Big driving day today - 75 miles!
Next stop on the canyon trail is Capitol Reef. We really want to stay at the National Park campsite, and the only spots now available are on a first come first served basis, so we leave Escalante at 6am!
Breakfast is prepared en route at a scenic view point.
We arrive nice and early and take over a spot from a lovely couple from Quebec City. They have the same camper van as us and tell us about a drive they have done down a very narrow canyon road, that leads to an interesting hike. We figure if they have done it we can too! It is indeed a challenging road that involves pulling the wing mirrors in at times. At the start of the road we saw one 4 wheel drive car bottle it and turn around, but we plough on regardless. I attached my video camera to the wing mirror of the van to film the journey and at some point when connectivity allows I will add the video to the blog.
The hike at the end of the trail was only a few miles, and mainly along an old river bed through the canyon
Towards the end of the hike was a fairly strenuous climb to see some rock pools
Day 2 we decide to do a hike along the top of the canyon, rather than along the canyon floor, so we drive to the trailhead for the Chimney Rock trail. At the parking area I hop out of the van to guide Stuart in, but he has decided that this is a nice easy place to park and sets off without waiting for instructions.
I don't have time to warn him about the ditch, and can only look on in horror as the van lurches heavily to one side, then crashes back down, only to lurch over again, almost but not quite to the point of tipping over completely. It teeters for a second, and then crashes back down again. I race over to the driving window to check if everything is OK, to find a slightly surprised looking, but all in one piece Stuart.
We continue to our hike and from the viewpoint at the top of the hill, we look back and check that the camper is still safely parked in the car park and hasn't chosen to run off after blatent misuse!
Flora and fauna at Capitol Reef
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