Capitol Reef National Park

We spent the morning driving from Zion to Capitol Reef. Once we got to this sleepy little RV park, we realized we had some neighbors! Our campsite butted up against a fence line and our neighbors were very friendly! We learned their names were LeRoy and Ellie Mae and they like carrots and apples! :)

Trip Details:

Where: Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Campsite: Wonderland RV Park, site 14

Length: 2 days

Itinerary:

Day 1: Relax day/Capitol Reef National Park

Day 2: Capitol Reef National Park

Charlotte’s Highlights: Hiking the Grand Wash and going through the tall narrows

Paige’s Highlights: Hiking to Hickman Bridge and seeing the bridge

Adult’s Highlights: All the color layers of the canyons and seeing the stars and Milky Way

The afternoon we arrived, we headed into Capitol Reef National Park to plan out what we wanted to do the next day. We got the girls their Junior Ranger booklets and learned that the rangers were hosting a 10:15 pm Star Talk! Since we missed out on Bryce Canyon, we were excited to be able to participate in this one!!

After a late afternoon nap and dinner, we were ready to head into the park and guess what happened... another stupid rainstorm. Haha! So we tucked the girls in and Aaron and I watched a movie. I, like always, fell asleep during the movie and Aaron woke me up at 1:30 saying that the sky was clear and we could see tons of stars and the Milky Way across the entire sky.

Based on the Ranger's recommendations, we woke up early and headed to the Grand Wash Trail to hike some narrows. The weather was in the 70s and the sun was hidden behind the granite cliffs. It was a great easy hike at about 3 miles out and back and we took the time to go geode hunting and found some pretty cool rocks! Although it was hard for the girls, they left the geodes in the park for others to admire. "Take only memories, leave only footprints" was a bit of a hard lesson for them that day! Haha

The next hike was to Hickman Bridge Trail to see a large natural bridge. This hike was only a 1.7 mile out and back trail with 400 feet in elevation. You'd think this would be easy for us after all these hikes we've done, but it was a little harder due to the heat and no shade. When we got there, we enjoyed lunch in the shade under the bridge before heading back to the car.

We learned that from 300 to 1300 AD, the Fremont River Valley (aka Capitol Reef NP) was home to a group of Native Americans who painted pictographs and carved petroglyphs into the canyon walls. There was a Petroglyph Panel located 1 mile east of the visitors center on Highway 24 that we visited. We saw drawings of themselves, big horn sheep and deer on the side of the canyon. Crazy to see that they're still there and could be over 1700 years old!

We also learned why Capitol Reef NP was so special. Capitol Reef's distinctive geological feature is a wrinkle in the Earth's crust that stretches almost 100 miles and is called a Waterpocket Fold. Three gradual and powerful geological forces formed over time: deposition, uplift and erosion. The result is a classic example of a monocline, or one-sided fold.

Finally, we learned this park is unique as it's the only national park that has its own orchard. Mormon pioneers grew orchards in the area and sold and traded the fruit to make a living. Today, there are 19 orchards around the national park. They grow apples, apricots, cherry, peaches, pears, plums and grapes, to name a few. Visitors are allowed to visit the orchards and grab a ripe fruit if available. This year, their season was a little delayed since they had a frost in May and didn't grow as much as normal. Right now they would have apricots. In a couple of weeks the apples will be ready for picking ... that is if the deer don't eat them all before then!

Capital Reef was a fun national park, but we were excited to move on. Time to pack up our bags and head to our final destination- Moab, Utah to visit both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks! Thanks for coming on our adventure! Until next time….

~ Mary

My favorite: Char in her element with her adopted horses! ❤️