Travels with haRVy

That’s what the tee shirt says and it’s true…Utah has LOTS of rocks! Fortunately, each park has its own unique and interesting assortment of geological features.

Capitol Reef encompasses the Waterpocket Fold, a warp in the earth’s crust that is 65 million years old. It is the largest exposed monocline in North America at nearly 100 miles in length.  The park is filled with brilliantly colored sandstone cliffs, gleaming white domes, and contrasting layers of stone and earth.

Capitol Reef is also the only National Park that contains producing fruit orchards. These are part of the restored and maintained remains of an early Mormon agricultural village here in the valley of the Fremont River. Normally fruit from these orchards is available to park visitors, but an early freeze destroyed all the cherry, apricot, and peach blossoms this year.

One of the original Mormon homes now serves as a museum and bakery.

 Curious Marmots

We drove the scenic drive to the end of the pavement and then road our bikes down the rutted dirt, but scenic, Capitol Gorge Road to the end. There we hiked down into the gorge.

These rocks can make a person feel mighty small.