Cross Country 2016: Day 9 – Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Dome (center)

I suppose I should first explain the name of the park to give a sense of what there is to see. The Reef comes from the term “barrier reef” which in this case means an unpassable area to travelers that stretches for 100 miles north-south through Utah. The geological formation doing the blocking is a “Waterpocket Fold” which is essentially an upheaval caused by plate tectonics, but a specific kind. That is about the extent of what I understood from the Ranger geology talk this morning. All I know for sure is that the results were spectacular. There are very high cliffs with colorful rock layers, some dating back to when this part of Utah was oceanfront property. The Capitol part comes from a Navaho limestone formation that resembles the US Capitol building. In the photo, it is the white part that also looks like a melted Hershey Kiss.

Geology Classroom

We did a lot of activities today, so I’ll summarize with a list to give you an idea of our schedule:

1) Watched film at visitor center.

2) Attended Geology talk by a Park Ranger. Note all the different layers of rock in the photo which gave a lot to talk about. "Cathedral Rock" at the top.

Former Uranium Mines

3) Stopped at the Gifford House and bought a 6” cherry pie to have later for lunch. Prior to becoming a National Park, the area was a Mormon settlement complete with an orchard.

4) Drove the scenic route through the park and took a lot of pictures. One is from a former uranium mine from the 1950s. Quality of the ore was not good so that effort failed.

Egyptian Temple

5) Took a hike up to Hickman Bridge. 2 miles round trip with 400 feet of elevation change. That was not an easy hike due to a rocky trail and the elevation of the park.

6) Drove Route 12 south through the Grand Staircase (Escalante) National Monument and walked through Devil’s Garden, which is a field of hoodoos. These types of rocks are a common feature at Bryce Canyon, which is not far away.

7) In total, drove about 250 mile and arrived at the hotel around 6:30, which is much later than we like to do. Long but productive day.