Category: United States

2021 Fall Trip: Chapter 7: Bryce

Posted on by Annie

Bryce. Just that one word evokes an entire lifetime of hearing stories from my Dad about this place. He went a few times, back in the days when he and his buddies were going up to Bonneville to run hot rods they’d built (and just that once, the company car my Dad had on loan, but that’s a whole ‘nother story…). As I approached Bryce, my excitement grew. It took a big hit as I passed through the tourist traps that are line both sides of the road approaching the park boundary. But then, I saw the entrance sign and…

Read more

2021 Fall Trip: Chapter 6: Kodachrome

Posted on by Annie

And the hands-down winner of “best laundry” and “best showers” for this trip is Kodachrome State Park. Seriously, no contest at all. Yeah, yeah, this place has got some gorgeous scenery. And yes, it is right on the way from Capitol Reef to Bryce, so it does make a good pit stop. And oh, by the way, it does have some hookup sites, so you can recharge the RV batteries if you’ve been caught in days of bad weather or overcast skies. It was also a good place to recharge my personal batteries, with reading, napping, and staring up at…

Read more

2021 Fall Trip Interlude: Tafoni

Posted on by Annie

One of the things I loved most about Capitol Reef was the tafoni. The WHAT, you say? Tafoni. Yeah, I didn’t know that’s what it was called either. But now we both do 🙂 It looks like this when you stop the car, get out, and actually stand in front of some of it. Cavities, holes, pits, whatever you call them, I fell in love with the big walls of tafoni at Capitol Reef.

Read more

2021 Fall Trip: Chapter 5: Capitol Reef

Posted on by Annie

You would think that by this point in my trip, I would be expecting amazing things at every stop. And I was. But, honestly, Capitol Reef was perhaps the most unexpected place I’ve been in my life. Why, you might ask? Here’s the thing… I hadn’t done any research about this place. I had somehow skipped my friend’s blog post about their visit. I’d actually never even *heard* of Capitol Reef until I was planning this trip and figured I might as well be check this National Park off the list, since it was literally on the way. So I…

Read more

2021 Fall Trip Interlude: Highway 24

Posted on by Annie

I did not expect much on the 142-mile drive from Arches National Park to Capitol Reef National Park. On Google Maps, I-70 to Highway 24 just looked like a whole lot of desert. Having survived a childhood of being driven all over the Arizona desert visiting family, I wasn’t expecting much. Wow, was I ever wrong. And never more happy to be wrong! Coming down I-70 west out of Green River (which is a solid gas stop, by the way), I saw the first taste of things to come. Meet the San Rafael Reef, the eastern edge of the larger…

Read more