Wilderness Wandering

Tuesday

We left Bryce Canyon on our way to Mesa Verde on a circuitous route. 

We drove Hwy 12 to Boulder, UT. Highway 12 is amazingly gorgeous!! Our jaws were dropping literally around every bend!

We stopped at the Anasazi History Museum in Boulder. The Anasazi are also known as the Pueblo. It was very well done. They have some excavated actual homes as well as a very authentic recreation of one. The homes generally had a few communal rooms and then some storage rooms for food.

Our friend Stan had told us that he had the best burrito of his life at a place in Boulder called Magnolia Street Food. We were astonished and excited to see that Magnolia Street Food was a converted bus off the parking lot of the Anasazi Museum!! So we each had a burrito for lunch. Stan was correct! Amazing burritos! They were huge, so we each saved the other 1/2 for dinner.

We  continued on  our journey and arrived back at Capitol Reef by early afternoon so we could partake in more pie! Tim got cherry and I got peach. They were out of the apple by the time we arrived. We did a nice hike we hadn’t done before that ran along the river and up a steep slope to some great views. After the hike, we decided to continue on toward Moab, where we would stop for the night. We pulled into Moab about 6 PM. We pulled off at a BLM campground off 191. It was pretty rough but adequate for the night. We warmed our burrito leftovers and chilled. 

Wednesday

We woke up and on my way back from the port a potty, I noticed a hot air balloon across the field. It was fun to watch it fill and take off!

After breakfast, we took off to find a different campsite for tonight. We wanted to look along Hwy 128. It is a very scenic drive and there are about 15 campgrounds with around 10 to 15 sites each along a highway with gorgeous red rock cliffs. We found a spot at the 2nd campground we tried. Then we headed into town to grocery shop, wash the van, shower and do laundry. Tim needed some Tim time, so we booked me a 1/2 day Colorado River raft float. It was pretty tame, but still very beautiful!

Thursday

We woke up in our beautiful spot on The Colorado River and after breakfast, put on our hiking boots. There was a trail head across the road from our campground called Grandstaff Trailhead. One of the tour guides yesterday told me that the trail is great and ends in a cool natural bridge. We learned that the trail is 3 miles each way out and back. We weren’t sure we wanted to do a 6 mile hike but agreed we would hike out for 1 hour and assess how we felt. 

I immediately fell in love with the trail. We were criss crossing this beautiful little river with gorgeous bluffs on both sides. The sky in Utah is the most  incredible blue. If I ever get to name a Crayola crayon, it’s going to be that gorgeous Utah Blue! 

Going out we hardly saw anyone! At the 1 hour mark, we did see someone on their way back and I asked how much further? He said maybe 10 minutes, so we kept going.

We were really happy we persevered! The trail ended at Morning Glory Arch, which is the 6th longest natural span in the US. It was beautiful! We spent a little time taking pictures and Tim made a friend of a young man who was taking 2-1/2 weeks off from his job at a nuclear power plant to travel the west in his 1987 Jeep Grand Wagoneer! 

What a fantastic hike! Probably my favorite hike of the trip of hikes not in a National Park. 

We returned to our site and took off for Mesa Verde National Park.