Our first camping trip in fifteen years. I had just read The Capitol Reef Reader by Stephen Trimble, so we chose a remote campsite in Capitol Reef National Park. When we passed the “Next Services 109 Miles” sign on I-70, I started to worry a bit. From the last pavement of Route 72 to our campground was 13 miles on narrow, bumpy 4WD roads, but at least there were signs telling us we weren’t lost. From the campsite down to Cathedral Valley was the most challenging road I’ve ever driven. Extremely rough, narrow, with tight switchbacks, plunging down 500 vertical feet of slope that couldn’t quite be called a cliff. If the road wasn’t rocky, it was covered with an inch or two of superfine dust. The destination was well worth the drive. The valley is a collection of impossible rock castles and spires – and very few people. The night skies were filled with countless stars and galaxies, and a moon so bright, we needed no lights for our hikes.
After a couple nights under the stars, a forecast of 15 degrees and snow sent us to the Rim Rock Inn in Torrey for a night. More spectacular geology in the center of the park, before we headed south over Boulder Mountain and through the endless white Navajo sandstone of the Escalante Canyons. As we got closer to the home stretch drive on I-15, the blizzard hit and we passed a pickup and its 30-foot trailer in the ditch, but still upright. We made it home by sunset.
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