Capitol Reef National Park- Fall, 2014

Before this trip, I had never spent as much time in Capitol Reef as any of the other National Parks in Utah.   Vickie and I made a trip there nearly twenty years ago, in the late spring,  and she got too many insect bites, so we had to leave early and take her to a doctor.  Also, I was well aware that one of the better sections of the park, Cathedral Valley, requires a high clearance four wheel drive vehicle to access.  So, now that I have my trusty Nissan Frontier 4x4, I thought this would be a good time to re-visit Capitol Reef.  

I had seen photos by others in which the cottonwood trees in the park had turned a bright gold color, making a nice contrast against the red rocks.  Unfortunately, most of the trees were only beginning to turn during my visit there, as the photo above shows.  Still, I am glad that I went.

Temple of the Moon

The drive to Cathedral Valley, in the northern section of the park, is about twenty miles of unpaved dirt and rocky road via the shortest route, but much longer if one chooses to drive the entire loop. Rather than making the entire loop, I chose to enter via the east Cathedral Road, then exit via the same route.  The visitor center has handouts with instructions on how to locate either entrance to the Cathedral Valley loop.  Some sections of the road were so heavily washboarded during my trip that it reminded me of what it must be like to drive down railroad tracks (on the ties).  Still, I was able to make it there and back with no ill effects other than a little dust on the bedding inside my camper shell.

The Temple of the Moon is actually the smaller of two giant monoliths in Cathedral Valley, although it is hundreds of feet tall.

Temple of the Sun

The nearby Temple of the Sun is much the larger of the two monoliths in Cathedral Valley.  I was lucky to have some blue skies with scattered clouds during my visit there.  All of my photos in Cathedral Valley were taken in mid- to late- morning light.

On my way back out of Cathedral Valley, there were a number of these large boulders, which I decided might be useful for anchoring the foreground in my compositions.

I found the above scene near the end of my journey back out of Cathedral Valley.  By this time, I was getting hungry, tired, and ready to reach smoother road again.

Back to the main section of the park, with paved roads, I found these views from the numerous viewpoints and pull-offs.

My next stop on my trip was Moab, so check back to this blog for more soon.