Highway 95 through Glen Canyon is the most scenic drive I have ever done. The road meanders between high red cliffs that give you the feeling of driving through the Grand Canyon. I didn’t know how Capitol Reef would be able to top this scenery. Capitol Reef is a 100 mile water pocket fold, that inhibited east-west travel for early pioneers. Early sailors, turned land lubbers, were the ones that thought it should be called a “reef” since it would grind down your gear as you attempted to cross it. “Capitol” was added because one of them thought one of the prominent domes looked like the US Capitol. For whatever reason, the name stuck. We arrived at the Fruita Campground in the evening just in time to cook some pizzas over the open fire, while the kids picked ripe fruit from the onsite orchards. In the morning, I was awakened by the rustling of cotton wood leaves and saw several large bucks in our campground. It was much cooler because a layer of clouds had moved in overnight and dampened the heat of the sun. We decided to take advantage of this blessing and hike the Cassidy Arch Trail which is a 3.4 mile round trip with 1,000 feet of elevation gain. The sunlight passing through the moving clouds made the color of the rocks dance like a living rainbow. The occasional rain shower cooled us off as we approached Cassidy Arch. We hiked on top of Cassidy Arch and were rewarded with breathtaking views of the Grand Wash Canyon below. We could see that our cloud cover was leaving us so we double- timed it back to camp where we stopped at the Gifford House, a preserved homestead of early Mormon settlers where they still bake old fashioned pies. To our surprise, many of the pies were dairy free! Time to order 1000 of them (or 2). They were a fitting reward for a good hike in a magnificent place. Reflecting on our short trip to Capitol Reef, I am thankful for the safe travels through desolate but beautiful country, the morning clouds that gave us relief from the heat and the wonderful dairy free pies that our whole family enjoyed.
Part of the HWY 95 drive through Glen Canyon