Road Trip 2016: Capitol Reef National Park

October 4, 2016

Pongo and I left Goblin Valley on Tuesday feeling refreshed.  However, the idea of anything other than a warm, calm night was still not something we wanted to deal with.  The plan was to spend the day and camp at Capitol Reef.  However, when we got there in the morning it was very cold.  I was not into it.  So, Capitol Reef became a drive through and the plan changed to stay overnight in St. George.

Coyote -- Somewhere on Highway 24, UT

Coyote -- Somewhere on Highway 24, UT

Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Well, we didn't stop in St. George.  We got there before 3:00.  There was too much daylight left and I didn't want to waste it sitting around in a Motel 6 room.  So, I decided to drive on and find a Motel 6 closer to Valley of Fire State Park.  We could have camped at or near the park but at this point I was pretty set on a calm night inside and a shower.  I was set on a Motel 6 because they are all pet friendly, which was obviously a huge consideration.

American Bison -- Somewhere on Highway 24, UT

We didn't run into a Motel 6 after driving through St. George until we got to Las Vegas.  Oops.  Tuesday turned out to be a much longer day of driving than I'd intended.  It turned out OK.  The air conditioning inside our motel room was so loud it worked as a wonderful white noise filter.  We couldn't hear anything going on outside or in the rooms next to us.  We slept so well I booked the room for another night the next morning.

Somewhere on Highway 24, UT

Somewhere on Highway 24, UT

Soundtrack:

• Alice in Chains -- Jar of Flies / Sap
• Kanye West -- The College Dropout
• Ryan Adams -- Heartbreaker
• Bob Dylan -- Biograph [2]
• The Cure -- Staring at the Sea

Road Trip 2016: Goblin Valley State Park

October 3, 2016

Goblin Valley State Park is a short drive from Canyonlands, a couple of hours or so.  We arrived just before 10:00, which is when they open up the available campsites for the day.  There would be four open slots and two people were ahead of me.  After the rough night we'd had at Canyonlands I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay at Goblin Valley or move on.  We could find a motel near Capitol Reef, for instance.  Nicely enough, they post the weather forecast right on the door of the Goblin Valley visitor center.  No rain was scheduled and the winds would be low.  I discussed it with Pongo and he seemed to approve as long as we slept in the car.  That seemed reasonable to me.

Yes, at this point in the trip I was having two-way conversations with my dog.

Highway 313, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

It was a good choice.  The weather was fantastic.  We had sun with a few clouds, a slight breeze to keep things from getting too warm and a refreshingly cool evening.  Goblin Valley was amazing.  Pongo had a great time walking around in the goblins.  There was always something for him to peek around or poke his head over.  This was definitely his favorite stop of the trip.

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Pongo -- Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park. UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

We went back to the campsite for a little nap before setting out on our afternoon adventure.  We hiked the Entrada Trail from the campgrounds until it crossed the Curtis Bench Trail.  That trail looked more interesting at the intersection, so we took it instead.  It ends abruptly after about a mile and a half on a ledge overlooking most of the park.  I shot a panorama from the trail's end.

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

I got a lot of nice shots on this hike, but I'm withholding most of them just to try to bring this post to an end at some point.  After the hike, we took another break before driving back to the valley parking lot for a look at the place in the early evening light.

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley National Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Can you tell I really liked this place?  It was great to be able to just wander around wherever we pleased.  The park is remote and there weren't a whole lot of people there.  I had some actual conversations with some people on the trails and at the campgrounds.  As far as wildlife goes, we saw lizards and birds, but that was about it.  Pongo made sure the lizards got away before I could capture their souls with my camera.

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Soundtrack:

• Jeff Wayne -- War of the Worlds [1]
• AC/DC -- Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Road Trip 2016: Arches National Park

October 2, 2016

Pongo and I spent the bulk of Sunday at Arches National Park.  This was the last of Utah's five national parks for me to visit.

Cowboy Camp, Highway 313, UT

As you'll see in the photos, we were walking and driving under volatile weather conditions on Sunday.  A thunderstorm had blown right by us the night before.  We wouldn't be so lucky on this evening.  More on that later, though, let's start at the beginning.

Highway 313, UT

We had coffee and breakfast before hitting the road for the short drive from our campsite to Arches.  I made pancakes.  Pongo hadn't been eating his dog food in the mornings, so I gave him a pancake, too.  He seemed a bit confused by the syrup at first, but he got into it after a bit of sniffing around.  He ate all of the pancakes and left the kibble in his bowl.  Well, at least he ate something on this particular morning.  I worried about him when he wouldn't eat his breakfast, which he regularly didn't eat on this trip, but he always chowed down for dinner so I fretted less about it as the trip wore on.

Highway 313, UT

Arches National Park, UT

If there's one national park that I've visited that seems like it could have been designed by Walt Disney that would have to be Arches National Park.  The rock formations here are plain wacky.  At times it was hard to believe this place wasn't man made.  The park was also quite crowded, especially considering it was October.  I suppose if I didn't have a dog and could have walked on some of these trails I might not have had that feeling.  However, as it was we did a lot of drive, stop, shoot and repeat.  I can't complain about the quality of the photographs, though.  This may be the best set of photos from the trip.

Park Avenue, Arches National Park, UT

Arches National Park, UT

Arches National Park, UT

North Window, Arches National Park, UT

Arches National Park, UT

Arches National Park, UT

Skyline Arch, Arches National Park, UT

We drove out to the campground where I was able to take Pongo for a nice, long walk around the campgrounds.  I have to say, this is one of the coolest campgrounds I've come across.

Mule Deer -- Arches National Park, UT

We bumped into a group of mule deer behind one of the campsites.  There were two does and three fauns.  I didn't have my long lens so I had to settle for some wide-angle shots of the deer.  That was a little bit of a bummer, but then again I have a lot of deer photos in my collection.  It's not like they were moose or something.

Arches National Park, UT

Arches National Park, UT

As you can see, I didn't get a lot of shots of actual arches at Arches National Park.  Most of them required short hikes to get to on trails where dogs are not allowed.  There were a couple we could have gotten close to in the car that I just didn't bother with because by the time we had an opportunity in the afternoon I was simply tired of being around so many people and cars and the good lighting had all but disappeared.  I just wanted out of there.

Highway 313, UT

The Wash

We left the park and went back to some cool rock formations on BLM land off of Highway 313.  Pongo and I did a bit of scrambling and walked up a cool little wash until we were blocked by some large boulders that blocked the little canyon (I don't know what else to call it) that we were in.  There were plenty of holes for Pongo to poke his head into and lizards to chase.  Except for the hike through the campground he'd had to spend most of the time in Arches inside the car.  I was happy to get him out.

Highway 313, UT

Highway 313, UT

We drove out to Canyonlands for a few final shots before calling it a day.  The evening turned out to be quite an adventure.  It was very windy when we went to sleep.  I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of strong wind and then realized I was hearing thunder.  I packed all of our bedding into the car and put Pongo in there and then tore down the tent.  It began to rain and the lightning moved closer.  By the time I had everything packed away and was tucked into bed inside the Element (which is normally very comfortable to sleep in if a little cramped with Pongo) the lightning was landing very close to us.  Pongo didn't like that at all.  It ended up being a long night.

Canyonlands National Park, UT

Canyonlands National Park, UT

Soundtrack:

• The Band -- Music from the Big Pink