May 18-22, 2017 Capital Reef National Park to the San Rafael Swell, Utah

                               It is warming up from the 50’s to the 70’s and becoming sunnier.

We had dinner at our favorite restaurant in Torrey, Cafe Diablo. It was excellent. John had the Lamb shank, which came looking like this, I had mexican pumpkin raviolis.  We split a key lime cheese cake with home made ice cream for dessert. The next day we drove down Capital Gorge. This is the entrance. 

Capital Gorge was the old road. We drove 2 1/2 miles on a road in a canyon barely as wide as the road, then hiked another couple miles in it.

This small side canyon has many pockets of rainwater. It is where the people driving the road got their water. John walking back to the  road. 

Sunset light on the way back. 

Today we hiked in Grand Wash. Not sure if this  used to be a road too the whole way through, but it was similar to Capital Gorge in that we drove down a road in a canyon about as wide as the road, then hiked in to the narrower section.  Stunning canyons. 

Cool rocks, pink flowers, seed heads and the Grand Wash sign. Both canyons said not to enter if it was stormy, it could flash flood. Nice cliffs on the way back to camp.

I am calling the basket done. It has a slice of pine cone set in resin in the middle, green beads and three beads made out some kind of rock with layers that looks like pieces of pine wood that I beaded bezels around. The green stitches in the outer coils represent pine needles. It is not named yet.  We  moved to the San Rafael Swell, east of Capitol Reef to boondock for a week. 

                                                                 Sunset from camp.