KristyI had to look up why they called this place Capitol Reef national park. Cause it made zero obvious sense. First of all, shouldn’t it be like the capital of the state? but no it’s it’s capitol and named after the domes over city halls. I totally understand that. And the Reef park makes sense if you recall that much of this country was under water during prehistoric times. But really the interesting history is this is one of the only parts where you can see the “wrinkle in time”. It’s a difficult concept but if you think of the earths crust in layers and then make that a wrinkle in the blanket. And then to make it even more interesting knock off the hill in the blanket so that it’s flat that is what capital reef is all about and what makes it special. you can actually see the jutting up of the layer and see where erosion has eaten down that layer. It’s really gorgeous.
We found a spot on BLM land called Beas Lewis Flat Dispersed camping. Once you turn off the main highway into the camping area there is an immediate area that is meant for the big rigs but it’s great! There is a fabulous view of the park from there and these large rocks for kids to climb on or to seek some relief from the wind. However, as we are we dug deeper and went a wee bit further into the lands and found a great view, level spot with some privacy and it was really fabulous. We had great cell phone reception and didn’t even need to launch the wee boost! We worked here for few days staring at those mountains before we actually had time to venture into the park. To be fair, we didn’t even know that the gorgeous mountains we had been gauzing out were actually Capital Reef! The camping area was just fine, people were quiet, there was plenty of privacy, the temps were amazing! The only eventful experience we had was when Smith ended up wondering the campground because Sam thought he had snapped her into her lead after a walk and she wasn’t! She took a good survey of the area but came straight home (she knows where her bread is buttered!). Sam was absolutely petrified that she got loose, but Smith did fine and stayed close and all was just fine.
So after work we decided to take a trip into the park. The drive in was pretty amazing first of all I saw my first Marmot! And the mountains on the drive were pretty spectacular with loads of layers and you can definitely see the wrinkle they talked about in the geology. But was really incredible was we got to the end and Sam looked at me and said, “let’s go this way” which was a gravel road at the end of the paved road off a parking lot. I had no idea where we were going! But ok. OH MY GOODNESS! we were in amongst the rock faces, and inside the cliff walls, it was absolutely incredible. It felt like our own personal adventure within the park. Truly, our own personal experience!
We finished the long trail and followed up this incredible day with a stop to a local restaurant the Broken Spur steakhouse. Since we had Smith we couldn’t eat inside, so we took it back to the campsite and both Sam and I attest it was the absolute best steak we have EVER had. And it wasn’t because we hadn’t eaten a good meal in a bit (because surprisingly we eat very well). It was truly super tender and very delicious! We highly recommend a trip here!
Lesson’s learned. 1- double check Smith is clipped in to her harness before you set her free!