Day 11: sheep with martinis
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Today: Escalante, Fruita, Hanksville, Moab (UT)
Today went by FAST! We were too lax with our time this morning and paid for that this evening. I would have liked one extra hour tonight for a drive through Arches NP. Hopefully there is time tomorrow to tour the park & hike to Delicate Arch. Stay tuned.
We started the day at our inn with a leisurely breakfast. Our innkeeper's name was Joette, which is an uncommon name, but also odd because Donnell's mom's name is so similar (Joetta). And she looked like an actress whose name we can't think of.
From here we traveled east on Route 12. It's a scenic byway and for the most part it was indeed scenic. We started in desert with high cliffs in white which turned into cliffs in red (all of which were dotted with green shrubs). Soon the sides of the road disappeared and we were on the portion of the road called the hog's back. Our favorite part of the drive was yet to come - the eastern portion of the Dixie National Forest.
We stopped at Capitol Reef NP. We drove to the end and then drove further on a dirt road. We were interested in the Gorge Trail. It was a nearly 2-mile hike down a dry wash (at least it was dry today) with cliffs on either side. Maybe 3/4 of the way down was the Pioneer Register in which Mormon pioneers in the 19th century carved their names on their way through the area. The wash was used by pioneers and as an early 20th century road. The end of the hike was at the "tanks." It was a very sunny, hot walk but worthwhile!
After CRNP, we stopped at Canyonlands NP on the way to our B&B in Moab. We didn't do any hiking in Canyonlands. We drove out to the end of the park and walked along a ridge trail that overlooks the canyon. We left as the sun was setting and were able to watch it as we drove out. We stopped at a couple overlooks to take pictures.
We're in Moab tonight. Our B&B is really nice - and the inkeepers have 2 dogs (maltese). Tomorrow is another 'fly by the seat of our pants' day so we'll see how it works out. Yesterday and today worked out well.
Highlights: Capitol Reef NP; Tanks; Pioneer Register; UT12 & Dixie NF; ravens; Canyonlands NP; Moab Brewery's beer sampler
posted by Shannon @ 12.9.06,
