Capitol Reef National Park - The Valley of Cathedrals

Today we decided to take a ride outside the park called the Valley of Cathedrals.

We rented a Jeep Liberty for our 69 mile journey.  

Normally dry, Caineville Wash receives a small amount of perennial seepage water at Willow Seep.  Precious for livestock. 

You can see here the road is dirt bound and can become inaccessible during thunder storms.  

Marker for Temple of the Sun & Moon.  

Temple of the Sun a majestic free-standing butte that rises almost sheer from the valley floor to a height above 400 feet,  

A shirt distance from the Temple of the Sun is Glass Mountain, a curious mound of large selenite crystals. Selenite is Gypsum in the form of glassy crystals, its name means "moonstone." 

The road passes beside the clean-cut, vertical edge of a high bluff of Entrda sandstone called "Layercake Wall." The sheer face of the bluff displays numerous evenly bedded, varicolored layers of soft rock. 

The view of the Layercake Wall from inside our vehicle. 

 The intriguing layers of dark lava that can be seen from the roads in this vicinity are know as dikes and sills. 

We reach the marker for Gypsum Sinkhole. 

This sinkhole is a cylindrical pit about 50 feet in diameter, with sheer or overhanging walls.  At one time the pit was thought to be caused by a meteorite. Later studies led to the conclusion that it was created by the dissolving and draining away in the gypsum underlying Carmel formation.  Several years ago a party explored the sinkhole with ropes descending to 200 feet beneath the rim.

Cathedral Valley Junction routing point. 

Just Beautiful!

This shows our trail heading up out of the canyon.  

The Leslie Morrell Line Cabin and Corral are located in the Cathedral Valley section of northern Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. The cabin was built in the 1920s on Lake Creek by Paul Christensen at his sawmill as a summer residence for Christensen and his family. Christensen sold the cabin to Leslie H. Morrell around 1935, who took the cabin apart and rebuilt it at its present site for use as a winter camp for cowboys on the Morrell ranch. The use continued until 1970 when the area was sold to the National Park Service. It is one of the best-preserved relics of ranching activities in the park.

We have 29 more miles to travel. 

A view of the Upper Cathedral Valley.

Little did I know I was witnessing my first cattle round-up. 

Two cowboys and three dogs herd the cattle up the road.

You can see a better picture of the cowboys in this photo.  I was amazed how easily they herded the cattle.   

Every park has a balanced rock and we found ours. 

We decided we would take the short 1/4 mile hike to the Lower South Desert Overlook.

It's me.  Now where did I leave the jeep?

The overlook is on top of a line of high cliffs. 400 feet above the valley floor.

We decided to call this "Rings of Saturn" 

The Fremont River is rarely more than a foot deep but today we estimated that it was 

about 1-1/2 to 2 feet in deep.  Four wheel drive though not always necessary was a welcome relief to us.  We know we would have not made the drive in the mini-van.  The drive took us some six hours in total.  

Capitol Reef National Park - Cassidy Arch

The Cassidy Arch Trail starts at the Grand Wash. Cassidy Arch is a must hike for visitors. 

During our hike we found this hollowed out rock and thought what a great place for a picture.

The trail starts from the wash and travels 3.3 miles out and back.

Here the spur trail marker. This trail was named after Butch Cassidy, who reportedly had a hide out here, the trail is custom made for a bank robber trying to avoid the law. 

You start out with your boots in the sand and then quickly make a surprise breakout onto cliff switchbacks. 

This shows the trail beginning up the switchbacks.

Some of the trail is close to the edge as seen in this photo.

You gaze down the wash and road from a vantage point shared by big horn sheep and the elusive mountain lion. We saw neither of the two during our hike. 

Finally, near the arch, the trail disappears and becomes just a rolling route over barren slick rock. 

Then the arch instantly appears in full view.

From this photo, we are still .5 miles to the arch.

We finally arrive at the arch.

Here I am,  but wait.....

Click on this photo and that's stupid me out on top of the arch.  They did say it was safe to walk across the arch.  I think!

This shows the 2.4 mile dirt road that you have to drive to get to the parking lot where the hike begins. 

O.K. use your imagination.  This looks like the face of a gorilla with the nose, eyes and mouth angled to the side.  Maybe in need more water....

Capitol Reef National Park - Rim Overlook and Navajo Knobs

Using the same trail head as the Hickman Bridge Trail, we begin our hike.

After a short walk, you will come upon the trail marker.

In 0.3 miles, the trail marker shows the Hickman Bridge Trail to the left and the Rim Overlook to the right. 

The trail distance is 4.6 to the Rim Overlook which is the halfway stop on the longer Navajo Knobs Trail. 

The trail to the Rim Overlook ascends into a series of four successive dry drainages.

You can see in this photo, cairns mark the way along the trail.  

At the end of 2.0  miles, we arrive at the sign for the Rim Overlook.  

The cliff side setting of the overlook is not for the fainthearted.

You're perched atop a sheer cliff with a 1,000 foot drop.  As if you were on a hot-air balloon, you gaze down at Fruita with its orchards, the Gifford house and barn, the Sulphur Creek and Fremont River.

The trail takes on a new character shortly after the overlook; instead of continuous climbing, you now begin to slowly descend and wrap around the walls, only to begin another ascent on the far side of the many small off canyons that the trail crosses.

We find another amazing rock for a photo. Get ready to go up, and down a lot.  We took many breaks and drank plenty of water on our way up to Navajo Knobs.  The views along the trail were amazing. 

When you are almost to the Knobs, a rock formation called The Castle comes into view below you. The Castle is composed of eroding spires and turrets perched atop a crumbling red rock base; no telling how long this castle will be towering over the desert.

Here's a view of the Castle from the main road. 

The Knob hike consists of meandering switchbacks that provide blessed flat stretches, and long uphill climbs, mostly over sheer rock. (No, you aren’t in danger of falling off a cliff.)  We just keep motoring on! 

If you’re careful in choosing your path, you might not leave a single footprint for other hikers to find.

After our final canyon is conquered we finally get a glimpse of the Knobs in the next photo. 

At an elevation of 6,980 feet, the Navajo Knobs command an impressive view of the Waterpocket Fold and its surroundings. The Navajo Knobs are not a peak or summit by any stretch, but it’s hard not to feel like you’re on top of the world here (well, the top of the Reef, anyway). Take in the impressive 360 degree view of the park and surrounding areas

We took this photo to show the Navajo Knobs from the ground. They are centered atop the mountain.  We both agree that this was the best hike in the park.