Tuesday, June 10, 2014

capitol reef

Back in April, we took a rather impromptu trip to Capitol Reef National Park. Capitol Reef is kind of in the middle of nowhere, but Jess had some work to do next to the middle of nowhere, so we made a road trip out of it. 



Capitol Reef is stunning. Some of the most beautiful mountains and rock formations we've ever seen. Of note particularly is the Waterpocket Fold, North America's largest monocline, or giant fold in the earth. It's a mere 65 million years old, this fold, and is in part what pushed the earth's crust around to form and reveal the unique and unusual rock formations.




Capitol Reef is also home to the old Mormon settlement, Fruita. The pioneers planted scads of fruit trees there - thus - Fruita. 



This here is their tiny tiny school house that housed up to 26 children!




And one more thing - petroglyphs. These petroglyphs are so old that no one is entirely sure who made them or how old they are. 



I like to think that they aren't really that life changing. I like to think that their kids were bored. And they were drawing pictures. And I mean that. My kids do it almost all day sometimes - they just have the benefit of notebooks and paper. Who's to say that prehistoric babies didn't like to draw? And what in the heck else was there to do back then? Besides slay a wildebeest. Throw rocks. Not get eaten by T-Rex.

All in all, we were in huge fans of Capitol Reef National Park. It's kind of out of the way, but so totally worth it. 



Photo by Annabelle.

Photo by Annabelle.


Photo by Annabelle.



3 comments:

Unknown said...

" And what in the heck else was there to do back then? Besides slay a wildebeest. Throw rocks. Not get eaten by T-Rex." Kills me. :)

eclaires said...

I've been to Capitol Reef National Park just one time. I remember it being beautiful, but it was well before the time of digital cameras and in fact I don't even think I had a regular camera with me. SO, since it's not well documented, I think I must go again sometime. :)

Fun pictures.

eclaires said...

By the way, I love the school house. Sometimes I dream of a having a school like that and my life being lived at a much slower pace. Like Laura Ingalls and Little House on the Prairie times. Instead, I take TRAX to work, have a smartphone that immediately delivers notifications from four different email addresses, and four different social media sites, (not to mention the ability to receive calls and texts), and drive 10 miles over the speed limit to get to my destination as quickly as possible.

Sigh.

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