Impromptu trip to Capitol Reef

We had a 3-day weekend, so we took a quick jaunt to our third-closest national park, Capitol Reef.  It was amazing, but somehow it escaped my attention that this three-day weekend was virtually statewide... meaning that we were there on one of the peak weekends of the year!  According to our guidebook, Capitol Reef is one of the less-popular national parks in Utah, but still approaches 700,000 visitors per year... which means that the average attendance per day is around 1,900.  Incredible... and yet, even so, you can easily find solitude by going on even relatively short hikes.  It was also cold, getting down to the mid-30s each night.

Our first hike, after claiming the second-to-last spot in the campground at 1:30 PM:

The next day, we saw millennium-old petroglyphs and a lot of awesome rocks:

Before going on our longest and most picturesque hike, which wasn't very long but which was virtually deserted:

On the way home, we had to take the 6-mile side-trip to Pando and get this wonderful Pandorama (you'll have to zoom in to see the trees, since they've all lost their leaves):

Fall color and the Jardine Juniper

This hike was just too beautiful. I apologize, there are just a ton of pictures.

Heading off!

Note the tree, bending in the incredible wind

A brief flashback to the East Coast

The oldest known Rocky Mountain juniper, 1500+ years old

Enjoying a brief rest

On the way back, we got some mist and sprinkles

Lots of weather changes

First we got a lot of rain, which is very unusual for our area.

The rain stuck around, and we started to get beautiful fall colors, especially up in the canyon.

Then the sun came out again. We've had a few really warm days.

But then, just today, we had the rain again... and our first dusting of snow up high in the mountains!

Looking towards the Fine Arts Center, snow on the distant peaks

Beautiful Wellsvilles

From our porch, one mountain thinks it's fall, the other thinks it's winter

 Winter is making its proximity known!

Naomi Peak

Our biggest hike with Mom and Dad was up Naomi Peak, at 10,000 feet the highest point in the Bear River Range.  It was exhilarating!

Dad at the top of the world

Some views from the top.  You're supposed to be able to see the Grand Tetons on a clear day, which this was, and we thought maybe we could, but we weren't sure, and you definitely can't tell in these photos.

The happy group

A cool rock formation on the way down

Crimson Trail and White Pine Lake Trail

Mom and Dad are visiting, and that's inspired us to do some hiking.  The weather has actually been kind of foggy and rainy, but both days we hiked ended up just beautiful!  And the fall color in the canyon is really nice.  There are a lot of photos below, because it's just too beautiful to choose a few...

The Crimson Trail, 10 minutes from our house:

White Pine Lake Trail, 45 minutes away: