good-times-rollin

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Hickman Bridge and Fruita Historic District

Sand Creek RV Park
Torrey, UT
July 2, 2019

Capital Reef National Park has been on the bucket list for awhile so when planning our summer vacation, we decided to make it the first stop. It was a gorgeous drive form Moab.

West on I-70...

West on Hwy 24...

and finally West Hwy 24 through Capital Reef on the way to Torrey.

We are all settled in at Sand Creek RV Park...a good choice if you have puppies that need their space too ! It's a small park with only 15 pull-thru RV spaces (full-hookup) and a few tent sites. The owners Harry and Leslie are super nice and the Wi-Fi is wicked fast. The weather forecast for our week long stay is perfect with lows 50s and high 70s/low 80s.

Last night we had a torrential down pour complete with thunder and lightening. It lasted for about 2 hours (6:00 -8:00 ish) and then the sun came out. We had a very colorful sunset...looking out the front cab window.

CapitalReef National Park :

Capital Reef NP was designated a national monument in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to protect the areas colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths. But it was not until 1950 that the area was opened to the public. And in 1971 it was opened as a national park. The area has a long history of people visiting and living in the region along the Fremont River. Over 1000 years ago the Fremont Indians irrigated crops of corn and grain here. The Mormans then settled here in the 1880s.

Evidence of Fremont Indians who lived in the area...

Evidence of Hobi Indians who lived in the area...

Fruita Historic District :

When the Morman settlers moved into the area along the Fremont River, the irrigation ditches created by the Fremont Indians were once again a vital source of water for farming. Fruit trees prospered and by 1902, the small settlement was called Fruita. Today, these orchards...nearly 3,000 trees, dominate the "historic landscape" and the 200 acre Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Apple, peach, cherry, apricot, pear, and plum, trees along with mulberry, almonds, and walnut trees grow in here.

It wasn't until World War II that the first tractor was purchased by Merlin Smith.

The Power Horse...a 4-wheel drive machine made in Salt Lake City was the first tractor in Fruita.

The Blacksmith Shop

The restored structures, Blacksmith Shop, the Gifford house and barn, the Schoolhouse and a few others are the only structures that remain.

The Gifford farmhouse has been renovated and refurnished as a cultural demonstration site to interpret the early Morman settlement. It was originally built in 1908. It was purchased by Dewey Gifford in 1928. His family lived there 41 years and during that time he added a kitchen in 1946 and the bathroom, utility room and a carport in 1954.

The former kitchen has been converted into a Natural History Association sales outlet. Items for sale include reproduction utensils and household tools used by Morman pioneers. These unique handmade items are made by local artisans and craftsmen and include aprons, flour sifters, crockery, and candles. But the best (and yummiest) are the locally baked fruit pies, breads, cinnamon rolls and homemade ice cream. It was a tuff decision, but we settled on a cinnamon roll we shared for lunch !

The outhouse, barn and a wagon on the Gifford farm.

One last thing from the historic district which just happens to be my favorite were the Silent Sentinels.

Local knowledge states that starting in 1918, the large tree by the road (there are two of these magnificent cottonwood trees) was the place where mail was transferred from a carrier in Torrey to another carrier who completed the route. This tree was given the name Mail Tree.

Later, mailboxes were attached to the tree giving settlers a convenient location from which to maintain contact with the outside world.

Pictures do not show the "enormousness" of these trees nor their beauty.

Hickman Bridge :

It was early to bed and early to rise this morning...a chilly 50 degrees and a chilly wind, were no deterrent for our day's adventure. Our first destination for the day was the Hickman Bridge Trailhead. It's a moderate rated 2.2 mile in and out hike.

The moderate rating is due to steep inclines in places with high steps.

There is also a trail map that points out 17 key features along the trail. Ex. : These black boulders are the same andesite lava that caps the mountains west of the park.

They were transported, and rounded in the process, by large debris flows associated with melting glaciers.

Another example : The white Navajo Sandstone in the rock formation pictured below was deposited as sand dunes about 180 million years ago. Amazing !

Hickman Bridge is a natural bridge that is 133 feet long and 125 feet high. The trail loops under the bridge for an up close look and a bit of shade.

Approaching the bridge...

And a look back after passing under...

Well, that wraps up our first day adventures in Capital Reef. We have lots more planned so stay tuned !

I'll close with a few more pictures...

So, until next time...

HAPPY TRAILS !

Friday, June 28, 2019

Fun In Wile E

Gopher Flats
Moab, Ut
June 2019

There are many nice things about spending so much time in Moab : friends, hiking, relaxing, and yes, Wile E. Wile E is a lot of fun to have on trail without the worry of causing severe damage to our daily driver. June was a busy month and we only managed to hit the rocks three times...all three trails are at the top of my list for favorites.

Rusty Nail
Rusty Nail is a short I mile route that surely gets the adrenaline flowing and the heart pumping. It is one obstacle after another with lots of large boulders in-between...and a lot of it is on the edge of a canyon wall. We have driven this several times and are just beginning to get the hang of it. On obstacles like Riff-Raff...

Dee climbing Riff-Raff

No Left Turn...

This picture explains exactly why this obstacle is named No Left Turn !

Following Steve as he makes the turn for No Left Turn.

Wile E about to make the final descent off No Left Turn.

and Skidmark.

Warren has no trouble on Skidmark.

This spot has given me a belly flop for sometime so back in the spring I got out and watched Joe drive it. It feels very tippy inside Wile E, but looking at it from outside it wasn't so bad. No more belly flops !

The Wall, on the other hand, is tricky. Sometimes we go right up and other times, we don't. This day we had to have a spot.

Dee's climb was awesome ! We got hung up on the passenger side where you have to climb that very large boulder. It wouldn't be so bad, but there is also a hole your passenger tire slides into.

Lunch stops are a time to breath and get caught up with friends or get to know new friends. Lots of laughter and stories are shared.

L to R: Dee, us, Steve, Bart, Eric, and Warren

Cliffhanger
As most people already know, Cliffhanger is my favorite trail. It is 12 miles of curvy trail that makes its way through a high area (Amasa Back) surrounded by Kane Springs Canyon, Hurrah Pass, and a big loop of the Colorado River. Right from the get-go, this trail grabs your attention as it descends a huge set of ledges. It is an in and out trail so what goes down has to go up (or visa versa)... but going up is never quite as heart pounding as going down or at least that's my opinion ! This day we enjoyed a run with Dee, Scott (who turned around about half way as he had an appointment to keep), and Joe and Jenny in their newly built Toyota buggy...its first trail run.

Dee, Joe and Jenny and us...

Thanks to Dee, we got a great series of pictures that show us descending a typical ledge of Cliffhanger. Cliffhanger is rated #8 meaning that "vehicle mechanical or body damage is likely and roll over possibilities exist". For four years prior to acquiring our YJ buggy, we drove this trail and many others in our 2-door JK. We feel extremely fortunate to have never experienced any serious problems and are Sooo relieved to have Wile E. ! Pearl (the JK) has been retired from difficult trails.

Lunch is usually at one of the overlooks...yes, this trail has two overlooks !

Joe Scott and Jenny and Dee looking for a lunch spot.

PERFECT !

Metal Masher
This 11.7 miles of dirt, slickrock, and huge boulders lead the way to Arth's Rim and then eventually back down to a nice meadow. It's not a typical Sunday drive though. Lots of obstacles are between the start and the rim overlook and then as you descend there is Widow Maker. Widow Maker is a difficult climb. If you fail to climb it on your own there is a winch point or you can be strapped up.

Our trusty band of trail warriors for the day.

Dee, us, Chris, Rory, David and his son, Shawn and Sheen, Kiva

We were especially happy to be wheeling with Rory who was driving his recovery truck, Trailmator.

This picture shows the first challenge. A great warm-up for what's ahead.

Dee, driving Blanche, makes it look so easy !

The boom on the back of Trailmator kept dragging in the dirt...

so Rory just picked another line !

There is an optional obstacle on MM called Rock Chucker. We have climbed it several times, but recently a big rock used for climbing has broken off making this already tuff climb even meaner.

Dee was not able to climb it...

The front driver tire gets stuck in a deep hole while the back passenger tire is barely on the boulder.

and neither was Rory...so we didn't even try !

Other obstacles like Mirror Gulch (a tight squeeze between two large boulders with a ledge to climb) and Misty's Thumb make for some excitement before reaching the rim.

Rory looks on as Wile E crawled the huge boulder known as Misty's Thumb.

Lunch at Arth's rim has an amazing view.

Looking north...

Shawn is taking in the view. Looking south towards Moab...

Looking straight ahead with Arches on the horizon...

I always enjoy the drive when we leave the rim. The trail descends a high mesa that overlooks Hwy 313.

If you squint, you can see Hwy 313 in the center of the photo.

Widow Maker is the next huge obstacle. We have been winched up it several times in our JK. We really wanted to climb it in Wile E and when we tried last fall we almost had it. Wile E went right up the near vertical very tall boulder, but got hung up on another ledge at the top. So this year we let out a couple more pounds of air, harnessed up, and made the climb up and then over the ledge with no problems. Lots of "Wahoos" were heard ! There are no pictures of us making the climb but I did snap this photo as we approached. You can barely see the ledge (on the passenger side) that hung us up the first time if you follow the black tire marks up. It really is bigger than it looks