First Time Tent Camping Since 1980!

I remember it like it was just yesterday.  I was 6 months pregnant. We pitched a tent close to my Aunt Ruby and Uncle Earl at Lake Somerville.  We had a great time fishing, but I was just coming off of 5 months of morning sickness carrying Liz.  I coveted the a/c in Aunt Ruby's trailer.  But I survived. Vowing to never tent camp again.

So why are we tent camping when we have a really awesome home in a really nice fifth wheel?  Well, there are tons of places to explore around our "new home" and most of these places won't allow, nor do we want to even try, pulling our fifth wheel.  So the easy solution is to pitch a tent somewhere cooler, meaning higher elevation, maybe on Boulder Mountain or in the Henry Mountains.  For our first time, getting back in the groove, we chose Boulder Mountain.  Now the problem is there are so many places to choose from...... By the way, Boulder Mountain is the only mountain in the lower 48 completed covered with timber.

Tucked the tent away in the pines the first night.

We decided to head to Lower Bowns Reservoir.  Highly recommended from our new ranger friends for fishing.  We found a spot in a dispersed campsite (means no charge) and set the tent up in (believe it or not) a rain shower.  Go figure.  But we have an awesome tent so no worries.  We walk to the lake, talk to folks fishing for the good scoop on how to fish here and then head back to camp to wait for it to cool off.  In the meantime here come the Boy Scouts......need I say more?  We didn't catch any fish but everyone around us sure did.  We learned.  And totally had a blast watch the scout masters flip their canoe over!

Lower Bowns Reservoir

Sunset over Boulder Mtn.

Lots of geese here

Good fishing spot!

So during the night we figured out the air mattress has a leak. Not so good. And it was hot when we got up, even though we are 8000' feet. So decided to pack it up and head for the other side of the mountain.  OMG!!!

The CCC, created by FDR, built a road now known as Hells Backbone to connect the towns of Boulder and Escalante here in Utah. Now these guys had some balls, pardon my expression.  One of the prettiest drives we have ever been on. Now they built this bridge, named Hell's Backbone Bridge. The CCC felled two tall, straight pines. After leveling them off topside they placed them across this backbone of rock and secured them in place. When the bulldozer and compressor were needed on the south side of the chasm, a local man, Lorrel "Sixty" McInelly, agreed to drive the bulldozer, pulling the coompressor across the backbone on the two pine logs. With a safety rope tied around his mid-section, Sixty slowly inched the dozer out onto the logs and across the backbone while onlookers held their breath and silently prayed. The pictures don't really show the depth (and beauty) here.

Looking off the bridge that was built in 1933.

Another view from the bridge

The bridge was rebuilt in the 60s when it got too rickety.

Looking down.....

Score!  We found what we call a perfect spot to pitch a tent. A forestry service campground called Blue Spruce. Our site backs up to Pine Creek. Beautiful noise, and a fresh pine tree smell. Cozy campfire and a great happy hour! Of course, elevation is high so we might be breathing a little harder! We are living the dream for sure! (Not to mention taking showers out in the wide open campground....).

Perfect campsite!

Right by the creek

Water soooo cold! Best I could get for a toe shot!

Just chillin!

Old Friends and New Trails and Routes in Capitol Reef!

The Gifford House is right beside the campground. And you know what gets delivered at 8:00 a.m. every morning?  Fresh baked cinnamon rolls and pies!

Get there early before they sell out!

Homemade pies!

What a way to start off this great break of 4 days off!  Wake up and go hike!  The Cohab Canyon trailhead is right by the campground so away we go!  It is a little bit over a 3 mile hike with switchbacks of about a 440' elevation change.  At the top of the switchbacks, the hike takes you into hidden canyons with views of Fruita from the top and wonderful panoramas.  This trail will take you all the way over to Hwy. 24, but we didn't do that option.

You can see our trailer from up above!

There's a view of historic Fruita.

This is for my cousin Nell's hubby who likes to stack rocks.  This stack is a little overdone, but there were lots around!

The switchbacks end abruptly at the edge of a flat, grassy bench below the looming Wingate cliff.  Down deep in the gorge westward are the oldest rocks exposed in Capitol Reef, the White Rim Sandstone and Kaibab Limestone. The entrance into Cohab Canyon is pretty breathtaking. There are a couple of slot canyons to explore.

Walking in Cohab Canyon

Nice trail once you got past all the switchbacks.

Ron in one of the slot canyons.

Amazing how these trees can grow.

We took the steep switchbacks to the viewpoints that allowed us to see Sulphur Creek to the Visitor Center and also the Scenic Drive and highway 24.  Amazing!

One of my favorite shots.

Looking a long ways down!

Hwy. 24 as seen from up above.

Fremont River and Hwy. 24

I have mentioned before and I am sure I will again, but the best thing about volunteering is the like minded folks you end up meeting.  We met Jim and Randa back at LBJ National Historical Park.  They finished up their volunteer gig at Lake Tahoe and on their way to Minnesota, they swung by to visit us.  What a treat!  They are such great folks and so knowledgeable about the rocks and plants out here.  We always learn something from them!  We drove back down with them on the Scenic Loop, got out and did a little walking.  Two things we had missed on our previous hike:  petroglyphs and a better wall for the Pioneer Wall viewing.

Jim and Randa and Quam. Very special folks!

Found this fixer upper by the mines.

Missed these petroglyphs earlier

Still wondering how those pioneers got this high up to carve their names.

We took a drive up to Fish Lake National Forest to check it out.  We are interested in fishing and also camping up here on our days off.  It was a beautiful drive out.  The Fremont River headwaters are here and in the national forest on the BLM land, you can pretty much find a spot to pitch a tent.  Fish Lake is the largest natural mountain lake in Utah.

Picking apricots for our friends.

And then some apples.

Johnson Reservoir, right by Fish Lake.

Old Santa Fe Trail

Fish Lake

Learning about the Santa Fe Trail

The headwaters of the Fremont River come out of Johnson Reservoir.

As we said good-bye to the Weber's, I had a really great treat from a classmate from Sweeny High!  Darla Finley Nightingale was visiting the park with family and took the time from their schedule to stop in and say hi.  So great to see her, did a little catch up.  Funny how all these years later, we are still the same people. :).

Darla and Mary, SHS Class of '76!!

Our adventure of this day was going to be driving the Nottom-Bullfrog Road loop that takes you out of Capitol Reef, back into the park, then out and over the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  Wow was this a beautiful drive!  (Definitely don't do if it is raining though.). The road can actually take you down to Lake Powell.  This was a 128 mile loop.  Our first view is of The Muffins on top of the fold.  Then we drive down and cross Pleasant Creek, one of 4 streams that flow through Capitol Reef.

The Muffins

Pleasant Creek

Then we see a surprise of irrigated fields on the privately owned Nottom Ranch.  Look at the white picket fence enclosure.  This is a gravesite for a son of one of the pioneers. He fell from his horse herding sheep and died from internal injuries.  You will get awesome views of the Henry Mountains.

These irrigated fields take you by surprise.

Picket fence grave site

We passed some hoodoos as we travel on through Cottonwood Wash.  Then there's a place called Sandy Ranch Junction and the last perennial stream that crosses into the park is Oak Creek.  Irrigated alfalfa fields.  We cross back into the park.

We drive along Oyster Shell Reef where you can see large fossilized oysters.  We come to a junction and head right for Boulder and Escalante.  As we head toward the ridge there are 6 switchbacks and we climb really high.  It is pretty cool to look down and see where we came from!!  The road continues through the Wingate Sandstone offering some pretty scenery.  And finally when we cross into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, the road becomes paved.  This part of the drive takes us down beautiful, red Long Canyon to the Gulch and then climbs the Navajo.  We were dodging rain showers which changed up some of the colors I am sure, but was still so pretty.

Taking a stretch

Cool road, awesome views

It was crazy how these rocks were just strewn around.

Looking down the steep climb we just took.

We come into Boulder and make a pit stop at the State Park and guess who we run into again!  Darla and her family!  So we are back on Highway 12, which was the drive we made with the RV on our way down and was pretty scary driving.  Much better to look at a the scenery now.  We made a couple of stops, primarily at Lower Bowns reservoir to check out camp sites.

Another great road trip!  And so many more left to travel!