Hiking

Read more about the article Hickman Bridge Trail, Capitol Reef NP

Hickman Bridge Trail, Capitol Reef NP

After leaving Escalante we headed to Hanksville UT about 35 miles from Capitol Reef National Park.  Capitol Reef is a great park and is just a little bit less crowded than the other big parks of Bryce, Zion, Arches, and Canyonlands.  This trip, we found the park to be less crowded and very pleasant so we were able to hike this cool trail; Hickman Bridge.  The trail is 2.4 miles long with an elevation gain of 733ft; this trail is listed as moderate.  The entire hike was beautiful and the “Hickman Bridge” is a 133’ long, 125’ long arch named…

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Read more about the article Wire Pass/Buckskin Gulch

Wire Pass/Buckskin Gulch

Some days you just don’t know how your plans are going to work out.  Well, today’s plans beat all expectations!  We hiked Wire Pass to Buckskin Gulch…both are amazing slot canyons in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area.  To reach the trailhead of Wire Pass you drive 8.3 miles on a dirt road. Wire pass starts out hiking through Coyote Wash and after about a mile you enter the most colorful slot canyon. Halfway through the pass there is a wooden ladder that drops about 10 feet.  Wire Pass opens into the high walls with petroglyphs and meets up with…

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Read more about the article Bandelier National Monument

Bandelier National Monument

We have been in Santa Fe for a couple days, checking out the town and enjoyed a delicious lunch yesterday at The Shed. This morning we checked out the Railyard Farmers Market.  Our winning purchase was a “Hatch Chile Croissant”!  To our surprise it was so good!After the Farmers Market we headed to Bandelier National Monument about 35 miles from Santa Fe and is part of the Jemez Volcanic field. This monument dates back more than 10,000 years.  Native Americans moved in and out of this area following movement of game animals.  Bandelier National Monument consists of ruins of above…

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Read more about the article Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

After a two hour drive through beautiful desert/forest countryside we arrived at Gila Cliff Dwelling National forest that is the home of the Cliff Dwellings.   The Cliff Dwellings were the home of the ancient Puebloan people.  Archeologists call this the Mogollon area. It is believed that these were built approx. 700 years ago and were most likely home to several different groups.  Evidence suggests that the Apache migrated to the upper Gila River in the 1500s.  Apache leader Geronimo (tribe name Goyahkla) was born in the Gila River area.   To get to the cliff dwellings you hike a…

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