Day 5: Capitol Reef National Park to Moab

Scenic Drive in Capitol Reef National Park
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We got up early on Day 5 to pack up our gear and get moving. We had decided to spend half a day in Capitol Reef and then head to Moab. I found the river I heard the night before. We were camping about 20 ft away from it, it was whitewater that I was hearing.

We went to the Visitor's Center and I picked up maps of the park and got my passport stamped. Donna had bought a Camelbak when we left Bryce so we both filled up our packs before heading out.

In fact mule deer don't run, they sort of hop like a kangaroo, its very funny to see

Petrogylphs in Capitol Reef National Park
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First we decided to do the Scenic Drive portion of the park. The Scenic Drive is about 25 miles round trip and takes atleast an hour and a half. The drive was ok but truth be told I would have rather done another hike. Its not that the scenery was bad but there weren't alot of places that you could pull off the road to take pictures. We did see a mule deer run across the road. In fact mule deer don't run, they sort of hop like a kangaroo, its very funny to see.

My impression of Capitol Reef is that it was not as high in elevation as Bryce Canyon National Park. It lacked the beauty of the hoodoos that Bryce has but it has its own charm in the sound of the Fremont River and the sand dunes at the base of the park.

Arch on the Hickman Bridge Trail in Capitol Reef National Park
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We went through the entire drive, took a few pictures and then decided to stop at the Fremont Petroglyphs to check that out. The Petroglyphs can be easy to miss if you aren't looking at the signs. There is a large boardwalk there to help you find you way. We walked up and read the information plaque about the meaning of the petroglyphs and the ancient people who created them. You need to look hard to see the petroglyphs on the wall, there are also other petroglyphs carved into the rock all along the boardwalk in the area. We took a few pictures and decided to do a hike. We went back to the cars and checked the maps and decided to do the Hickman Bridge Trail.

Donna in a cave on the Hickman Bridge Trail
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The Hickman Bridge Trail is a 2 mile roundtrip , moderate hike over somewhat uneven ground, that gains 400 feet of elevation that ends in a loop near the Hickman Arch. We started out in the parking lot and went up several steps near the Fremont River, from here the trail leads into the desert and volcanic boulders can be seen. There are some odd dark spots in the soil called cyanobacteria which is a living organism. You can see the remnants of old granaries in the cliffs used by ancient people to store crops. There a juniper and pinon pine in the area.

Me on the Hickman Bridge Trail
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We came across large potholes in the ground that we were able to climb down into. We took several pictures in the big holes and even saw some "blair witch" type graphitti on the walls.

We continued on our hike and came across the Hickman Arch. Its 133 ft wide and 125 ft high. Its named after a local who worked to preserve Capitol Reef as a National Park. We took alot of pictures here and hung out awhile before hiking back down to the car. After our hike we set out on a 2.5 hour drive to Moab, Utah. Moab is city situated between Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. We decided to make Moab our base for two days to explore both parks.

Along the way I was texting with Eric and he mentioned a legendary bike shop called the Poison Spider that was in Moab. I made a mental note to look for it. Our drive took us across the Green River and the Colorado River!

We stopped in Green River to get gas in our cars and buy drinks, we were about half an hour outside Moab. We had decided to look for a campground in Moab. Our guide books listed a few options, we tried two campgrounds and both were closed for the season. We pulled into a Best Western along the main street in town and decided to check on the price there. The price wasn't bad so we got one room with two king sized beds for two nights.

We unpacked our clothes and guide books and decided to go out to eat. Moab is cool little town with lots of restaurants, hotels, shops and adventure outfitters for all types of activities. We had no trouble finding a restaurant. We simply walked down the street until we found something we liked. Donna and Lindsay both wanted Chinese so I reluctantly went along. We actually got some semi decent food and it was fairly inexpensive.

Next we went to the Moab Diner to get some ice cream. We took our ice cream back to the hotel and watched tv. We planned on going to Arches National Park the next day.

Things learned on Day 5 out west:

1. Capitol Reef National Park website http://www.nps.gov/care

2. Moab, Utah travel guide website http://www.moab-utah.com/

3. You can't count on commercial campgrounds to be open near the end of the season.

4. Moab is a tourist city but makes a great base camp to do both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.