From the Reef to the Canyon

We left Capitol Reef early in the morning and headed to Bryce Canyon. Though our ultimate destination was only about 100 miles away, the trip took close to 4 hours. Neither traffic, break downs or construction was the cause for our lengthy drive along highway12 but some of the most spectacular terrain in the entire western US. After leaving the Reef, we went straight south, and climbed Boulder Mountain. In an hour and roughly 20 miles you leave the hot red earth and mesas and find yourself in an alpine, aspen forest with views across southern Utah!

Through the ponderosa pines

To the aspen forest and grassland

The rest of Utah as seen from the top

After climbing down the mountain we stopped for the most wonderful breakfast you could ever hope to have, at Hells Backbone Grill. What could be better than a from scratch, locally sourced, gourmet eatery at the base of a 9,000ft mountain, in gorgeous red rock and canyon lands and all for the cost of a meal at IHOP. Breakfast included potato sage pancakes, buffalo sausage, homemade molasses bread with apricot jam, mixed tea from the garden a fantastic red chili.

Post-breakfast happiness

The signage, should you ever find yourself in the area

Back on the road and with a cookie to go, we headed up the backbone of a beautiful ridge on our way to Bryce Canyon.

The spine of the giant

A canyon to our right

An amphitheater to our left

The road behind us

The road before us

As we neared Bryce, we passed many a small town, denoted mostly by a few fields and a name by the road. In the whole 5,000 square mile county, there are only 5,000 people. That's what is great about southern Utah!

Just before Bryce

Capitol Domes and Coral Reefs

Capitol Reef National Park is a stunning and curious stretch of geologic mayhem. Like much of southern Utah, it is graced by unusual sandstone formations and bright red and white rock. What makes it special is the 100 mile long "fold" in the earth's crust that forms the reef itself, a sharp ridge lifted thousands of feet and marked by giant domes, spires, arches and canyons. It is called a reef because of the way it acts as a barrier to travel, just as a coral reef would in the ocean. The capitol part of the name refers to the immense white domes found in the park that resemble the tops of capitol buildings.

Just entering the park

Look at this picture closely and you will see one of the famous "capitol" domes on the ridge-top
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The campground and visitor center are located in the historic Fruita district, an area settled in the late 1800s by Mormons, who planted extensive orchards, built a few homes and established a school. The orchards survived and have been revitalized by the park service, so visitors in the summer can now enjoy the natural sights as well as fresh peaches, apples, pears, and cherries from u-pick orchards.

Even the campground is set among the ubiquitous fruit trees

We arrived in the late afternoon, so it wasn't until morning that we were able so start exploring. Temperatures were rising quickly, so we chose a short hike -- to a natural bridge nearby.

From the trail we could see down to the heirloom orchards

Hickman's Bridge

Sean under the bridge

After the hike we headed to the peach orchard for a refreshing snack, and a few pounds of fruit to take with us.

You pay for the peaches you carry out, but you can eat as much as you like in the orchard...


With fruit this gorgeous and yummy, we couldn't resist eating a half a dozen a piece while picking

Next stop, ginger-gold apples. Wonderful.


The original schoolhouse

Evidence of the more ancient residents of the reef

Chimney rock, along the scenic route back to Torrey


We spent the evening lounging on the grass by our campsite, watching the deer browse among the fruit trees.
Through the spray of the sprinklers, you can just see a deer by the center tree

Reading aloud to each other, from the thrilling Golden Compass trilogy.
A good way to pass a quiet afternoon

The historic homestead by the campground at dusk.

Our Ride to the Dunes and the Reef

After extending our time in Bend by an extra day, we finally felt ready to head south. With five days and fifteen hundred miles between us and home, this last leg of our trip was certain to be full of some awesome sights -- and lots of time behind the wheel.

Eastern Oregon was very interesting, seemingly on different planet from the lush coast only a few hours away. We first drove through pine forests, before descending to these arid valleys as we neared Idaho.

One of the many fossil beds dotting eastern Oregon

Sagebrush vistas

A larger-than-life covered wagon -- a monument to
the settlers and the Oregon Trail

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In spite of an early start, it was almost evening by the time we reached our destination in Idaho: Bruneau Dunes State Park. The park is located in the desert/prairie between Boise and Twin Falls, and contains the tallest single sand dunes in the country. After a quick dinner, we walked from the campground to the dunes for a little exploration.

The trail to the campground oasis


Moonrise over the dunes and marsh


Walking along the spine of the smallest dune. It was a little disconcerting -- we must have been 100 feet up, walking on a narrow ridge that reminded us both of the backbone of a giant creature. The view was incredible, though, and the sand was fine and soft, still warm from the day. We sat for a while to watch the moon and the kids further on sliding down the side on plastic discs.

Watching the sun set

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The next day we were up early to begin our longest day of driving yet. Our first stop was Shoshone Falls, the "Niagara of the West," located in Twin Falls.

The falls are pretty great. They are taller than Niagara, and we found them to be more beautiful and approachable. Of course, the water flow would be much more powerful if it weren't for the dams and irrigation diversions upstream. We were sad to read that at certain times of the year, the falls can be completely dry as a result of irrigation needs.

The Snake river just below the falls

Into Utah now


Farming in the desert requires Lots of water

Driving through Salt Lake City was a long and grueling process, as much of the freeway was plagued with construction and gridlock. Once we got into the southern part of the state, though, and on to the little two-lane byways, we were entranced by the landscape.

Approaching Capitol Reef National Park

The Bend Adventure Continued

While some fantastic Moroccan-inspired food and delicious local meals (check out this great non-profit restaurant) were consumed and very much enjoyed - no pictures were taken. Suffice it to say, if you could only eat in Bend (and Portland) the rest of your days, you would be more than satisfied!

And if after your meals you wanted to row a boat on a crystal clear, blue-green lake and take in some enormous waterfalls, all you'd have to do is a drive 40 or so minutes to Clear lake and Sahalie falls.

Our vessel

Half our crew

View from the boat

The bottom of the lake - the natural result of the damming of a spring
many thousands of years ago

Mossy seeps

Enjoying the shade and a bit of mist

Sahalie falls

Back in Bend we got the chance to visit Nate at his job at the Sun River nature center where he works as a naturalist and one can see many rescued wildlife, view the sun through special telescopes and get more familiar with the plants and animals of central Oregon.

Spreading the good news

In addition to the Nature center, we visited the High Desert museum, a fantastic living history, cultural museum and nature center. There we learned a lot about some of the Native peoples, who have called and still call this region of the Northwest their home for thousands of year,the environmental and cultural issues facing central Oregon and got to be close to some amazing plants and animals.

Spokane men, 1860s. One of many tribes with deep roots in the region

Coulee dam on the Columbia - the largest electric-producing power plant in the US that caused the decimation of the salmon in that region and the forced relocation of thousands

An injured Bald eagle in recuperation

The river otter - the most endearing animal we've ever met

A great map of the Deschutes river basin

On a separate day we made a trip out to Smith rock - a grand place to go for a hike, climb sheer rock-faces and cool off in the river.

A river does run through it

Lou on the trail

One again we were so grateful for family and the chance to visit in such a special place. After promises to visit again soon (which we plan to keep) we set to planning our final route home. After much consideration we decided to switch directions completely- saving southern Oregon, California and Yuma for another trip. East across Oregon, then south through Idaho, Utah and northern Arizona would be our new route and we soon found out that some of the most spectacular vistas yet were soon to come.