May 8, 2018
I spent my first and second nights on the road at Caprock Canyon State Park. I came in late in the day. I stopped a few towns back an stepped into a hot, high wind. By the time I got to the campsite at the park, the temperatures had started to drop, but it was still way too hot and windy to put up a tent.
So I hung my hammock in one of the shelters at the Little Red Tent Camping Area and wrapped two layers of my sheet over me and fell asleep. During the night, I added my blanket.The next morning, I got up early and started exploring my way back to the visitor center. I found a blind over a large pond that still held mallards and gadwalls. Several species of flowers were in bloom, including at least three species of yellow flowers. A few bison showed themselves. I was enchanted with the prairie dogs that live right by the showers. I noticed a cloud of cliff swallows coming and going from a building. On closer inspection, I found around 2000 of them were madly building their nests. And everywhere there were beautiful views of the red cliffs.
Click on the movie below to see a small portion of the approximately two thousand cliff swallows. I think there were six beams and they were working on both sides.
The day was cloudy, but I hoped for better light on my hike and kept putting it off until around noon. The day would brighten, then get dull again. So I finally started off. I got missed my turn and ended up in a new place, so had to investigate it. It was immediately invaded by two school buses of children, so I checked out a few campsites and finally drove to where I had wanted to put in. By this time, I'd walked almost three miles. I had to walk over a mile just to start the trail I had wanted to try. I made the turn and found it was going up a tiny wash and was steep and washed out so it was hard to climb. My feet started to hurt, so I decided to come back the way I'd gone and save another 4miles of walking. I still had spent a good part of the day and wanted to go out to supper since I don't have much food with me.
The supper trip took almost two hours and I arrived back at the campsite to find all but two of us had left. A new group had come in and decided it was much better to camp between me and the other camper than to be more private. The sky was turning dark and the high winds were picking up and changing directions. A few minutes latter, as I was about to climb into my hammock, the skies cut loose and the winds drove the water horizontally under my shelter, completely soaking my hammock. I grabbed my ipad, sheet, and blanket and rolled them up and then held everything while I turned my back to the rain. Soon my hammock and me were dripping. I spent another hour going back to the showers to get dry. When I came back, my hammock was dry, but my near neighbors had lit up my site and they were visiting. So I moved my site to the campsite right on the parking lot and enjoyed watching the stairs come out as I went to sleep.
This is a lovely little park and also has a Rails to Trail nearby that leads all the way to Palo Duro Canyon, which is a bigger, more dramatic park and which holds a fun play about the history of the area.
I spent my first and second nights on the road at Caprock Canyon State Park. I came in late in the day. I stopped a few towns back an stepped into a hot, high wind. By the time I got to the campsite at the park, the temperatures had started to drop, but it was still way too hot and windy to put up a tent.
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| The tattered flags were constantly being snapped by the high winds we had both days. |
So I hung my hammock in one of the shelters at the Little Red Tent Camping Area and wrapped two layers of my sheet over me and fell asleep. During the night, I added my blanket.The next morning, I got up early and started exploring my way back to the visitor center. I found a blind over a large pond that still held mallards and gadwalls. Several species of flowers were in bloom, including at least three species of yellow flowers. A few bison showed themselves. I was enchanted with the prairie dogs that live right by the showers. I noticed a cloud of cliff swallows coming and going from a building. On closer inspection, I found around 2000 of them were madly building their nests. And everywhere there were beautiful views of the red cliffs.
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| Bison were grazing along the road near my camp |
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| Mesquite was in bloom but I could find no bees working it. Winds and clouds may have been factors |
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| A pretty wildflower in exuberant bloom |
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| A long view |
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| Another View |
Click on the movie below to see a small portion of the approximately two thousand cliff swallows. I think there were six beams and they were working on both sides.
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| There are prairie dogs on both sides of the road near the showers |
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| A blooming shrub |
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| Another purple bloom |
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| A more rare white wildflower |
The day was cloudy, but I hoped for better light on my hike and kept putting it off until around noon. The day would brighten, then get dull again. So I finally started off. I got missed my turn and ended up in a new place, so had to investigate it. It was immediately invaded by two school buses of children, so I checked out a few campsites and finally drove to where I had wanted to put in. By this time, I'd walked almost three miles. I had to walk over a mile just to start the trail I had wanted to try. I made the turn and found it was going up a tiny wash and was steep and washed out so it was hard to climb. My feet started to hurt, so I decided to come back the way I'd gone and save another 4miles of walking. I still had spent a good part of the day and wanted to go out to supper since I don't have much food with me.
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| A formation near the loop trail |
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| I had to stop to enjoy the cochineal beetles on the prickly pear cactus |
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| I scrapped off some of the "cotton" to look for the beetles. There were two and I smushed one to show it's red streaks. These are the beetles from which carmine dye is made. |
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| Bees were sharing cactus blooms - there were probably at least five in these three flowers. Some bees ONLY visit cactus flowers. |
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| I loved finding sensitive plant |
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| This rabbit was sure he was invisible |
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| A view into a dry wash along my hiking trail |
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| A close up of a formation |
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| My selfie on my hike |
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| The trail I THOUGHT I wanted to hike |
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| A little of it was under repair |
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| A view across to another cliff |
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| A prickly pear bloom too pretty to leave out |
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| Caprock falling down |
The supper trip took almost two hours and I arrived back at the campsite to find all but two of us had left. A new group had come in and decided it was much better to camp between me and the other camper than to be more private. The sky was turning dark and the high winds were picking up and changing directions. A few minutes latter, as I was about to climb into my hammock, the skies cut loose and the winds drove the water horizontally under my shelter, completely soaking my hammock. I grabbed my ipad, sheet, and blanket and rolled them up and then held everything while I turned my back to the rain. Soon my hammock and me were dripping. I spent another hour going back to the showers to get dry. When I came back, my hammock was dry, but my near neighbors had lit up my site and they were visiting. So I moved my site to the campsite right on the parking lot and enjoyed watching the stairs come out as I went to sleep.
This is a lovely little park and also has a Rails to Trail nearby that leads all the way to Palo Duro Canyon, which is a bigger, more dramatic park and which holds a fun play about the history of the area.
I wrote this blog in the one of the Grande Staircase Escalante National Monument's Visitor Centers. I'll be camping in a dispersed site until Sunday morning. Then I'll spend two days at Great Salt Lake before driving to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Area. Wish you were here.
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