Natural Bridges National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park

From Goblin Valley we drove down a slight detour to Capitol Reef National Park. The road in was very pretty down a forested valley but on getting there we were not enormously impressed with the Park so we decided to drive the 18 mile scenic drive and then head off.

We reached Natural Bridges National Monument, and a chance encounter with a travelling Irishman early in the day had furnished us with the location of a great free campsite. Just before the entrance to the Park we turned off onto Elk Ridge Road and along here were numerous pullouts where previous campers had conveniently built fire rings. The night was pretty cold but the morning soon warmed up.

In the morning we headed into the Park itself and had a look at the natural bridges. Natural bridges are formed by running water (over a river) while Arches are formed by weathering.  This Park has three of the largest Natural Bridges in the world. Including one that is the second largest in the world called Sipapu Bridge.