Calf Creek and Capitol Reef

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Calf Creek was a very nice surprise. A friend of Stefan recommended it, so we took the road to check it up. The campground was full up but we asked a cyclist to share his site with us. He was happy to do so, and we got great company to chat over dinner: Wayne, a college professor who was on his way from Washington State to Kansas to visit his mother - doing the trip on a bicycle! We had some really nice conversation by the fire and I promised to Wayne I would consider his invitation to travel through Thailand on a bicycle. How awesome would that be!

The next morning we set off on the trail to the waterfall. A very pleasant trail through a young forest along the river and across the canyon floor, with lots of flowers and soft golden sand. Quite a long hike but so worthwhile! The waterfall is just the prettiest thing at the end of the canyon, with its clear water falling ribbon-like from the rock lip high above into a refreshing lake surrounded by sandy beach. I had a plunge in the cold water and stood by the waterfall in awe while the sun warmed me up and dried my skin. I just wanted to stay there for as long as I could, in the sun, contemplating the scenery. Then I curled up in the sand underneath the shade of the trees and took a nap, listening to the soft sounds of water cascading down.

The driving on this part of the country is extremely scenic: mountains, coloured rocks, small western villages and farms compose a special landscape to be unveiled after each turn of the road. Old cars parked in front of properties acquire the artistic status of sculptures; others are abandoned to rust at not so prominent places; charming old wrecks still possessing appealing looks.

We had planned to go through Capitol Reef National Park only briefly, as we were exited about getting to Moab county as soon as possible. However, Stefan and I camped in the park for a night and did a bit of exploring in the morning. The park preserves an area where there's a giant, sinuous wrinkle in the Earth's crust - the Waterpocket Fold - stretching for 100 miles across south-central Utah with an eroded jumble of colourful cliffs, massive domes, twisting canyons and graceful arches.

It was along the Fremont River that Indian cultivated corn, beans and squash as early as AD 700, leaving few traces when they departed sometime after AD 1250. Explorers and Mormon pioneers began to make their way into the valley in the late 1800s. By 1917 the tiny community of Fruita, known for its productive orchards, was bustling on the banks of the Fremont. The farmers and their families gradually moved away after the park was set aside in 1937. The fruit trees, barn, a few old houses and the school building remain here, whispering their history in the dusty wind.

Before leaving the park I did a short hike that culminated at a majestic natural arch. A massive expanse of rock bridging the canyon. Treading lightly, reluctantly, with my eyes fixed on the arch's fissures I walked through the large boulders that have collapsed to the ground as the water seeped through small cracks in the rock above; the remaining bulky arm of a rock insists in staying arched some 15 metres above the ground, defying gravity. A great introduction to the wonderful array of arches I'm going to find at my next destination...

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