9 of 16 – 2024 Fall Trip West Series. 9/26/24 Thursday. We traveled from Moab to Panguitch, UT. We stopped at the John Wesley Powell Museum in Green River, UT, and we stopped at Capital Reef National Park. The museum was not on our agenda when planning the trip but Deanne had read about it and wanted to stop. We are glad we did.
Route of Powell’s first expedition in 1869. We would travel on to look down into Cataract Canyon in Canyonlands National Park, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon, and Lake Mead on our trip.
Crazy that little wooden boats would tackle raging rapids. Boat above is a replica of one of the boats lost at “Disaster Falls” on Major John Wesley Powell’s first trip down the Green/Colorado rivers in 1869. Disaster Falls is in “Ladore Canyon” in the map above. The original boats looked like a cross between a canoe and a rowboat. Deanne studying Colorado River lore.
Deanne activated this character when she walked up.
These are some improved versions of boats made to better maneuver and withstand the stresses of running whitewater river rapids. The look less like rowboats.
Dramatic sculpture in the museum. The Colorado River had a lot more water before flood control dams and irrigation. Powell and his team were brave explorers.
Loads of fossils are found in the area including these fearsome dinosaurs. I am glad they are gone.
I don’t remember where this is. There is a lot of desert between Moab and Panguitch. I thought the individual standing stones were cool. This may be somewhere near Goblin State Park which we drove past but did not stop at.
Our tiny RV parked along the road is dwarfed by “The Castle” landform on the left and “The Rim” on the right. This is near the Visitors Center. Capital Reef National Park was basically a “drive-thru” park. There was a lot of road and infrastructure construction going on and just about everything we hoped to see was closed. We enjoyed the things we could see on the main drive through the park, got the NPS Stamp, and moved on a bit disappointed.
The Castle.
We stayed for 4 nights in Panguitch at Dixie Forest RV Resort. Lots of stars on a clear night.
DADart Photography 