Capitol Gorge Trail is a trail at Capitol Reef National Park. The trailhead is located at the end of Capitol Gorge Road, which starts at the end of the Capitol Reef Scenic Drive.
While the striking natural scenery at Capitol Reef National Park is the main draw, the Fruita Historic District adds an intriguing human element.
Delicate Arch is one of the iconic symbols of Arches National Park and the state of Utah. It’s accessible via a difficult three mile round trip trail with a 480 ft. elevation gain. While we didn’t allot any time for the trail during our visit, we did take advantage of the viewpoints.
At a rest area along US Highway 93 in the middle of nowhere, Nevada, a historical marker tells the story of the ghost town of Schellbourne, which was a town and mail station on the famed Pony Express line. The town sat four miles to the east of the rest area.z
West Wendover, Nevada, is a town along I-80 on the Utah border with a few casinos and not much else. Why stop there? To pay a visit to Wendover Will, the “world’s largest mechanical cowboy”.
We couldn’t visit Salt Lake City without seeing the Great Salt Lake. We decided to make a day trip out to Antelope Island State Park. The park has miles of hiking, camping, and beaches on the lake as well as a historic ranch. There are also plenty of opportunities for birdwatching and spotting wildlife.
On May 10, 1869, in the middle of the desert at Promontory Summit in Utah Territory, Leland Stanford drove the last spike to complete the First Transcontinental Railroad. Although the tracks have been removed and the trains no longer pass by Promontory Summit, the location where the Golden Spike was driven is celebrated by the National Park Service for its significance in American history.
After spending some time in Ogden, we drove through nearby Brigham City and made a quick stop in the small downtown. Originally named Box Elder, Brigham City is named after Brigham Young, who gave his last public sermon there in 1877 before he died.
While Martin stayed back in Salt Lake City to catch up on some work, Gönül and I headed north of the city for the day. Our first stop was in Ogden for a quick look around.
The stunning City and Council Building is the home of the city government of Salt Lake City. It was completed in 1894 and replaced the older Council Building, which was later dismantled and moved to Capitol Hill. It served as the state capitol building from Utah’s admission into the Union in 1896 until the new capitol building was finished in 1915. The county offices were also in the building until a separate facility was built in the 1980s.