The Nelsons Go Southwest - Capitol Reef National Park

After a nice rest day on Sunday, we were ready to go on Monday! We loaded our van early, ate breakfast at the hotel, and pulled out of Moab by 7:00am. It was bittersweet leaving Moab . . . we had enjoyed our time there so much, but we were looking forward to seeing more of Utah!

We drove about 2.5 hours to Capitol Reef National Park, admiring the sunrise and Utah scenery the entire way! One very unique stop we made was at a gas station called Hollow Mountain in Hanksville, Utah. The convenience store part of the gas station is built into a rock mountain. While it was interesting, the inside definitely seemed a little sketchy so we didn't spend too much time there!

This is a photo of Hollow Mountain that I found online.

As we got closer to Capitol Reef, the drive was just beautiful. The area is a little more wooded than the Moab area, and the trees were really showing out with their fall colors. 

Of course, there were still many rock formations that were beautiful and majestic!

We knew very little about Capitol Reef National Park, so a stop by the visitor's center allowed us to gather some information and learn a little more about the park. This park is unique because it was an area that was settled by the Mormons back in the 1800s. They planted and cultivated what is now called the Fruita Rural Historic District. The orchard and some of the settlements have been preserved, and visitors of the National Park can visit that area.

Brenson, Brooke, Brianna, and Brecklyn in the Fruita District

This house is one of the settlements that has been preserved, and it is now a gift shop where you can buy jams, jellies, and fresh-made pies that are made from the fruit grown in the orchard. 

Fresh-made pie?!? Yes, please!!!

Brecklyn and Brooke with their peach pie (and small cups of ice cream)

Daddy and Brianna with their pumpkin pie

Momma and Bren with their apple pie

Of course, we all passed the pies around so we could each try each pie. They were delicious! While we were eating our pie, a few wild turkeys visited us. 

We also saw several large deer up close as they were grazing the orchard while we were driving out of the area. Brooke loved it when one deer actually crossed the street in the crosswalk. We all got a kick out of law-abiding deer!

From Fruita, we drove south on the scenic drive to Capitol Gorge. We enjoyed the scenery all along the way.

Capitol Gorge Road is a short spur off of the main scenic drive that allowed us to drive through part of Capitol Gorge. And it was INCREDIBLE!

Brecklyn

Brianna

Brooke

Brenson

We were able to pull to the side of the gorge, get out of the van, and walk around. It was amazing being down in the gorge . . . the rocks walls were huge and we were so small in comparison. Our voices were echo-y, and the whole experience was truly awe-inspiring and amazing. 

It is one of my favorite memories from the trip!

I have pictures and pictures because I wanted to capture the majesty of it so badly!

At the end of Capitol Gorge Road is a small parking lot and Capitol Gorge Trailhead. The trail continues through Capitol Gorge, leading to the "tanks" which are a group of waterpockets that rest above the canyon floor. 

Along the trail through the gorge, there are petroglyphs left there by the Fremont Indians as well as names of pioneers that once travelled through the canyon. 

From the trailhead to the tanks is 1.1 miles, and most of the hike is flat through the canyon. It was a lot of hiking through sand, though, which was tiring.

Petroglyphs!

Amazing!

Brooke, Brenson, Brianna, and Brecklyn

Brenson loved this hike!

Brecklyn wanted to a be a little canyon creature :-).

Brooke was hoping to find real creatures!

The "wavy" rock was incredible.

Pioneer names

More names

Bren and Daddy

Brianna

This is my favorite photo from Capitol Reef!

About 0.8 miles into the hike, we started to climb up slickrock toward the tanks. It was a pretty major climb. We had kind of been walking near an older couple, and when we started to climb the woman said, "I'm out!" and stayed at the bottom of the canyon. I can't say I wasn't tempted to stay with her, but I decided to be tough and climb!

Brecklyn and Brooke

Brianna

Climbing and climbing!

Yep, still climbing. We almost climbed completely out of the canyon. 

There was one tank that was close to the trail, while the others were across the way a bit. Chris and the big kids climbed over to the other tanks, but I kept the twins back with me. The climbing was a little too risky for them (and me!).

Once we saw the tanks, we had to climb back down into the canyon to hike back to our vehicle.

The downhill often felt harder to me than the uphill!

Once we were back down in the canyon, we took our time getting back to the van. We just wanted to soak the experience in!

The kids enjoyed hiking closer to the canyon walls, but Chris and I stayed more in the center.

We did it! Whoo-hoo!!!

We left Capitol Gorge and got back out on the main scenic byway through the park. It seemed like there were fascinating rock structures everywhere we looked!

We didn't know what to expect with Capitol Reef National Park, but I'm so thankful we made a stop there. The diversity of the park was so unique, and the Capitol Gorge hike was one of my favorites of the whole trip!

Our lodging reservations for that night were in Bryce Canyon City, about 2.5 hours driving time from Capitol Reef. While being in the car wasn't really appealing to us, the drive was remarkable. We drove right through the Grand Staircase-Escalante and were in awe with what we were able to see. 

We arrived in Bryce Canyon City right around dinner time. We checked into our hotel which was next to one of the few restaurants in town, Ruby's Inn. Since there weren't many choices, we decided Ruby's was a great place for dinner. There's not much to Bryce Canyon City! The restaurant was a massive buffet, which was perfect for our hungry crew. Once we finished eating, we settled into our hotel room. It was a frigid night, but our room was super warm and cozy. We were definitely thankful for a warm place to sleep that night!