley overlook.

Turning around I was greeted with this sight of the moon setting over Thousand Lakes Mountain.

Just off Hartnett Road, not far from the campground, is the Upper South Desert Overlook

Much farther down the road, and after a short walk, you are treated to this view of the Lower South Desert

Yes, I was fascinated by the colorful Bentonite Hills.

Hartnett Road continues down from the hills and across a basin.

A reminder of the rough life in the desert.

I crossed the river ford (if that's the word for driving up river for about 100' before attaining the bank on the other side.) to once again acquire UT-24 and headed west toward the park entrance.

Capitol Reef National Park

Having never driven the official scenic drive though the park, I thought that would be in order. Of course it seemed like every tourist in the world was out on the road, too. I saw folks trying to capture the reef using action cams. One fellow had his attached to the driver's side window - imagine the video from that twisty road; another was actually holding his out the driver's window using a short stick - I defy him to watch more than one minute of the result.

Along the Scenic Drive.

The main scenic drive was scenic enough, though not much more than you'd see along many highways in redrock/canyon country. The dirt Capitol Gorge road at the end of the pavement was pretty amazing and was worth putting up with the tourists on the main drive. Not that there were any less on the dirt road, but everyone was staring up at the canyon walls in amazement, so it was less obtrusive. The canyon walls were so close together and so large, there was no way to achieve any sort of meaningful photo even with my widest lens.

I drove back to the main park entrance and headed toward Torrey, the closest town to the park and the only place to gas up before I headed back into the wilds. At the junction between UT-24 and UT-12 is a tourist information bureau in a converted gas station. I stopped in and gathered a bunch of maps, pamphlets, and brochures - that would pay off later.

After getting gas I drove back east on UT-24 past the park entrance.

Continued in Part 3: Waterpocket Fold, Halls Creek Overlook, and Burr Trail