There seems to be an internet consensus, Capitol Reef National Park is a Fabulous and under-appreciated National Park. The landscape is breathtaking and the crowds are light and tame. Of the five National Parks in Utah we will also visit Canonlands and Arches but we’re skipping Zion and Bryce because, wonderful as they are, I’ve already seen them a few times.
Notice the shape of Capitol Reef. The reason is because it follows the approximately 100 mile long Waterpocket Fold. From NASA Earth Observatory: “Between 75 million and 35 million years ago, the tectonic forces that uplifted the Rocky Mountains also buckled older rocks below Capitol Reef. The rock layers above did not break, but bent, like a tablecloth draped over a table edge. The bend in this drape forms the Waterpocket Fold.”
After stopping at the Visitor’s Center we went to find the boardwalk that took us along the river and to the scene of a Petroglyph Panel.
from Visit Utah: “Fremont and Ancestral Puebloan people lived here between 600-1300 A.D., and their markings tell what appears to be their stories, hunting patterns, crop cycles, and mythologies of their lives.”
It’s all about that Waterpocket Fold, and the other natural forces at play including water and wind.
From the Ranger talk we learned many things, many more things than we will remember. She told us about several of the 19 layers that make up the geologic history here and how only in Capitol Reef can geologists easily study all of them because of the Fold.
I have no pictures from yesterday when we flew to Salt Lake City, rented a car, and drove out to where we’re staying at the Capitol Reef Resort. We ate lunch on the road and dinner at the Resort restaurant which was quite ok. Today we ate snacks for breakfast, lunch at a down-home Mexican place, and leftovers for dinner. I have no pictures of food.