We arrived at Capitol Reef early in the morning on Memorial Day.
We had to travel over a dirt road through Capitol Gorge to get to the trail head. Dire warnings about flash floods seemed silly on such a crystal clear day.
After an exciting and bumpy car ride through the gorge, we arrived at the trail. We had a choice of the stream bed or the trail. We chose the streambed because it was much flatter and less rocky.
We were headed to a place called “The Tanks”. We were also supposed to see petroglyphs along the way. We did not find any petroglyphs as we hiked out to The Tanks. We did find lots of people etch initials on the rocks illegally.
When we were shown these names from 1911 we decided to take a picture. All the initials we saw were about three feet off the ground with very sloppy writing. These full names were about 60 feet up a vertical cliff. They were full names, and predated the establishment of the park.
They were not petroglyphs, but did document travel in the park area from over a century ago.
The gorge continued its narrow and winding path through the tall rocks. Walking directly toward the sun created a special clarity to the sky.
Each turn lead to another until we finally reached the path to the tanks.
We found a very interesting bush with some pinkish flowers. There was some shade nearby, so Marlene waited while Steve climbed up to the tanks.
This is actually a very large cube shaped stone. There were several on the climb that had this unusual erosion pattern. It looked more carved than eroded. For any STNG fans out there, this one looked like an early model of a Borg ship.
After a few minutes, Steve was near the top of the hill where the tanks were.
The tanks are not wooden or metal structures, they are large indentations worn in the rock. During rainy times, the tanks will hold water for a time after the rain. As a bonus, we also found a tiny arch carved near one of the tanks.
This was the largest tank. It is about eight feet across and between four and six feet deep. You cannot see the water in the tank because it is hiding in the shadows.
We took a selfie to give you a context for the width of the gorge. This was taken at a location where the sides were not at their highest.
On the way back to the trailhead, we found out why we should have followed the trail. It lead directly to the petroglyphs. The drawings were well worn, probably from some times when the gorge does actually flood. Here is an example of what we saw.
While driving from Capitol Gorge to The Grand Wash Trail, we saw many intricate rock formations. There was a broad range of colors, shapes, sizes and styles. This one stood out because of its distinct layering and color combinations.
At the beginning of the Grand Wash Trail we met a furry four legged friend. He seemed to be in a hurry so we let him go on his way.
Walking along a dry creek bed is an easy hike. But if you are paying attention, it is clear that there are times when the creek bed is not dry. This worn spot in the rocks is a reminder that the dire threats on the signs at the beginning of the trail are prehaps rare, but not idle warnings.
Notice the tiny people in the lower left corner of the photo. Then look at the height of the side walls of the gorge. This is a very large gorge.
Sometimes it looked like there was a dead end ahead. But every time it was just a sharp turn in the gorge.
Here is an even higher wear line on the rocks in the gorge.
When you look at these massive walls, they seem indestructible.
Then you see erosion like this in a bottom layer of the walls and begin to wonder how they stay upright.
We ate our lunch at a shady spot in the gorge just past the Narrows. It was a pleasant lunch in a quite place that is very large.
After lunch, we headed back to the beginning of the trail. This photo shows you part of the Narrows section of the gorge.
This is another section of the Narrows. Notice the extreme color change in the layers from the light colors in the previous photo to the dark colors in this one.
There are stories or legends or maybe just fables that Butch Cassidy lived (or hid out) in this area. The stories are so strongly believed that the arch in this picture is named Cassidy Arch.
It was a wonderful first day at Capitol Reef.