Capitol Reef NP, UT

Capitol Reef National Park has lots of driving paths and hiking trails with pulloffs at various spots of interest. A giant wrinkle in the earth's crust called the Waterpocket Fold stretches for 100 miles across south-central Utah. This was created 65 million years ago by the same tremendous forces that later caused the uplifting of the Colorado Plateau. We started the first morning with a drive down the Grand Wash and then drove down the Capitol Gorge wash, two deep, twisting, water-carved sheer-walled canyons. We hiked further down the wash to see the signatures of pioneers, miners, and settlers who had come through the area beginning in 1871 and carved their names high on the sandstone cliffs.
The Mormons settled in Fruita by 1917 and planted fruit orchards as they moved west. The area was set aside in 1937 as a National Monument. In 1969 the Giffords, the last family in Fruita, sold their land to the National Park and moved away.

We viewed the Behunin cabin, the old Gifford homeplace, the schoolhouse, Indian petroglyphs, hiked along the Fremont River beside the campground, and climbed the ladder in one of the orchards to sample some deliciously sweet mulberries. We had paid $10 for two nights but once we realized it was 90 degrees early in the afternoon we decided one night had been enough and headed on down the road. More photos.

Not far from Torrey there are several forests with campgrounds and fishing streams. The area is full of quads and areas for 4 wheeling on trails that include the Great Western Trail that runs from Canada to Mexico. We stopped less than 20 miles from Capitol Reef at Single Tree, a campground in the Dixie National Forest. We had climbed to a higher elevation and the weather was delightful. Our camping spot at 8,000 feet provided a delightful view.
We made a treacherous hike though a meadow and down a steep hillside to view the Single Tree Waterfall. Even though the sign said .5 miles it seemed like forever due to the slippery footing. More photos.

From Single Tree we had a leisurely drive through the Dixie National Forest and Grand Staircase-Escalante. The Grand Staircase covers 1.9 million acres of red-orange canyons, mesas, plateaus, and river valleys and became a national monument in 1996. It is known for its rugged beauty and was the last place in the continental US to be mapped.

The views high in the mountains were spectacular and the narrow road with dropoffs on either side were a bit nervewracking. It felt like summer in Utah and elevation became the key to comfort.