We spent the last three days exploring Capitol Reef NP. Every time we visit I fall further in love with that place. We spent almost 6 hours hiking through a beautiful canyon with not one, not two but three waterfalls and we saw...one other person. It's so easy to lose the masses in this park. The campground was full when we arrived in late morning, which turned out to be a blessing. We found this incredible campsite not far from the park boundary...and it was free!
Stumbled upon the most incredible prickly pear wildflower blooms I've ever seen near Factory Butte after we got shut down by quicksand at the Muddy Creek ford on the Factory Butte Scenic Byway. Turns out the BLM doesn't recommend that route until late summer when the creek is barely flowing. Good to know.
Last one, and my favorite from the trip. My six year old son, Jackson, is the coolest kid I've ever met. He hiked and scrambled for six miles along Sulphur Creek, in and out of the water, over and around waterfalls, in temperatures in the high 80's. He's my most favorite adventure buddy. And yes, that is a stuffed coyote pup sticking out of his backpack. His name is L'il Howler and he goes EVERYWHERE Jackson goes.
Nice trip report, Bret. Did you do a car shuttle for the Sulphur Creek hike? I've never seen that dense of prickly pear blooms, you're really fortunate to have found them!
Yes, Muddy Creek can be rather challenging in the Spring. You begin to wonder how many 4WD's are buried downstream. :-)
After the steep drop off the mesa, there is a 4WD track that heads west, instead of the main road to Muddy Creek. There's lots to explore before the road becomes impassable after a few miles. I'm sure Jackson would have fun digging in the beds of Inoceramus shells along the roadside. These are Upper Cretaceous clams in the Mancos Shale.
Bill: We saw that road and wondered where it went. Funny you mention shells as my wife commented that she thought we'd find them if we looked for them. I'll tell her and Jackson about the clams and maybe we'll take another trip to dig for them. Thanks for the tip!
Howard, I'm pretty sure that the roof top tent Bret has is a Maggiolina. I've looked at them for a couple of years, but as long as I'm traveling with a dog & until we have a garage I can store it in for the majority of the year, I think I'll be holding off. They're widely considered to be "the" RTT to have.
Howard - The roof top tent is made by Maggiolina. At one time, they were the major player in the U.S. Another company, James Baroud, is now selling their tents in the U.S. (after being available overseas for a couple decades) and they are significantly better in every way. Had the Jame Baroud tents been available when I bought mine, I wouldn't have purchase a Maggiolina.
The Maggiolina has been pretty good for us but it is already showing some significant signs of wear. Also, their customer service is among the worst I've ever experienced. It took them 6 months to ship us a replacement bolt...and then it was the wrong one. I absolutely do not recommend Maggiolina tents.
I'll planning to sell my Maggiolina soon and replace it with a James Baroud, if that tells you anything.
Posted by Monika Chace on June 7, 2015 at 10:45 PM
Bret, check out this thread on the James Baroud customer service
Monika - That was an interesting read. Maybe customer service at companies who produce roof top tents is universally crappy? I was very impressed with the James Baroud tents I saw but that thread may make me reconsider things. Hmm...
Discussion
14 repliesWe spent the last three days exploring Capitol Reef NP. Every time we visit I fall further in love with that place. We spent almost 6 hours hiking through a beautiful canyon with not one, not two but three waterfalls and we saw...one other person. It's so easy to lose the masses in this park. The campground was full when we arrived in late morning, which turned out to be a blessing. We found this incredible campsite not far from the park boundary...and it was free!
The middle waterfall on Sulphur Creek. Not optimal conditions for photography but it's what I had to work with at the moment.
Stumbled upon the most incredible prickly pear wildflower blooms I've ever seen near Factory Butte after we got shut down by quicksand at the Muddy Creek ford on the Factory Butte Scenic Byway. Turns out the BLM doesn't recommend that route until late summer when the creek is barely flowing. Good to know.
Last one, and my favorite from the trip. My six year old son, Jackson, is the coolest kid I've ever met. He hiked and scrambled for six miles along Sulphur Creek, in and out of the water, over and around waterfalls, in temperatures in the high 80's. He's my most favorite adventure buddy. And yes, that is a stuffed coyote pup sticking out of his backpack. His name is L'il Howler and he goes EVERYWHERE Jackson goes.
Nice trip report, Bret. Did you do a car shuttle for the Sulphur Creek hike? I've never seen that dense of prickly pear blooms, you're really fortunate to have found them!
That is an amazing patch of blooming cactus!
Yes, Muddy Creek can be rather challenging in the Spring. You begin to wonder how many 4WD's are buried downstream. :-)
After the steep drop off the mesa, there is a 4WD track that heads west, instead of the main road to Muddy Creek. There's lots to explore before the road becomes impassable after a few miles. I'm sure Jackson would have fun digging in the beds of Inoceramus shells along the roadside. These are Upper Cretaceous clams in the Mancos Shale.
That Pelzmann is such a geek. :) Thanks for the trip report, Bret. Excellent shot of the cactus, the waterfall, and I love that camping rig!!
+1 on that Toyota!
Great shots - looks like it was a truly fun and relaxing getaway!
WAY nice stuff, Bret!
Thanks for the comments, everyone!
Bill: We saw that road and wondered where it went. Funny you mention shells as my wife commented that she thought we'd find them if we looked for them. I'll tell her and Jackson about the clams and maybe we'll take another trip to dig for them. Thanks for the tip!
Hey Bret,
Nice shots in spite of the time of day. But I gotta ask ...tell us a bit more about that rig atop your FJ and who makes it.
Howard, I'm pretty sure that the roof top tent Bret has is a Maggiolina. I've looked at them for a couple of years, but as long as I'm traveling with a dog & until we have a garage I can store it in for the majority of the year, I think I'll be holding off. They're widely considered to be "the" RTT to have.
Howard - The roof top tent is made by Maggiolina. At one time, they were the major player in the U.S. Another company, James Baroud, is now selling their tents in the U.S. (after being available overseas for a couple decades) and they are significantly better in every way. Had the Jame Baroud tents been available when I bought mine, I wouldn't have purchase a Maggiolina.
The Maggiolina has been pretty good for us but it is already showing some significant signs of wear. Also, their customer service is among the worst I've ever experienced. It took them 6 months to ship us a replacement bolt...and then it was the wrong one. I absolutely do not recommend Maggiolina tents.
I'll planning to sell my Maggiolina soon and replace it with a James Baroud, if that tells you anything.
Bret, check out this thread on the James Baroud customer service
Monika - That was an interesting read. Maybe customer service at companies who produce roof top tents is universally crappy? I was very impressed with the James Baroud tents I saw but that thread may make me reconsider things. Hmm...