Wagon Trail (Capitol Gorge in Capitol Reef National Park; Utah) [ 1:12 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
The Capitol Gorge spur road revealed no more than its next winding turn, one intriguing twist at a time. The vistas were vertical. Rocky skyscrapers of Wingate sandstone towered dramatically, enclosing us in a one-way maze. The pitted gravel road offered few options but “forward” with measured care and speed.
Every so often I slammed into my sensory limit, shifted into park and cautioned the kids to watch for non-existent cars out the rear window while I snapped off a couple of pictures.
Finally parked at the road’s dead end, we set off on foot down a Mormon pioneer trail. In the hush, it wasn’t hard to imagine the distant creaking of wagon wheels.
Evening would soon sheath the canyon area in utter darkness, but we walked the first part of the trail -sadly noting petroglyphs marred by not-so-ancient vandals.
Further along the trail is a Pioneer Register with the scratched signatures of long ago passers-by. Approaching darkness would have prompted those turn-of-the-century travelers to set up their night’s camp but sent us on a reluctant trek back to our car and a slow winding drive in dimming light.
Updated from November 28, 2008.
You have such a wonderful eye for composition in your photos. Where is you next holiday going to be?
Thank you Suzanne! I’m headed to Mexico for a few days in December. ~Have been in the general area before, but there is always something new to see! In the meantime, I’ll be posting more stories from a summer trip to California and some fall hiking/biking afternoons enjoyed in the Central Ohio area ~as well as a couple of travel book reviews.
I’m wondering where you’re headed to next? You’ve had such interesting adventures!
I love your Utah adventure series, Heather !
Such kind of experience, Such great photos, are both fortune of life.
Keep sharing!
Simply beautiful. I love the expression “the vistas were vertical” – that encaptures Zion and it soudns like this remarkable place as well. I plan to publish a post in the next week about Flume Gorge in Hew Hampshire and that is a better description than I managed of that location. Keep up with your great Utah adventures – their tourist bureau should be on to you.
Our plan is to head for China. I’ve travelled heaps, as you know, but never been to China or Russia, two of the biggest countries in the world.
I would love to go to Mexico to see the wonderful ruins and temples there.
That interesting place. Greetings from Argentina
iWalk: Thanks for the kind words. We travel opposite ends of the globe, you and I. I haven’t been to many of the places you routinely visit, so your posts are especially interesting to me.
Mark: I’ve gotten behind on my reading lately ~the busy holiday season… ~Looking forward to catching up on your site. You’ve been everywhere! and describe your experiences so well.
Suzanne: China would be a fascinating trip! You might want to check out iWalk’s site for some itinerary ideas.
The Mexican ruins sites have a sort of eerie beauty. My favorite is probably Tulum, perched on the edge of the sea.
Gloria: Thanks for stopping by Gloria! I’ll check out your site.
Getting out into the wild and exploring is something I like to do whenever I get the chance. That looks like a trail that would be well worth taking the time to go through.
Gerri: Getting away from our “every day”, whatever that may be, is such an effective “reset”. Even a day-trip to one of Ohio’s natural areas gives me a noticeable boost!
Have you manage to climb one of this rocks?
Hotels Paphos: We didn’t climb them. The view from atop one of those cliff walls would be incredible!