New Wallpaper

A couple of months ago, Apple released its new operating system for Mac computers. And they did something pretty cool with the desktop wallpapers and screensavers – they filmed scenes from Southern Utah to make dynamic landscapes fill your screen. It’s a pretty fun way to bring the best scenery in the world to your Mac.

Photo by Patrick Hendry via unsplash.com

Factory Butte!

Ok, so Apple didn’t only include scenes from Southern Utah, but these are the only ones that we here at Red River Ranch care about. And let’s just talk about our favorite one – Factory Butte. We know we’re biased since we live pretty close to it, but it’s still such a cool geological feature. If you want to see it in real life, and not just on your screen, here’s how to do that:

Where to Find Factory Butte – On the east side of Capitol Reef National Park is the Caineville Desert. And standing over that wide, expanse of desert is Factory Butte. You can see it mapped here on Google Maps. It is best accessed by the Factory Butte Road (mapped here) a dirt road that is a bit rough. So bring a high-clearance, preferably all-wheel drive vehicle. There is a little, off-shooting loop from the main road so that you can get pretty close to Factory Butte.

Also, you can see Factory Butte prominently in the middle-distance if you choose to drive the Cathedral Valley loop in Capitol Reef National Park. (Plus all the other cool stuff on the loop, like the Temples of the Sun and Moon.) The Cathedral Vally road is also dirt, but it is a bit better maintained than the Factory Butte Road. Check out our definitive guide to Cathedral Valley here if this sounds appealing.