Thursday, July 22, 2010
When I woke up this morning I had to make a decision whether to come straight home or go on one last crazy exploration by visting three National Parks in one day. As you can see, by the photos below, I chose to take to take the "one last crazy" route...and...I'm glad I did. Although, I must admit I had my doubts, especially when I arrived at Capitol National Park.
I've been to many, many, many, National Parks but today I visited the worst National Park I have yet to visit. I have never said this about any National Park before but I don't believe Capitol Reef National Park deserves it's National Park status...for, alot of reasons which I won't go into. Let's just say that this is a very poorly run National Park and it didn't have what I call the "wow factor". What I mean by the wow factor is the feeling one gets when one is in a National Park. It's the feeling that you are somewhere really special. I never felt this in Capitol National Park, not even in the slightest.
My next stop was Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce Canyon is a spectacular National Park which you can easily access by trail which I highly recommend. Today I went on a 45 minute loop trip along the Navajo Loop Trail at Sunset Vista. I recommend hiking to the bottom of the Canyon because you will get an incredible perspective that cannot be experienced by simply staying at the top of the rim. I hiked to the bottom and got some great shots of the towering red clay spirals which are featured below. Although I didn't have alot of time to spend at Bryce the time I spent there was well worth and in hindsight I now wish I had skipped Capitol Reef and spend more time at Bryce and Zion.
Zion was the last stop on my three parks in one day tour. Zion is an incredible place...and...unfortunately the pictures don't do justice to just how spectacular this National Park is. The drive into the park started off with a bang. I wasn't in the park for no more than five minutes when I had to stop and wait for the road crew to finish what they were doing. Normally, this can be a bit of an agitation particularly if it is really hot which it was on this day. But, on this occasion the wait was well worth it. Once I realized I wasn't going anywhere for awhile I decided to get out of my car and when I glanced over the side of the road there was a Bighorn sheep, not one, not two, but at least a dozen!
The drive through Zion National Park is spectacular. On every side are steep cliffs that rise sometimes thousands of feet from the canyon floor. Zion kind of reminds me of Yosemite in this way. The steep canyon walls create a sense of awe as you look up towards the spirals that seem to be everywhere for mile after mile. After driving through much of the park I arrived at the visitor center where I boarded a shuttle bus which makes eight stops along some of the most popular locations in the park. You now have to ride the shuttle bus to go to certain spots. Apparently the park has become so crowded over the years it is the only way they can protect the vegetation and eliminate serious parking and congestion problems. The only drawback it is difficult to get pictures of some of the most beautiful views in the park. In my case, I had to stick my camera out the window of the bus and shoot as many shots as I could. I rode around on the bus for about an hour and a half. I wish I could have stay much longer and done some hiking in the park but I was getting really tired after already visiting two other parks. I do plan to go back again, maybe next spring and go hiking in the park. There are alot of great hiking trails and I would love to spend two or three days in the park.
Well, this brings an end to one of the biggest road trips in my life. Over the past month I have now visited eleven different National Parks and have hiked and biked well over 100 miles. Tomorrow I will head home and hopefully get some rest over the next week to ten days before I head out again for a short trip to probably the Eastern Sierras before school starts. Originally, I was supposed to spend my summer vacation in the Sierras but there was too much snow at the higher elevations. But, now that the trails are open I do hope to get out and explore some of the great trails in the my home state.
I've been to many, many, many, National Parks but today I visited the worst National Park I have yet to visit. I have never said this about any National Park before but I don't believe Capitol Reef National Park deserves it's National Park status...for, alot of reasons which I won't go into. Let's just say that this is a very poorly run National Park and it didn't have what I call the "wow factor". What I mean by the wow factor is the feeling one gets when one is in a National Park. It's the feeling that you are somewhere really special. I never felt this in Capitol National Park, not even in the slightest.
My next stop was Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce Canyon is a spectacular National Park which you can easily access by trail which I highly recommend. Today I went on a 45 minute loop trip along the Navajo Loop Trail at Sunset Vista. I recommend hiking to the bottom of the Canyon because you will get an incredible perspective that cannot be experienced by simply staying at the top of the rim. I hiked to the bottom and got some great shots of the towering red clay spirals which are featured below. Although I didn't have alot of time to spend at Bryce the time I spent there was well worth and in hindsight I now wish I had skipped Capitol Reef and spend more time at Bryce and Zion.
Zion was the last stop on my three parks in one day tour. Zion is an incredible place...and...unfortunately the pictures don't do justice to just how spectacular this National Park is. The drive into the park started off with a bang. I wasn't in the park for no more than five minutes when I had to stop and wait for the road crew to finish what they were doing. Normally, this can be a bit of an agitation particularly if it is really hot which it was on this day. But, on this occasion the wait was well worth it. Once I realized I wasn't going anywhere for awhile I decided to get out of my car and when I glanced over the side of the road there was a Bighorn sheep, not one, not two, but at least a dozen!
The drive through Zion National Park is spectacular. On every side are steep cliffs that rise sometimes thousands of feet from the canyon floor. Zion kind of reminds me of Yosemite in this way. The steep canyon walls create a sense of awe as you look up towards the spirals that seem to be everywhere for mile after mile. After driving through much of the park I arrived at the visitor center where I boarded a shuttle bus which makes eight stops along some of the most popular locations in the park. You now have to ride the shuttle bus to go to certain spots. Apparently the park has become so crowded over the years it is the only way they can protect the vegetation and eliminate serious parking and congestion problems. The only drawback it is difficult to get pictures of some of the most beautiful views in the park. In my case, I had to stick my camera out the window of the bus and shoot as many shots as I could. I rode around on the bus for about an hour and a half. I wish I could have stay much longer and done some hiking in the park but I was getting really tired after already visiting two other parks. I do plan to go back again, maybe next spring and go hiking in the park. There are alot of great hiking trails and I would love to spend two or three days in the park.
Well, this brings an end to one of the biggest road trips in my life. Over the past month I have now visited eleven different National Parks and have hiked and biked well over 100 miles. Tomorrow I will head home and hopefully get some rest over the next week to ten days before I head out again for a short trip to probably the Eastern Sierras before school starts. Originally, I was supposed to spend my summer vacation in the Sierras but there was too much snow at the higher elevations. But, now that the trails are open I do hope to get out and explore some of the great trails in the my home state.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
I left Estes Park Colorado this morning at 6:00 a.m. and headed to Moab Utah. Moab is the gateway to Arches National Park and is considered the mountain bike capital of the world. I arrived around 1:30, checked into my hotel and then headed over to the National Park which is only about two miles from town. I’ve known about Arches National Park for years but have never visited because it is for the most part out in the middle of nowhere. All I really knew about Arches was the various pictures on calendars and postcards. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with Arches National Park because it is much more than a few impressive arches here and there. The Park is filled with multiple rock formations, beautiful canyons, and huge walls of rock and stone. The trails in the park are relatively short but all lead to many impressive vistas and close-ups of arches, canyons, and huge towers of stone.
I spent about three hours in the park hiking and taking pictures. I had originally planned to also visit Canyon lands National Park which is only 30 miles from Moab but I was too tired. Tomorrow may be the longest day of my trip. I hope to get up by six and go mountain bike riding on the slip rock trail which may be the most famous mountain bike trail in the country. Then, I will continue my National Park tour by visiting Capital Reef, Bryce, and Zion National Parks. I don’t know if I will get to each one but I sure am going to try.
I spent about three hours in the park hiking and taking pictures. I had originally planned to also visit Canyon lands National Park which is only 30 miles from Moab but I was too tired. Tomorrow may be the longest day of my trip. I hope to get up by six and go mountain bike riding on the slip rock trail which may be the most famous mountain bike trail in the country. Then, I will continue my National Park tour by visiting Capital Reef, Bryce, and Zion National Parks. I don’t know if I will get to each one but I sure am going to try.
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