Page Updated: May 11, 2023
Capitol Reef National Park
2021 JUNE
“The Mail Tree” - Capitol Reef National Park UT
Before we traveled into Utah for the first time, we’d never heard of Capitol Reef National Park. When we saw it referenced on tons of souvenirs in Zion and Bryce gift shops, we decided not to skip the sole Utah National Park missing on our list and penciled in a pit stop to the nations 35th National Park on travel day. We knew we wouldn’t have a ton of time; but we didn’t want to leave Utah without checking it out.
Passing through the west entrance, we stopped at the first designated view point along Utah State Hwy 24 - Panorama Point - to take in the panoramic views. With a stormy day on the horizon, we kept it short and sweet.
Arriving at the visitors center around noon was not ideal; the center was closed (for lunch? COVID days - so could’ve been short staffed), it was hot, and the parking lot overfloweth. We opted to keep our side-of-the-road park under the meager shade of a few trees and eat our packed lunch in the car while waiting for the VC to re-open.
Over an hour later, we made our way into the historic town of Fruita. The old settlement sits inside Capitol Reef National Park between the visitor center and the Park’s Scenic Drive and contains a collection of old building sprawled around a tiny area. We stopped at the old Forge building to see what type of forge the farm once used and gawk at the antiques.
We also took the time to pop into the Gifford House and grab a homemade pie- a must do in Capitol Reef. Pies go fast! I had my heart set on cherry. Sadly, cherry sold out with 5 people ahead of us. Peach, my second choice, sold out with 2 people still in front of us. Luckily, I managed to grab the last mixed berry of the day. When we walked out, there were 3 apple pies left in the case… it was 1:30pm.
We spent the rest of our short time in Capitol Reef driving Scenic Drive. The park has a unique look. If you try to read about it, words like waterpocket fold and monoclines sear your brain. But, if you paid attention in science class as a kid, it looks like a fault line with one side sitting higher than the other.
The National Park Service pamphlet for Capitol Reef tells visitors that the park was named early on 1) in honor of the US Capitol building after early visitors saw a white dome of Navajo sandstone east of Hickman Bridge, and 2) the rocky cliffs being reminiscent of ocean reefs (paraphrasing). We didn’t see the Capitol Dome this visit. The NPS has pictures of it; and it definitely looks white in its surroundings, but “the Capitol building” seems a bit of a stretch. However, there are portions of the scenic drive that definitely come across as reef-like.
Rain showers threatened the area and we were on a schedule, so we bypassed the wash drives and stuck to driving the scenic route to the end at Capitol Gorge Picnic area. The Park was unique and the drive was beautiful. We had a great experience, and I’m glad we made time for it. Would love to hikes some trails if we ever make it back - just not in the summer!
scenes from Capitol Reef
-b&b
Natural Bridges National Monument
