Capitol Reef National Park

[Martin Hash]

On the second day of my wife, Gwynne, and my visit to the remaining national parks in Utah, we had already been to 3 of the 5, we headed south from Green River, where we had stayed in a cheap Motel 6 for the night, through beautiful, enigmatic desert rock landscape to Capitol Reef National Park. Located in Wayne County, Utah, it was originally named "Wayne Wonderland.” It was designated a national monument in 1937, and became a national park in1971; named for its whitish Navajo Sandstone dome formations similar to the white domes often placed on capitol buildings, plus locally, “reef” refers to any rocky barrier to land travel. Mormons settled there in the 1880s. In addition to farming, there was lime and uranium mining. By 1920 no more than ten families there, and the community was later abandoned. There are 840 species of plants; 40 of those species are classified as rare. Recreations include auto touring, hiking, backpacking, camping, mountain & road bicycling, horseback riding, canyoneering, and rock climbing. The old orchards, cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, and apples planted by Mormon pioneers are maintained by the National Park Service, and can be harvested by visitors. The park occupies 378 square miles.

Map.jpg

At the end of the scenic drive was an old homestead turned into a pie house. I supposed they were Mormons but there was no outward indication except their ??? & conscientious operation. I bought myself a jar of spicy picked eggs, and Gwynne a homemade cherry pie: our lunch. During the uneventful drive out of the park in the direction back home, I reveled in the fact that I was a Utah native, born in Moab, the closest town to the parks. My family had moved away when I was a baby but I’d visited my grandparents there as a child; Grandpa was the mayor for 16 years; something I’m proud of to this day.