Capitol Reef National Park – Let There be PIE!

Our jello plan allocated four nights for Capitol Reef National Park. I’d not heard much about the park, so I wasn’t expecting a brilliant green oasis framed by sheer red rock walls and golden sandstone cliffs. The park preserves both geologic wonders and early native and pioneer history.

Vibrant green orchards against a red-rock backdrop.

The defining geologic feature is the “waterpocket fold,” a giant wrinkle in the earth’s crust. Over 10,000 feet of sedimentary rock was laid millions of years ago, then tectonic activity along a fault in the earth’s crust lifted layers on one side up 7,000 feet. Rather than cracking, the rock layers folded over the fault line. Erosion then sculpted the layers into the canyons, cliffs, domes and bridges.

 

Absolutely stunning!

Evidence of ancestral native tribes can be found in carvings and paintings on the rock walls. More recently, early pioneers also left their mark as they traveled through the area, signing the “Pioneer Registry,” a large area of smooth stone with names and dates scratched, chiseled, or shot (yes!) into the stone.

Many civilizations have left their mark.

In the 1880’s this area was populated by Mormon settlers who established a farming community along the Fremont River. They built irrigation systems that are still in use today to water their orchards and pastures. The Fruita Campground, where we stayed, is an emerald gem situated among the historic orchards of apple, peach, pear, and apricot trees. In the fall, for a small donation, you can harvest the fruit! The old schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, and Gifford homestead are also preserved.

Part of the old Gifford homestead.

The Gifford House is now a small museum and shop that carries a tasty selection of locally made foods, baked goods, and PIE. Really, really good PIE. Five varieties (cherry, apple, peach, berry, strawberry rhubarb) of really, really good PIE. Hmmmm… five kinds of PIE and four days. That sounds like a challenge to me! (FYI: I won. Lol.)

Let there be PIE!
(and cinnamon rolls, homemade bread, pickles and many other delicious things. Lol.)

We arrived on Tuesday, 5/9, early enough to snag a spot in the campground. We are parked right next to an orchard and surrounded by huge cottonwood trees. The cottonwood fluff is drifting like snow all through the campground and the resident deer are fat and happy and strut around as if they own the place. 😊  After getting set up we checked out the visitor’s center and made our first foray to Gifford House for PIE. Cherry tonight. Lol.

Love the floating fluff, but it's everywhere!

We're happy to share our space. :)

Wednesday, we started the day with a pilgrimage to (you guessed it) Gifford House for cinnamon rolls for breakfast and PIE (apple and strawberry rhubarb). We rationalized that it was best to snag two just in case they run out later. Lol. After consuming large amounts of carbohydrates and caffeine (breakfast of champions!), we headed into the small town of Torrey to suck up some free wifi at the county visitor’s center. The morning was gray and raining, so it was a perfect opportunity to get caught up on email and blog posts. We have no (none, nada, zip, zilch) Verizon service at the campground. Sigh. Four hours later, the sun is out and we call it quits, having abused their free wifi as much as we dared.

We opted to do the 8-mile scenic drive and a short hike on the Capitol Gorge Trail to view the Pioneer Registry and the tanks, giant sandstone potholes. On the hike, we struck up a conversation with a couple from Camas, Washington, Dave and Ellie, and met later for happy hour and storytelling. 😊

View of the cliffs from Panorama Point.

The dirt road to the trailhead was like a slot canyon for cars! Lol. 

Eph Hanks Tower.

Pioneer Register.
The round pockmarks are bullet holes. Some spell out names and initials. Lol. 

The tanks.

Golden Throne.

Egyptian Temple.

Our longest hike was a combination of the Cohab Canyon and Hickman Bridge trails. As we were starting our hike we ran into Bill and Jane, another Washington couple that we’d met at Temple Mountain. They were camped just across from us, so we agreed to get together later.  The hike was great, with lovely views and some of the prettiest sandstone colors and patterns I’ve seen. I just want to take it all home! Lol. We got together with Bill and Jane after dinner for cards. Learned a new game, one where the rules weren’t made up as we played, ahem, Tom! Lol.

Awesome views from the top of the climb to Cohab Canyon.

Heehee... I see you!

Loved the bowling balls.
Volcanic rock carried here and worn smooth by melting glacier floodwaters.

Swirls of pink and cream colored sandstone like giant dollops of sherbet.

Capitol Dome.

Hickman Bridge.

Love, love, love the patterns in the sandstone. 

Lunch break. :) 

Impressive rocks line the trail.

Friday, 5/13, was our last day at Capitol Reef. We did the hike to Cassidy Arch and got to watch some more crazy people – this time going down, instead of up. It was a beautiful arch, why would you want to jump off of it?! 😊  We also saw the remnants of old uranium mines. Here’s an interesting tidbit – at one time uranium ore was considered to have valuable medicinal properties against rheumatism and other ailments. The radioactive ore was packed in pouches and worn around the neck or crushed and mixed with water for a healthful tonic. Arrrrg!  In the 1950’s during the Cold War, The Atomic Energy Commission encouraged prospecting and mining even in national park lands. Despite opposition from the park service, roads were built and mines were dug. Only small amounts of uranium were ever found, but the scars from the mining operations are still visible today.  

Cassidy Arch trail.

Two entrances to an old Uranium mine. Healthful tonic, anyone? 

Cassidy Arch in the distance.

Rog atop the arch. No, he won't be jumping....

... unlike these crazy folks. Lol.

In the afternoon, we spent another couple of hours availing ourselves of the free wifi in Torrey. Bill and Jane had invited us over for dinner and Rog and I offered to bring dessert. PIE! (Are you surprised?)  We snagged three pies (peach, berry, and another strawberry rhubarb) at the Gifford House, along with homemade bread and habanero dill pickles. It was like having our own farmer’s market open every day. Delicious!

Saturday we leave early for Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. We are going to try and beat an incoming low pressure system that is promising more cold and, the bane of RV’ers everywhere, high winds. We enjoyed our stay at Capitol Reef and I am really going to miss the PIE! Lol.