Capitol Reef – An Icon From Home

Phew, the crew is pooped out!

Six amazing national parks to include: Yellowstone, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce and Zion. The crew hit them all! But boy oh boy are we an exhausted bunch of peeps. Our goal is to make it back east by the end of August so we are moving along quickly. A break is in order and pretty soon we’ll be resting our traveling souls on the Pacific coast! Right now we’re melting in Reno, NV.

I’m behind in the blogging, of course. I guess I’ll just have to accept the fact that there’s no getting caught up to real time. The blog wasn’t loading for the last couple of days so I had to deal with that issue. Thanks to my techie husband, it’s now back online. The hosting folks weren’t much help. So let me pick up where I left off, our next destination, Capitol Reef National Park.

Now before I get too far ahead of myself, we did make a detour on our way there. We ate lunch at Goblin Valley State Park. I heard about the park a while ago and I’ve been wanting to check it out ever since. When I realized it was something we could do en route to one of our destinations, I was all over it.

But you see, I had forgotten which route it was on. Oh that forty-something brain of mine! That is, until I saw the signs for it. I was so happy! This place has some pretty freaky formations, hence the name, Goblin Valley. See for yourself in the photo below. The crew, right down to the furry one, had a blast climbing all the formations. And when things got a little too hot for comfort, we raided the popsicles in the freezer, haha! Oh the life of an RV’er.

With Goblin Valley taken care of, we were headed towards Capitol Reef. It was a neat park with lots of history. Aside from the crazy winds we experienced while there, (40 mph+) the temperatures were much more forgiving than in Moab, Utah. The nights cooled off nicely and there was lots of greenery. This part of the desert was lush and green, unlike the hot sands and scrub brush of Moab.

So you may be wondering why the park was named Capitol Reef, as were we. According to the park service, this is why:

Early settlers noted that the white domes of Navajo Sandstone resemble the dome of the Capitol building in Washington, DC. Prospectors visiting the area (many with nautical backgrounds) referred to the Waterpocket Fold, an 87-mile long ridge in the earth’s crust, as a reef, since it was a formidable barrier to transportation.

We thought it was pretty neat that the ‘Capitol’ part was named after an icon in D.C., near where we live. More information can be found at the Capitol Reef National Park website.

The park has a rich history. It has been home to people for thousands of years. Petroglyphs are carved into rock and showcase a prehistoric time. The most recent inhabitants were Mormon pioneers who settled what is now the Fruita Rural Historic District. They planted and cared for orchards of apples, pears, cherries, peaches and more. They used this to barter for other things they needed. The park service cares for these trees today.

There is an old Fruita schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, a homestead and more available for visitors to explore. They also have fresh pies, cinnamon rolls and other baked goods that are made and delivered by locals daily. Of course we had to purchase one or maybe two, okay, okay, we got two pies and a cinnamon roll. There, I’m confessing! They were delicious.

Fruita Schoolhouse

Another thing that the park is famous for is the ‘Waterpocket Fold’. This is a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) that extends almost 100 miles! According to the park service, “”Waterpockets” are small depressions that form in many of the sandstone layers as they are eroded by water, and are common throughout the fold at Capitol Reef.” The dome itself is part of this Waterpocket Fold.

We got to see a fair amount of wildlife. There was this adorable marmot, a mule deer, some wild turkeys and we saw some beaver chew marks on a few logs. We took a scenic drive, saw the capitol dome, hiked a little bit and enjoyed our time here. It’s in a pretty remote place so groceries and such were on the expensive side. It was a nice place to visit and I’d go back again.

I wish we had been able to hike a few more trails while we were there. But before we knew it, it was time to move on down the road to our next destination, Bryce Canyon. More on that fairytale wonderland next time. Videos will be coming in the near future for most of our destinations. Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for updates.

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{HUGS} from the Crew!