Away We Go!: Rachel, Chris, and Nathan Hit the Road: Capitol Reef: Trails, Bandits, and Pie

Capitol Reef is an interesting National Park, in that it really blends into its surroundings. At Lassen, you pass through the gate and get floored by the amazing vistas; drive into Yellowstone, and you're suddenly dodging bison, elk, and bubbling mud pits; in Grand Tetons, it's impossible not to be overwhelmed by the uniquely massive and craggy mountains. Capitol Reef is amazing ... but everything around it is amazing too. Entering the park doesn't transport you to another world like so many others do. In a way, that's a little disappointing because we've come to expect a big jolt of amazement from our National Parks. That said, we're fortunate to have landed in a place where the unimaginable beauty doesn't stop at the park gate.

Saturday, we took both the high road and the low road. First, we took a pleasant, flat-ish walk into one of the many gorges in the Park.

This trail was particularly fascinating because it was once part of the pass through the imposing cliffs strewn about this area. And, like any human beings at any other time in history, travelers just couldn't help stopping to leave their mark.

We saw "graffiti" and signatures dating back from pre-historic times, to the early 1800s, to (sadly) about a week ago.

At trail's end, we climbed up a small hill out of the gorge and got a great view of the "domes" that gave the park its name.

Later that day, after a picnic lunch and drive around some pretty hairy dirt back roads, we made our way back to the Cassidy Arch trail. Local legend has it that this spot was a favorite hideout of the legendary bandit Butch Cassidy due to its remoteness and single point of access (great for ambushes!). But, even more exciting than the cool back-story was the hike itself, which was marked by unbelievable views, and, at the top, a vertigo-inducing 1,000-foot vertical drop. A good place to watch your step!

We saved our goofing around for solid ground!

Sunday, we hit the road early ... because today we had a deadline ... pie! Turns out that there was a small Mormon settlement named Fruita in the heart of the valley. The name comes from the abundant fruit orchards that the original settlers tended back in the 1800s, when this was a small, but thriving, community. Never one to let a cool opportunity slip by, the National Park Service has maintained a number of the historic buildings - as well as the orchards themselves. If you come at the right time of year, you can actually get yourself a basket from the visitor center and go fruit-picking in the National Park orchards. Imagine that! Sadly, we were here in the wrong season to pick fruit, BUT, they've converted one of the historic homes into a small store selling homemade pies. And, these pies are apparently pretty famous; they sell out by about 9 am every morning - hence, our rush out the door. Fortunately, the early bird got the worm, and we walked away with pies and fresh cinnamon buns.

Fortified with sweets, we headed out on the days' adventures, which included a morning scenic drive and an afternoon hike. Unlike our pie quest, we were less successful on the adventure front. Or, at least things ended up different from what we'd planned.

The drive part went just fine. We cruised about 20 miles of bumpy dirt road, which mean we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

When we eventually made it back to the paved road, the fun didn't stop. We climbed for what felt like a lifetime until this was our view!

Nate had also been jonesing for a little off-trail play time, so we found ourselves a nice little spot where we could have some desert free play. We threw rocks, climbed cliffs, and had a great time.

After that was when the plan went off the rails. As we were heading to our hiking spot, it started to snow. Yep, snow. Mind you this a place is a desert that gets a small handful of snow days each year ... and we caught one of them! It was fairly warm, so there was some rain mixed in with the big fluffy flakes, and this is also a place where they give you healthy fear of flash floods. So, we hightailed it far from anywhere that might be flood-prone, and enjoyed a nice ride through the countryside instead of a hike.