Vacation Day 2, Capitol Reef National Park

Waking up on Sunday morning, there was a rain storm; but, by the time we walked out the motel door, it was to the east and looking back to the west was Mt. Wheeler tempting us again.  If we had another day, I would have gladly stayed at Great Basin for some more hiking.  But, this trip was short and we had to maintain schedule...so we headed east to Capitol Reef.  We did have to drive in the rain a bit.  I do think I want to go back to Great Basin.

The day before, we had met some bikers that essentially did the exact same loop as us, but backwards.  They suggested that we eat the Diablo Cafe in Torrey.  So, getting into town - we did just that.  It was a good suggestion.  We knew that there were rain clouds in the area (after all, we rode with them from Baker, Nevada), but they were slow moving and spotty.

Upon arriving at Capitol Reef, we decided to start with the visitor center to see the radar and forecast.  The ranger told us that it was spotty - and just to keep our eyes out.  We have been in this area of the country before and have seen flash flooding; so we know to be careful around storms.

We started out on the Cohab Canyon trail; it was rated moderate...but really we didn't find it very difficult.  It lead to some nice views of the Fruita area.

The sky looked a bit threatening, but by the time we got back to the trailhead, it was sunny again. 

We saw maybe 5-10 people total on the trail; we thought it would be more crowded.

After Cohab Canyon, we drove the scenic drive and went to the end for the easy Capitol Gorge hike.  We saw the petroglyphs as wells as the pioneer register carved into the rock faces.

We were not exactly sure what to think of the tanks, but they were three holes in the ground that had water in them.

Finally, we were looking at the Cassidy Arch trail (difficult), but decided against it as it seemed that there was a rain cloud headed straight there...we went a little further to the Chimney Rock trailhead (also difficult).  A nice 3.5 mile loop with 810 feet elevation gain.  We zoomed through it. 

It is hard saying if we are just getting better at hiking, or if the trails here were rated slightly on the easier side.  I tend to think the later...as the temperatures in this park can get hot quickly...there are not a lot of hikes with shade which could make them tricky.

This shot is looking toward Torrey (the town we stayed in).  It turns out, half the town got rain, and the other half didn't (and it isn't that big of a town).  We managed to stay dry the entire day...but managed to see other areas getting wet.  We stayed at a nice family-owned 12-room motel which I found on Trip Advisor; I am a "top contributor" on trip advisor and always log in our experiences.  I find it a nice way to find places to stay for budget prices...the Boulder View Inn was a great night for a reasonable price.