Hoodoos and Arches

To drive from Capitol Reef to eastern Utah, you need to first go through the Fremont River Canyon. We thought the sky overhead was darkened by the wildfire smoke that had followed us the previous day. But there was another contributor.

What you absolutely don’t want to see on the road is water gushing out of a crevice in the rocky hillside, rapidly turning the ditch beside you into a bubbling pool. Moments later, the rain finally reaches your car windows, and the pools begin taking over low spots on the road ahead. This is a slot canyon flash flood in Utah.