Bill and Eileen's Travels: Capital Reef NP (5/30

On Friday 5/30 we left Moab and moved on to Capital Reef NP for two nights. This park is less visited because it sits more in the middle of the Southern part of the state and the road is narrower and less friendly than the main roads into Moab, Bryce, and Zion. We confirmed the narrow road part and had to stop a couple of time to let the blood back into our knuckles. Highway 24 goes right through the park so we got a preview of the uniqueness and beauty even before we got to Wonderland RV in Torrey Utah.

Wonderland is a small but very well cared for park that has a horse farm kind of feel. I would highly recommend it if your heading that way. We visited a county information center that evening and the volunteer suggested we visit Sunset Point which wasn't far from the campground. We drove up there just as a thunderstorm rolled through. It wasn't that bad until the big bolt of lightening hit the mesa right behind us and sent us all scrambling for the car. We decided that a revisit the next day was in order. It was worth it. The small hike up to the top led us to a view down into a narrow canyon below. A very beautiful place.

This area was settled by Mormon's in the early 1900's and the Town of Fruita still has active orchards and farming where the original settlers lived. We visited the Indian Petroglyphs that have been discovered along the cliffs and had a fine lunch of Cinnamon Rolls and Root Beer for lunch. We then went on a scenic drive that took us into a narrow canyon with gorgeous formations and colors and more wildflowers.
Capital Reef NP is yet another display of geologic wonders. The erosion and chemistry must be different than the other parks because their are a number of different formations and colors. This park is 100 miles long and we only viewed a small cross section. The ride down Utah 24 is well worth it. I would highly recommend
a visit.

Saturday night we went to mass at Saint Anthony's Catholic Church in Torrey, along with 16 other people. The service was performed by a Deacon who travels to a number of the rural churches in this part of Utah. This was a very nice experience, the people were very nice and the homily was inspiring.

That night we followed the recommendations for dinner that we got in the local general store manager and went for great food at Red Cliffs Restaurant. Good food with a great view. Great night.