Did you think we were finished writing about Utah? Of course we’re not! Our very last night in Utah was spent at a very comfortable KOA campground where we had our first showers and laundry in 10 days. Both things were much needed! The store even carried refrigerated local beer. It was luxurious.
The three previous nights were spent at our penultimate destination in Utah: Capitol Reef National Park. Back in the fall when I was investigating campgrounds in Utah, I discovered that most of the national park campgrounds (Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands) were booked solid. This was a little bit upsetting at the time, but was actually a blessing in disguise because it prompted me to book most of our accommodations ahead of time which has turned out to be a great decision. After my initial disappointment about the full parks in Utah I did a little bit of research and was able to book three nights at Fruita campground at Capitol Reef, one of the slightly less famous national parks in Utah.
Capitol Reef got its name from its geology. It is a long ‘waterpocket fold’ in the Earth’s crust along a fault line. This fold was a huge barrier for humans migrating west, and they likened it to a giant reef. It also has a domed rock formation that resembles the Capitol building in Washington. The Fruita campground is located in a lush valley that was originally (in terms of whites people) settled by Mormons. They planted several orchards that still produce fruit today, and campers are encouraged to harvest and eat the fruit (peaches, apples, pears, plums, etc.) when it is in season. We camped adjacent to one of those orchards, which was really nice after the previous 6 days spent in desert-like areas.
We went for three really nice hikes in Capitol Reef as well as a fun drive down an Indiana-Jonesesque dirt road. The fact that the earth folded here long ago means that the subsequent erosion has exposed a very wide range of rock types in a very small area. Layers that would have been hidden far underground were lifted up and are now exposed, and the effect is really neat to see. Lucy chose the Chimney Rock Loop and Miriam chose a hike in Cohab Canyon. Our drive down Capitol Gorge Road was epic, with incredible colours on the canyon walls. At the end of the road we took a short hike to see some petroglyphs as well as the ‘pioneer register,’ which is a place where early settlers carved their names when passing through the canyon on their way to a new life. Definitely the best graffiti I’ve ever seen.
Additional perks at the campground included wildlife and a store. There were two resident horses in a corral beside the campground, as well as a herd of 15 deer that visited us on the second day, lingering in the orchard for most of the afternoon before casually leaping over the fence and wandering through the campground. The store meant that the girls could buy a little ice cream to use to make root beer floats, and that we bought fresh cinnamon rolls to have with breakfast on the last day.
It was chilly at night in the valley, and as we were surrounded by tall rock features on three sides it seemed to take forever for the sun to come up. Although the sunrise was around 7AM, the sunlight wasn’t reaching us directly until after 9. In the evening, the same phenomenon meant that we lost the sun at least an hour before it actually set. Weeks later in California, Lucy was reading to us in the car, and the characters in the book were experiencing the same phenomenon. They lamented that dusk had come before sundown. If it hadn’t been so cold at night in Fruita, we wouldn’t have minded, but the direct sunlight was much appreciated.
As I write this, I find myself in another valley where we have experienced dusk before sunset, and I am currently waiting for the sun to climb over a nearby mountain long after sunrise. We are in Yosemite. There is lots of hype about this place, and booking a campsite here involved two laptops, multiple browsers windows and catlike reflexes. It’s fame was enough to make me suspicious. After all, Utah was breathtaking without Zion and Bryce, so I wondered if it would be worth it to drive 4 hours from the beautiful California coast to come here. As it turns out it was most certainly worth the drive. Arriving in the park it is almost impossible to drive without stopping to take in the view which is so breathtaking I’m sure it has caused people to drive right off of the road. We are camped in the valley surrounded by tall granite mountains including Half Dome and El Capitan. Of all of the places we have visited, this place has the strongest feeling of being hallowed ground. It is the park that started the National Park movement. President Lincoln is the one who first signed the papers to protect the valley, and it is easy to understand why.
Yesterday we hiked to the top of Upper Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in North America. It was a difficult climb - reminiscent of the Grand Canyon - and we ascended 2700 ft in just over 5 km to get to the top. Miriam pushed through her doubts again, and Lucy was leading the way. The trail was beautiful despite the endless switchbacks, and I loved walking through the streams full of gorgeous water-polished granite. We got to see the thundering waterfall from a few different locations. The mist from the falls was refreshing on the way up and soaked us pretty good on the way down. The lookout at the top took us down some impossibly steep granite steps to a railing that let us look directly over the top of the falls. We enjoyed lunch at the top as well as a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains. During the descent the sun was in the right place to create a rainbow - sometimes a double rainbow! - in the mist of the falls. It was a difficult but satisfying hike that took us a little over 6 hours with stops for snacks and lunch. We celebrated with some ice cream from the store followed by a large hot meal before collapsing into a deep sleep.
This morning, despite a forecast of rain for the second day in a row, the sky is blue and the sun is on its way. We will hike more, but probably not ‘up’ today. I’m hoping we can hike near the bottom of El Capitan and spot some mountain climbers.
Amazing Capitol Reef geology
Sunset at Capitol Reef
Cohab Canyon hike
1 mile into our 3.4 mile climb to Upper Yosemite Falls
Our first glimpse of Yosemite Valley...this is 'tunnel view' ... El Capitan on the centre left and Half Dome centre right
Beauty sight...you can see how the rock may have messed with our daylight
Perhaps 2 miles into the hike...the bottom of the upper falls is quite a climb from the valley
Looking down at the brink of the falls
More Capitol Reef
Note that it is dusk for us but not for the mountain behind us
Gorgeous tree at Fruita
Cinnamon roll
One of our car-commercial shots
Deer at Fruita
More neat geology
Capitol Gorge Road
Pioneer register
Canyon where the pioneer names are
The orchard at Fruita
Lucy and I at the brink of the falls
Resting at the top of the hike
It's easy going down!
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