Capitol Reef National Park
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
[This post is part of the Utah Ultimate National Parkness series - see the main post for additional background.]
As mentioned in the main Utah post, we went on a lovely scenic drive between the Zion/Bryce area and the Arches/Canyonlands area (Moab, Utah), which took us through Capitol Reef National Park, the most recently established of the 5 Utah National Parks. Photos from the road trip at the end of this post. But, before I show you more from the park, one wacky story from the road:
We’re in the middle of nowhere Utah, literally and figuratively. We’re hungry and decide to stop in Torrey, the small town closest to the entrance to Capitol Reef, where we found a tiny deli attached to a motel that had decent reviews on google maps. The couple ahead of us in line are French and compliment the guy behind the counter on the pretty pastries. He casually mentions that he and the wife are French trained and she makes the pastries. They ask where…..Cordon Bleu (what?!?!?!?). He also mentioned that he worked at Spago for a while (!). I love the totally random experiences we find on the way to somewhere - remember - the journey is the destination! Oh, and the pastries were actually to die for.
And now, some striking photos from this very different national park. As you drive into the park, you start seeing the incredible cliffs of the Waterpocket Fold. A few miles into the park along Highway 24 you find the turn off for the Visitor Center and the official Scenic Drive. As we started along the paved part of the drive, the cliffs were unique and pretty. I definitely have never seen anything like the formation in the 5th photo:
Eight miles down the road, we got to the unpaved portion of the Scenic Drive (fact check: confirmed, very scenic!). As we drove on, the going got much slower, the cliffs got closer, higher and the road narrowed. We were glad we were driving The Beast. At the end of the road was the Capitol Gorge Trailhead - there was a group of older folks getting ready to go (older than us!). It was way too hot IMO, so…respect!
As promised, some photos from the scenic drive TO Capitol Reef. There was a lot of driving up and down mountains, within state parks and other preserves along the way. The photos are from Head of the Rocks Overlook, the Calf Creek Recreation Area, The Hogback (our favorite part of the drive), the Homestead Overlook near Boulder, UT and around 9400ft. Utah is beautiful.
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