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CAPITAL REEF NATIONAL PARK
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Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

	We had no idea what to expect of Capitol Reef National Park, but it turned out to be one of our favorites.  Like Arches, this park is the result of buckling of a rock created 65 million years ago by the same forces that created the Colorado Plateau.  This buckling is known as the Waterpocket Fold and it stretches for 100 miles across south-central Utah.  The Waterpocket Fold is made up of many layers of sedimentary rock, formed from sediments deposited over hundreds of millions of years from seas, tidal flats, and deserts.  However, unlike Arches, which resulted from salt beds shifting, the Waterpocket Fold resulted as an extensive regional mountain building episode began under ground.  Later, wind, rain, water, ice and snow peeled away the upper layers of this ancient fold, and today, these same elements continue to carve and mold the rock into new formations.  Some of our favorites were the colorful cliffs (in the same reds, browns, and beige that make up this entire region), twisting canyons, soaring spires, huge domes, monoliths, and arches.  

	Throughout the park, there is evidence that Native Americans hunted and farmed in the Waterpocket Fold area, and that later, in the mid-to-late 1800s, Mormon pioneers came in search of religious freedom and settled in this area to raise their families.  Within Capitol Reef National Park, some of these homesteads still stand, and the orchards planted by these Mormon settlers still yield delicious apples, pears, and cherries each year.  The Park, at this time of year, with the trees changing colors, is truly spectacular.  It can be explored by car on paved and unpaved roads (some of which may be washed out depending on the time of the year and recent rains), which take you deep into the canyons, winding throughout massive rock formations.  There are also a number of great hikes available.  We went on a fabulous three and half mile hike up the Old Wagon Trail. Apparently, Mormon miners used this “road” to access Miner’s Mountain; we used it for its amazing views of the Park, distant snow-capped mountains, and the Waterpocket Fold.  

	Because it was quite cold, in the 30s, and because there was a 50 % chance of rain, we opted to stay in the nearby town of Torrey. We found a cheap motel that had laundry and an outdoor hot tub, and after a delicious dinner at the Torrey Lodge Inn and Café, we hit the hay.
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Capital Reef National Park: Utah
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