Capitol Reef NP

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August 7th 2008

Published: August 13th 2008

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Cranson

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We've finally started to take pictures of the actual entrance sign, instead of staging it later on.

The next stop on our trip was similar to Colorado National Monument, in that it was not a planned stop, but turned out to be a pleasant detour. Capitol Reef National Park is located on another Scenic Byway (SH24) between Arches and Bryce Canyon. (We opted out of visiting Canyonlands N.P, which is also in the vicinity.) Like the other National Parks in Utah, Capitol Reef has beautiful colored rocks, cliffs, and winding trails. However, the distinguishing geological feature of Capitol Reef is that it contains the Waterpocket Fold, which is a monocline. As I understand it, a monocline is a wrinkle in the earths crust that causes a ridge to form (a great definition, huh?, I don't really understand it, either). I was told that the cool thing about the one at Capitol Reef is that it is a 100 mile-long wrinkle. The unfortunate part about that is it is hard to see the whole scope of the monocline. I would assume that a tour from the air would be best. But there were other aspects to the park that added interest to our visit. Like the great homemade pies from the fresh fruit grown in the orchards. That's right;

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An awesome waterfall that Cody saw on our drive up the canyon. The rushing water is a result of all the recent rain we've been having.

there's a National Park that has pie!

Considering, that the night before was spent in a hotel parking lot, we were both tired and looking for an excuse to stop. The pie was reason enough; the fact that we could camp next to the pie made it even better. First things first: why are there fruit orchards at the bottom of a canyon in a NP? Thanks go to the Mormons (as you will soon see, the Mormons did a lot in Utah, imagine that). The first Mormons, in their Brigham Youngian quest, moved into the area around the late 1870s. There they found evidence of an earlier people who used to live in the area, known as the Fremont People. The Fremont People had lived in the canyon, growing crops and leaving evidence of their lives in the forms of petroglyphs, pictographs, and intricate clay figurines. This was Nickey's first up-close-and-personal, real-life experience with petroglyphs! The Mormons used the irrigation ditches dug by the Fremont People to plant fruit trees and other crops in the lush canyon floor, naming their settlement (aptly enough) Fruita.

While no longer a permanent settlement, the NPS has continued to maintain the

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There were a number of flash flood watches in effect while we were driving through Utah.

orchards and farmhouse as a living history site. While Cody didn't pick up any extra wives, he did get a delicious peach pie, and I ate my very own mixed berry pie. As has been the norm for our trip, the skies continued to rain and flash floods plagued the park, shutting down all of the scenic drives in the park. We decided to camp at the Fruita campground and actually get the tent up before dark, avoiding all ant hills. Next door to our campsite, there was an apple orchard, where deer grazed and ate apples off the ground. When the fruit is ripe and in season, you can pick your own for a small fee and eat as much as you want on-site for free. As luck would have it, we were smack dab in between seasons, and no fruit of any kind was ripe.

The next morning, we were up rather early and on the road to Bryce Canyon. Along the way, we came across a Utah State Park that we thought would be fun to stop at, since I didn't get to Mesa Verde 😞 Anasazi Indian State Park. The critics give it two thumbs

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Elijah Behunin was one of the first settlers in the area. He lived in this puny cabin with his wife and 8 kids. He also shows up later in Zion NP.

down. None of the audio-visual exhibits worked, the good stuff was hidden from the public, and they charged you $8 to get in. And it was puny. The only real artifacts to be seen were the burnt stubs of the houses that the Native Americans used to live in, along with their fire pits. After we left AISP, we drove over the "Million-Dollar Highway to Boulder" (Utah, not CO). This was amazing. Originally used as a postal route, this highway ran along the top of a ridge that must have been several hundred feet high, with drop-offs on either side. This led us through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Park, and eventually to Bryce Canyon.

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