Video Link: Capitol Reef thru our GoPro
Photo Album Link: Capitol Reef Photos
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I have to be honest. Until about 6 months ago, I never even heard of Capitol Reef National Park. I was planning our trip through Utah and discovered this somewhat unknown National Park on the map. In fact, because of the long drive from Salt Lake City to Moab, our original plans had us skip it altogether and spend more time at Arches. In the end, we decided to make the side trip through the park and I'm really glad we did.
The park got its name in part from the great white rock formations which resemble the US Capitol dome. The 25-mile long drive in the park takes you through towering red rock mesas and along a lush river valley. In the 1880s, early settlers planted over 2,500 fruit trees in this valley, and today, about 1,900 of these trees survive and are protected. If you are there at the right time of the year, you can pick and eat apples, cherries, plums, apricots, peaches, and pears. Unfortunately, we arrived too late in the season to enjoy these luscious treats.
I'm not sure if the remote location or the time of year had anything to do with the fact that this park was not crowded at all. We took a few short hikes to take pictures and we were awestruck at the geology in this park. So much red rock everywhere you turn. Hindsight always being 20/20, we should have made more time for this park.
The Capitol Reef Petroglyphs are very high up on the cliff face and over 7 feet tall. If I were able to stand next to these, they would be 2 feet taller than me. Carved somewhere between 600 and 1300 AD, you can't help but wonder how they accomplished this feat so high up on the wall. Along with your typical goats, snakes, and sun renderings, there are several human shapes engraved in the rock that look like ancient astronauts. Hmmmm, I wonder.....
Romin was a trooper, as always, and he had fun driving us through the park.
This was a good stop in our travels. If you find yourself roaming around central Utah, this is a great way to spend a day hiking and exploring. There was so much more to see than we had time for.
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Until next time,
Peace & Love
Pete & Lori
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