People often look for a place to go as the weather transitions from the hot days of summer to the cooler days of fall and beyond to the beginnings of winter. While many head south to places like Arizona and Nevada to spend some time there is a place that is usually temperature right as well as beautiful in the mid to late fall. That place is Castle Country.
While the mountains and bookcliffs that surround Castle Country are splashed with color and autumn glory, the deserts have forgotten their 100 degree plus temperatures of the past summer and now settle into comfortable and amazing places to see and recreate.
While the San Rafael Swell is growing in popularity every year, there are places in that region that see so few people, that they can be counted on one hand per day during this time of year. The flora and the fauna are in abundance as plants go into their colder weather mode and animals prepare for the winter. Everything from Mountain Sheep to wild horses can be seen as the meadows and flats turn into a variety of colors.
But the past is where the Swell and other areas in Castle Country shine in the fall. It is a good time to hunt for out of the way petrogylphs and pictographs, with hiking temperatures during the day in 60s and lows at night in the upper 30s or low 40s. And they are not hard to find. Some that can be walked to in a few minutes or an hour seem like they have been hidden from the world until the hiker herself or himself discovers them. And one can ask, “Am I the first” and not be too far off at times.
There are also old mining camps, railroad grades and improvements as well as many kinds of sights to see that ancient peoples created in this seemingly inhospitable environment.
The area offers many nice motels and accommodations for those that don’t want to rough it too much, and cities like Price, Castle Dale and Green River are welcoming places.
So come and see our backyard, the one where we recreate and live in. You might just decide that it is a place where you would like to live too.
