We continued our journey through southern Utah over to Capital Reef NP. Looking at the map below, our travels took us north of Arches and Canyonlands up to Interstate 70. We headed south and traveled along the western side of Canyonlands NP.
On our way over to Torrey, UT, we passed through the small town of Hanksville, UT. The Hanksville area is home to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). ‘The MDRS is located among the Bentonite Hills near Hanksville. It is the second of four simulated Mars habitats in the world, built and managed by the Mars Society. The area was chosen for field study research because of the terrain’s noticeable similarities to Mars. Astronauts and research crews spend two weeks at a time living in the two-story, eight-meter cylindrical ‘Habitat,’ also known as the Hab. They are required to wear space suits and carry walkie talkies whenever they step outside the Hab into the simulated Martian environment. The Hab is always manned with at least one crewmember.’1 Check out the video below to see the amazing views of this Mars like area.
Capitol Reef is little different from the others that we have visited, in that, a state highway runs through the park. In fact, the scenic drive through the park is closed for the 2024 season for renovation and repairs. Most of what we saw was along the state highway. ‘The park is filled with cliffs, canyons, domes, and bridges, all in the Waterpocket Fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles’. 2
We wanted to do some stargazing in this minimal light pollution area. We decided to headout around 3:00 AM, watch the stars and wait for daylight to appear.
Once the sun was completely up, (and after a nap!), we headed back out to see the sights in full daylight.
It is a good thing that I didn’t get too close to the edge on my trip here in the early morning hours, this canyon is almost 800 feet deep!
Time to head out to the spot and our next adventure.
- https://capitolreefcountry.com/mars-desert-research-station/ ↩︎
- https://www.nps.gov/care/index.htm ↩︎
Wow. This was very exciting. You are having such great adventures.
That is amazing! Spectacular pictures!
Every place that you go seems to be more amazing than the ones before. I wish that we could have done the same trip with you guys.
Did Cole get up at 3am? Looks like a wonderful trip. Miss you all!