Capitol Reef National Monument

When we woke the next morning after a lovely night’s sleep the majority voted get on the road to Capitol Reef. No hiking in Escalante (boo-hoo) as several in our group were concerned about securing a camp-site for the night at Fruita, a first-come, first-served campground located in Capitol Reef National Monument. We took Utah Highway 12, a beautiful, scenic drive that took us, quite literally, through mountains and along narrow ridges which at times could be a bit scary to navigate. There were steep drops on either side of the pavement and they’re not overly-keen on guardrails out here. As we drew closer to Capitol Reef, the rock formations, edgy and bold, began to emerge from the smooth dune-like Earth beneath them like buried treasure on a beach. We managed to secure a campsite without a problem ($5 for our site with Emmett’s Access Pass – can’t beat that!). As National Parks go, Capitol Reef has a very different feel to it. Although there are the mountains, hiking trails and beautiful scenery we have become accustomed to at the other national parks we have visited out west, it also gave us quite an extensive lesson on the history of the area through a museum preserved in one of the original farmhouses which was built on this swath of land when it was settled by the Mormons in the 1880s. The Fremont River, narrow and swift moving, was crucial to the survival of the settlers who landed themselves in this area, which is also known as ‘Waterpocket Fold’. The water that flows through the otherwise barren landscape supports orchards and today, Capitol Reef is the largest historic orchard on record. Visitors to the park are welcome to pick their own fruit during their stay in this little green oasis. Volcanic rocks, washed down from 2 now dormant volcanoes which lie 20 miles away are dotted along the cliffs and hiking trails. We visited the Ripple Rock Nature Center and learned about early farm life in this area of Utah. The kids tried their hand at ‘spearing’ deer like the Fremont Indians did thousands of years ago. We toured the Blacksmith Shop and 1908 Gifford Farmhouse, and we walked out to the ancient petroglyphs carved thousands of years ago by some of the earliest settlers. That evening, under stormy skies, we left in search of dinner and settled in at The Patio on the outskirts of the park. During a quick ‘driving tour’ on the way there (it was getting pretty wet at this point), we drove past Capitol Dome, Castle Rock and Chimney Rock. A horseshoe pit, dart board and Frisbee golf at the Patio kept the kids entertained while we sampled the local brews. By the time we arrived back at camp, the air all around us was as black as tar. If it weren’t for the thousands of stars and bright moon, we would have stood in total darkness. At night the reefs lose their amber glow and become dark and ominous like sleeping giants waiting for the next day’s sun to awaken them once again. The next morning James and I woke at 6:30 and hiked the Colob Trail to get a good look at the formations in the early day sun. We enjoyed our time in Capitol Reef.