Day 8: Surfing Capital Reef!
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This morning the Boys planned a good hike in Capital Reef National Park, which required a full tank of gas, so filling up the Land Cruiser was followed up with an amazing breakfast at Betty's Cafe!
A brazen, big ole' breakfast at Betty's Cafe
Morning brought the Boys to a local restaurant right across the street from the Hotel. Betty's Cafe Hostess was a lovely young lady that courteously sat Mike and Bone, turns out she was the Daughter of the Owner of Betty's and Betty was his Aunt where he got his recipes! The breakfast was awesome, the portions were plentiful and the coffee fresh, bold and hot! Stuffed and sated the Boys headed on the road for the reef! Capital Reef!
Driving through the Amazing Utah Landscape
The brilliant Utah landscape soon turned to full on desert with that familiar red rock threaded through the rolling hills and dales. Soon a familiar place showed up from a bygone Mike and Bone trip (circa 40 years before!) Capital Reef!
Memories of Heber Jones
Capital Reef is the place where Mike and Bone sat out on top of a car in the absolute middle of nowhere under a moon with a bunch of beers and pondered the universe. This time, the Boys had hiking in mind!
A "Fold in Time!"
Just what makes these awe-inspiring cliffs and canyons!?! Capitol Reef contains the Waterpocket Fold, which is a100 mile long warp in the Earth's crust that is 65 million years old. It is the largest exposed monocline ( a "half-fold" or a ramp, where rock layers are bent downward or upward without fracturing) in North America. In this fold, newer and older layers of earth folded over each other in an HUGE S-shape. This warp, probably caused by the same colliding continental plates that created the Rocky Mountains, has weathered and eroded over millions of years into the rugged, multi-colored beauty that is today’s National Park! Cruisin' into Capital Reef, the Boys were looking to land at a well known hiking trail for bad boys.
Capital Reef has over 33 different hiking trails, some 20 minutes long, others multi-day! Mike and Bone targeted the Grand Wash and Cassidy Trail! This trail leads to a path to a little archway where it was rumored to hide Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's Wild Bunch!
While not looking for desperado's, Mike and Bone were keen to check out the cool geology in the heat of the day! In fact it was in the mid-90's went Mike and Bone started treking on the trail!
Butch Bone and the Sundance Mike!
While not looking for desperado's, Mike and Bone were keen to check out the cool geology in the heat of the day! In fact it was in the mid-90's went Mike and Bone started trekking on the trail, making it a bit of a challenge.
Indian Etchings or signs of Butch and Sundance?!
Soon on the trail they found a strange arch that looked man made, which supposedly is how Butch and the Wild Bunch knew they were close to one of their many hide-outs.
Amazing Red Rock Formations!
The Narrows is dramatic, steep-walled slot canyon section where the massive sandstone walls constrict to only a few yards apart, which looks EXACTLY like the magic corridor of "Al-Siq," which leads to the Famous Treasury in Petra!
Going Dutch ?!
Capital Reef, like so many of our National Parks is a big draw for foreigners, especially Europeans. So it was no surprise when a very blonde family, all over 6.2 speaking Flemish walked past the Boys while they were taking a break. While they were drinking water, the Family had snacks, or a Dutch treat!
Baking Boys!
Trekking along, the Sun started to really beat down on the Boys during this 4.4 Mile round trip trail, where they wisely brought water to stay hydrated in the afternoon heat.
Stark, Gorgeous Cliffs!
Despite the heat, it was a wonderful hike, the canyon around the trail was simply amazing and soon reminded Mike and Bone of another famous place!
Memories of Petra!
Close to the end of the trail there is a section called the Narrows which is a dramatic, steep-walled slot canyon section where the massive sandstone walls constrict to only a few yards apart, which looks EXACTLY like the magic corridor of "Al-Siq," which leads to the Famous Treasury in Petra!
Success is a Relative Thing!
The Boys came through the Narrows and realized it was pushing 6:00 and they had a bit of a drive and needed to grab some grub, so they backed tracked to the car, which turned out to be a good idea since they were outta water! So while they didn't not hike the whole trail, they saw the coolest parts of it and hot the road happy on accomplishing their objective!
Back on the Road
