Sorry for the hiatus--internet service out here is refreshingly appalling! Anyway... Capitol Reef was another success! We were a little anxious about getting to the park early because we did not have a reservation for the night. The campground we wanted to stay at, Fruita, was first come-first served, and we had heard that it filled up by mid-day. As it turned out, we were there in plenty of time to get a spot and the campground was as lovely as promised. Set among orchards planted by early settlers and on an open, breezy riverbank frequented by families of deer, it was a truly lovely spot. We had the feeling that some of the other campers had settled there for the summer!
It was tough to leave our new home to explore, but explore we did, via a scenic drive that led to a long, dirt road that wound between tall, pink and brown canyon walls. This arduous pass, forged by early settlers, had been the main driving route for the area into the 1920s! Hard to believe. At the end of the dirt road, we continued on foot into an old gorge where we found graffiti from the 1800s -- lists of the names of settlers who had passed through on their journey west. Very cool, and also very quiet. For all its beauty, Yellowstone was crowded and full of hubbub. Capitol Reef was the opposite -- blissful miles of no one.
During the evening, we took it easy. A short hike along the river near camp (just us, munching on apples from the orchard along with the deer and the rabbits) and we were off to bed. Our cooking has been nothing to write home about but, despite this, our nights have been some of our favorite times. We have sung a few songs, the girls have been playing cards endlessly --and, for the most part, happily-- and Theo has been telling an ongoing bed time story that has everyone on the edge of her seat and begging for more. Now that we have gotten into some routines with the tents and the food, loud giggling has been our biggest challenge!
We got an early start on day 13, again to get an unreserved campground spot, this time in Bryce Canyon. We had had a hotel booked for the evening, but we prefer the camping so we took a chance and cancelled. All went well. Again there were plenty of lovely spots available in the park when we arrived, and we made ourselves a home at a large, peaceful site overlooking a grove of Utah pines.
Before I go on describing Bryce, I need to back up and mention our drive there. By this time you would think it would be hard for views to impress us, but our country continues to amaze. We drove south through a region called The Grand Staircase Escalante. Picture narrow cliffside roads, winding switchbacks, altitudes over 9,000 feet, and awesome panoramic views that were gorgeous no matter which way we turned. We were almost disappointed to arrive at our destination.
Luckily, Bryce had the same, and more. We are ruing more than ever that we can't manage picture posting, because Bryce can really only be seen, not described. In the near-ground, wherever you look, there are "hoodoos" -- towers and towers of red, rippled rocks perched in ways that defy gravity. In the far-ground, the views are similar to what we experienced during our drive, but the air is so clear you can see mountains more than 80 miles away. I must have said "no way!" to at least 10 different vistas. We enjoyed a terrific 3 mile hike down into Bryce canyon. It was hot and the steeps were VERY steep, but the girls were total troopers -- I think even they felt it was worth it for some of the up close views and they had lots of fun finding faces in the rocks. That night, for the first time, we left the rain fly off our tents and slept with screens only between us and the cool desert air. Beautiful.
Now it is morning, and we are making our way 3 more hours south to the Grand Canyon. We just crossed into Arizona, our last new state on the trip. A wildfire is burning in the distance ahead of us and, behind me, Allie and Ava are making friendship bracelets, Risa is making designs with Wiki-stix, and Ruby is crafting a variety of objects out of duct tape. The computers have been on plenty as well, but we are making happy trails and that's what counts:-)
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