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| "Do we have to stop again for another picture?" "Yes, yes we do." |
Capitol Reef National Park. I had never heard of this national park until we began planning our trip out West. Honestly, I was just looking for a place to crash for a day or two on the way from Yellowstone down to the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion. It's a long way betwixt the two areas, and one of our goals for this trip was to not spend too much time in the car each day. So, using the magic of google maps, I found this park that was mostly on the way and offered at least the possibility of a hike or two. I didn't expect much from the place. In fact, I found the
official park website underwhelming.
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| Yes, it looks like a Reef. A 100-mile long wall of rock. |
Well.... after spending the better part of two days at Capitol Reef, I have to say that it is an undiscovered gem in the National Park system. In a word, it's spectacular here. I can't believe that I've never heard of this place. What it lacks in wildlife (we saw a few mule deer and heard a rumor of big horn sheep) it more than makes up for in the way of phenomenal geology. It's basically a place where tectonic plates have collided, causing some mountains to buckle downward and others to shoot up into the sky. And the results are amazing.
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| Capitol Dome. |
Capitol Reef gets it's name from this Navajo Limestone formation (right) that looks a bit like the Capitol building in D.C. Capitol Reef was once almost known by the name "WallyWorld."
I KID YOU NOT.
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| Daniel got much use out of his camera today. |
Today began with a short hike along the Fremont River, a muddy river filled with sediment. The kids enjoyed exploring, looking at gnarly old trees, and butterflies. And Kelly and I enjoyed watching them do all this.
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| The aforementioned giant tree of gnarliness |
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| Kelly got a great shot of a butterfly. |
Anna bonded with a nearby horse (naturally).
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| Eye-to-Eye. |
Next was a picnic near the river.
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| One of our many picnics this week. |
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| Entering Grand Wash canyon. |
But the highlight of the day -- by far -- was a hike into a canyon known as Grand Wash. Grand Wash is a huge canyon that narrows into a slot canyon. And it is just that -- a "wash" where all the rainwater runs down to from the surrounding mountains. It was an amazing two hours of hiking with the kids. As we hiked, this glorious canyon, filled with rocks and boulders, would twist and turn for miles on end. As we went in, we were surrounded on all sides by both sheer and serrated canyon walls shooting up 500 feet into the air. The colors were incredible.
Once again Kelly and I were thrilled to see the kids get adventurous. They would hike on up ahead further into the canyon.
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| The brothers take off! |
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| The kids wondered what outlaw once took refuge here. |
Climb up into shallow caves in the rock walls.
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| Justin was never more than 2 steps behind his big brother. |
Scale the graded parts of the canyon, seeking higher ground.
Climb and explore the bizarre rock formations.
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| A soon-to-be-regretted posted picture. |
And this -- sadly -- is what happens on a long hike when the kids get tired of wearing and carrying their hats.
A fantastic time, really. As the kids began to get weary -- and we heard approaching thunder (which is not what you want to hear when you're in the middle of a "wash") -- we headed on back.
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| Anna |
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| Justin |
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| Daniel |
The kids did great.
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| The kids used special tools to pick the apples right off the tree. |
After the hike, we picked apples in the Fruita orchard; an orchard first planted by Mormon settlers in the 1800's.
Another grand day in the West. Tomorrow we head to Bryce Canyon.
3 comments:
These posts are making me so jealous! Have fun at Bryce; it's my favorite NP in Utah.
I love your blog. It brings so much of your trip alive! It's great that you both are writing in the blog. I love the pictures, and on this page my favorites are the picture of Anna and the horse looking at each other, the boys and that huge rock wall, and K&K with the hats. Keep having fun!
Love, Gram Anne
I love it. But I think the kids have grown up since you left - tell them to stop it! So in a few years, you can help me plan our family trip out west. so fun! Or maybe you can come with us and do the badlands!
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