Torrey, UT was our turn around point, so from now on we’ll be traveling east. We left around 8:30 for an early start. The weatherman said that Torrey got 1 1/2 inches of rain yesterday, so we were expecting to see some “washout” areas as we traveled through Capitol Reef National Park towards Monticello, UT.
There was hardly any traffic on Highway 24 through the park. The Fremont River was raging in its banks as it wound its way through the canyon from the rains the last two days.
The Fremont River carries a lot of silt and is chocolate brown.
The river was higher in it banks in some places more than others.
The river was over-flowing the dike in this area.
Our route today took us back the same way we came from Moab 3 days ago. From Moab south, our route would be new.
Like I’ve said before, going in one direction gives you a different picture of something than going in the other direction.
Many times, it might be something we’ve haven’t seen before because it was on the backside of a bluff or cliff.
The highway took us past Valley of the Goblins State Park. We made a joint decision to skip Valley of the Goblins State Park on this trip because I really wanted to walk among the hoodoos in the park and not just make a quick drive though it. We just didn’t have time to stop, unhook the Jeep, drive into the park and walk around. It would add another hour, at least, to our 5 hour drive today. We screwed up by not planning to camp in the state park itself for a couple of days instead of thinking we could drive from Torrey which was too far away for a day trip to Valley of the Goblins. Our next trip out West will include multiple days at this interesting park so I can really see it the way I want to. It was a little disappointing to say the least. We passed by the San Rafael Reef again–such a beautiful rock formation.
Approaching Moab from the north gave us a different view of the area.
Traffic picked up as we got closer to town, but downtown was not too busy.
We arrived in Moab around 12:00. After about 30 miles, we stopped at a rest area across from the infamous Hole in the Wall tourist trap.
We could see the La Sal Mountain peaks at 12,000+ feet pretty clearly today.
Traveling south on Highway 191 towards Monticello, we came upon the striking Wilson Arch.
The terrain changed a little with more wide open spaces.
We arrived in Monticello at the Mountain View RV Park around 1:00.
We were given site #25 right on the end.
We are just here for an overnight so we had a pull-thru site so we could stay hooked up. The park has been newly renovated and someone is very creative. They built this creative gazebo with the top of a grain silo.
Around the park are some beautiful wood pieces that someone has carved and some antique pieces that they have created. These are made with the seats from an old plow.
There is a brand new bathhouse even though the park is not very big. It sits across from the mountains, hence the name “Mountain View”. As we got set up, dark storm clouds moved in from over the mountains and we heard thunder, but the rain never came.
We relaxed after a nice drive, though it was a long one, and had dinner. Auggie got his walk after dinner and we watched some TV. We were all kind of beat. Tomorrow we move on to Durango for a 5-day stay.