As we began our fourth week on the road, we woke up bright and early with a clear destination in mind. A return trip to our favorite National Park that we have visited so far--Capitol Reef National Park.
A few hours of driving was all that stood between us and breathtaking Utah scenery, orchards, and fresh fruit pies.
We love Capitol Reef because even though it is a National Park located close to other popular National Parks (like Zion, for example), for some reason it remains relatively uncrowded. And...the scenic loop in the park allows you to get up close and personal with the landscape in ways we haven't experienced in other parks. Forget scenic overlooks--you can reach out and touch the landscape as you drive!
We were pleasantly surprised to see that our campsite from the previous year was available--67--and so we quickly set up camp and sat down to enjoy the breeze and views.
While I stayed with the dogs and watched deer graze in the orchard by our campsite, Kevin went for a hike on the Freemont Trail up to a bluff that offered amazing views of the park.
Thankfully he saw that a storm was rolling in, so he quickly hiked back to our site where we prepared for the rain. As the storm descended upon the park, we settled into the Scamp to relax until it passed.
The storm rolled through rather quickly, and so we emerged from the scamp around sunset and decided to enjoy the 20 mile scenic drive through the park before it got dark. We only saw two other cars on the road as we drove, so it felt like we had the whole park to ourselves. We wisely did NOT drive down the "Great Wash" road because to the rain--as the name implies, the road is prone to flash flooding when storms are in the area. I highly recommend that drive, however, when the skies are clear!!!
When we returned to camp, Kevin made some hot dogs in the dark and drizzle and then we settled into bed with visions of fresh fruit pies in our heads!!!
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