Capitol Reef National Park

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Karen popped up bright and early - instead of asking ‘are you awake?, she said, do you want me to get you breakfast in bed?’ Twist my arm ☺️ Karen returned moments later with coffee, bagels, cream ?, ? and yogurt from the continental breakfast included with our hotel. After breakfast, I had a little bit of time to catch up with a few former colleagues while Karen mapped ? out our hiking plan for the day. Shower ? time again - wohoo?We decided to turn the shower ? and me into a dishwashing machine as well as laundry mat. While I was in the shower, Karen started handing me all the dishes. The campgrounds typically only have cold water? for cleaning dishes, so our dishes were in desperate need of a good hot bath. We also cleaned our gloves and hats ?

Off to hike...??‍???‍? We checked out the visitor center and watched a brief video about the park. Capitol Reef was named for the white domed rock formations, one in particular that looked like the dome of the U.S. Capitol. We discovered the Waterpocket Fold, a geological monocline (wrinkle on the earth ? ) extending ? miles! Fascinating...the history of the people who lived here - the prehistoric Fremont Culture, now known as the Fruita Rural Historic District. The Mormon pioneers that settled here in the 1800’s, maybe 10 families in total, lived off the land with their families...building a one room school house ?and planting and nurturing orchards of?, ?, and ?. They raised livestock and smoked their meat in hand built smokehouses. We walked in one and you could still smell the ? - it still had charred Utah license plates from the 30’s and 40’s (they were used to fill some of the cracks in the walls).

We hiked to Hickman Bridge, a 133-foot natural bridge with canyon views. Took the scenic drive and stopped off at the Blacksmith Shop and turned into the Campground...mule deer everywhere ??Another beautiful sunny ?day with crisp blue skies! They have an outdoor movie ? theatre which is open during the season...season runs mid-March thru mid-October. Get ready OR gang, Karen is thinking of upgrading our OR outdoor movie theatre ??We enjoyed a picnic lunch near the Gifford House ? and the Fremont River and then hiked the Fremont River Trail. Capitol Reef is a hikers dream...

We refilled our water ? bottles and then headed to the Chimney Rock Loop - thought it would be fun since we have both been to Chimney Rock in NC ? This hike was almost 4 miles and considered strenuous according the the National park brochure...amazing panorama views of the Waterpocket Fold cliffs and great for watching the sunset. The light seems to flow or shine out of the rock rather than to be reflected from it. The change in the colors based on the sun is stunning. We were so high that some of the cliffs and rocks actually did not seem so large?...perspective.

We hiked ~10 miles...we were both pretty tired, exhilarated, and excited - we have a hotel and shower to get back to ? 2 more awesome hot showers ? ? and a takeout order of pizza ? and 2 salads ? from our new favorite local restaurant, Red Cliff ??

We are now on our way to Bryce Canyon National Park for 3 nights of camping ⛺️ exploring and hiking ??‍? According to the website, the park camping amenities are similar to the Grand Canyon. Free shuttles ?to transport campers and visitors throughout the park.

We are living a dream ?? When we were driving to Capitol Reef I was overwhelmed by the miles of unbelievable landscape and views. I stopped the car in the middle of the road multiple times (no cars ? in sight) and looked at Karen and said, ‘is this real?’ What we are seeing is astonishing and mind boggling...every day we are surrounded by beauty & also meeting wonderfully nice ?? people from around the country and world ?, learning about our beautiful country ??

We encourage everyone, when you can, get outside and explore ??

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Comments

[LJ]

FINALLY!!
For the past several days, I have been unable to message you gals!! For some reason, the "submit content" tab has been overlapped by other onfo?. Thank you for the shout out, Karen!! I gotta admit, both of ya'll's hair TOTALLY ROCKS!! Ya'll are creating memories for a lifetime. Thank you for including me in on your fabulous journey. Love. Love. Love. ????✨????