Capitol Reef National Park, Torrey UT

SUN., OCT 9, 2022 thru WED., OCT 12, 2022

On Sunday the pod left Moab to travel 156 miles north and west to arrive at Thousand Lakes RV Park in Torrey, UT. This drive gave us a more subtle landscape with mountains in the distance… until we drove through parts of Capitol Reef National Park where the mountains were up close and personal. That wet our appetite for what we’ll actually be seeing when we tour the national park. Once we were settled at the campground, a rainbow graced us with its presence shortly after our arrival.

Gary did a short video of the rainbow and the mountain that abuts our campground. 

On Monday, October 10th, the pod visited Capitol Reef National Park in Torrey, UT. Its defining feature is a 100-mile long “wrinkle in the earth’s crust” called the “waterpocket fold.” It is a monoline or one-sided fold that formed 6 million years ago because of several factors, but erosion being the final one. The result is a big WOW! First we drove 2.5 miles on an unpaved treacherous road. Oy… narrow, dusty, 2-way and stunning. We arrived at the end of this charming road to hike the 2+ mile Capitol Gorge Trail. Totally worth the effort of getting there! Magnificent views from the base of the canyon. Petroglyphs and several hundred historic signatures dotted the canyon walls. It was called a “pioneer register” or what the pod called early graffiti, dating back to 1911. We drove back up the treacherous road unscathed…  although more than a few 4-letter words were flung from my mouth… aimed at other drivers, not hubby, mostly telling them to stay on their side of the rode with their tiny little cars. 

Once on terra firma, we drove part of the 8-mile scenic drive making stops along the way. One stop being the Fruita Rural Historic District located within the park. This is where the famous Fruita Orchards are located. It’s a historical agricultural site with over 3,000 fruit, berry and nut trees. We bought a few small fruit pies to take home with us. The fruit trees date back to the early 1900s. 

Upon our return to the campground in the afternoon, Gary started migrating files from our old laptop to his new laptop that had just arrived. I was to keep the old laptop for my use and he was going to get the new one with more storage capacity for doing his videos. I offered to stick around to “help.” He preferred me not helping so off I went to go shopping at the campground gift shop with Cheryl & Joe. The campground  had the best gift shop in the town of Torrey and that included the national park! I bought two new shirts and Cheryl, being more altruistic, bought gifts for others. 

In the evening we all headed for dinner at Torrey Grill & BBQ at the campground. Delish!

The pods road from hell getting to the Capitol Gorge Hiking Trail. Oy. But we survived and more importantly our truck did, too! Thanks to Gary’s superb driving and parking skills!

On Tuesday Gary and I were not having a good day. Problems ensued with separating files between the two laptops. One big problem was finding all my photos. I was literally not a happy camper. We told C&J to head into the park without us. We’d go in tomorrow. They said “no-no the pod sticks together.” So sweet! They ran a few errands and did some things around Torrey. And as the day progressed, things got better with my laptop… missing files were found. Not back in business yet, but it was looking promising. I was becoming a happier camper i.e. Gary was out of the dog house. 

On Wednesday, Oct. 12th, the pod linked up for another day of fun in Capitol Reef National Park. Such a magnificent landscape. It is positively stunning! The name Capitol Reef comes from the white domes of Navajo Sandstone that resemble the capitol building dome, and “reef” for the rocky cliffs which are a barrier to travel, like an ocean reef. We visited the Goosenecks Overlook so named because a tributary of the Colorado River flows 800 ft below in tight curves resembling a gooseneck. We also visited a wall of petroglyphs from 1300 C.E. You could still make out some of the forms… just amazing. Lastly we visited an additional sight in Fruita… their old schoolhouse built in 1896. 

Tomorrow is a travel day. We head to Bryce National Park! It’s amazing to me that Utah has so many national parks in such close proximity to one another.