Capitol Reef National Park and Scenic Hwy 12

Getting to and from the National Parks in this area was one of the highlights of the trip.  Between Bryce and Zion is the Zion-Mt. Carmel highway (more on that later), and between Bryce and Capitol Reef you drive the very scenic Highway 12 through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

You can see the highway winding down the right side of the photo

There is one section of the highway where you basically drive on the top of a ridge with sheer dropoffs on either side of you.  (We couldn't get good photos of that section, sorry.  Safety first!)  It can be a difficult task to pay attention to the road when you've got these beautiful views on either side of you.

About midway between Bryce and Capitol Reef is the Kiva Koffeehouse, an interesting little coffeehouse and lodge seemingly out in the middle of nowhere.  You can sit here and sip a cup of coffee while admiring the scenery through the large picture windows.

As the highway wound its way up into the Dixie National Forest, we started to see some fall color.  The Quaking Aspen were just beginning to turn gold.

Finally, we arrived at Capitol Reef National Park.

I would describe this park as sort of like the Grand Canyon, if you were able to drive right through the canyon itself.  You're surrounded by towering cliffs with layers and layers of geologic history all around you.

Plus, there's fresh-baked pie!  Right in the heart of the park is the former town of Fruita, where Mormon homesteaders farmed the land until the 1950's.  There are several orchards within the park that are now maintained by the Park Service.  Harvest season runs from June (cherries) through October (apple) with apricots, peaches, and pears harvested in between.  If flowers are more your thing, go in March or April to see the orchards in bloom.  One of the old homesteads was preserved into a museum/gift shop where you can purchase a mini fruit pie and have a picnic.

Mmmmm....apple!

We did the park's scenic drive on our own since it is paved, but there are large sections of the park that you can only get to with a high-clearance/four-wheel-drive vehicle, so we took a day tour with Backcountry Outfitters to see the Cathedral Valley.

The dirt road goes right up to the sandstone monoliths.

There are two other large monoliths in the lower Cathedral Valley called the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon.  Because it had been raining, the dirt roads were too muddy for us to get to that section.  I guess we'll just have to go back someday.

Here's a short video of this part of the trip:



Capitol Reef Highlights from Solsticecatamaran on Vimeo.