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We stopped at the Anasazi State Park to learn more about the ancient people who inhabited this land and we were surprised to see the partially excavated ruins of the largest Ancestral Puebloan community found west of the Colorado River. It was a very worthy stop. Plus, Colleen and I both bought cool magnets.
The drive to the Capitol Reef NP takes you across a 9,600’ elevation land bridge that might make anyone with a fear of heights a little nervous. The views are worth the anxiety, but not something I could do justice with my phone’s camera.
But it was a relief to get to the park. The visitor center was the smallest—and therefore the most crowded—of any parks we visited. It didn’t help that some of the tourists paid no attention to the signs and hopped fences for that ever-so-perfect selfie that would have been even better if they’d walked twenty feet around the fence. Grrr.
Happily, once we left the parking lot, we were immediately immersed in the red rock formations of what is called the Waterpocket Fold. We had our picnic lunch in Fruta, a historic district that includes a schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, museum and public orchards. Sadly, we’d missed our chance to pick fruit, but we enjoyed a stroll along the stream and the lush green that seemed out of place beside the red rock walls.Â
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