Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef packs a colorful punch. We had only 1 full day, but we made it count with three hikes. This is a small National Park, reputed to be one of the places that Butch Cassidy & gang hit out. The photo at left below was taken on the way to Cassidy Arch, which can be seen in the distance. As the path continues steeply up around the cliff, the arch itself goes out of view. We followed the rock cairns up and over the barren landscape, sometimes scrambling and looking for footholds, and then...where's the next cairn? Distressed that we seem to have lost the trail, Bob looks over to the left, and we suddenly realize that we're above and behind the arch, and we can look down through it! (That is the photo to the right.)
		Cassidy Arch, in the distance, and from behind it looking through.

Aside from the natural wonders, Capitol Reef has a rich human history. From the late 1800's, pioneers heading west scratched their names into the rock wall along Capitol Gorge, now known as the Pioneer Register. Mormon settlers left behind buildings and a mature fruit orchard. And much earlier, Native American inhabitants etched pictogrms in the cliffs, sometimes in high and dangerous spots. Hickman Bridge is another amazing natural structure in the park. Spannning 130 feet, the arch is 125 high at it's highest point. And in a couple of hundred years, this will have eroded away, and other arches may have emerged from the seemingly stationary rock.

Capitol Reef Photos

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