Day: May 21, 2017

Pic: Waterpocket Fold above Fruita, Capitol Reef NP, UT

Doing no homework meant I enjoyed the sights of the Scenic Drive unspoiled. Towering cliffs of red, white, and chocolatey brown drew climbers to dusty parking lots at the ends of winding flood channels. Abandoned uranium mines dotted the land. And the Gifford Homestead, preserved as an example of Fruita’s previous life as a farming community, sold cups of homemade ice cream complete with little wooden spoons for a buck — the first of my Best $1 Purchases for the trip.

The ranger at the visitor center recommended Fremont Gorge Overlook Trail as a short but worthwhile hike to finish my day. It felt longer than its 4.6 mile 1000′ round trip billing, though it’s possible I passed the named overlook in search of a more overlooky overlook. Regardless, the Gorge presented a nice view of some different geology:

Pic: Made by water, not plate tectonics. Fremont Gorge Overlook, Capitol Reef NP, UT

Pic: Because that’s how you get radioactive superbats. Oyler uranium mine, Capitol Reef NP, UT

My friend Dave, who lives in Colorado, recommended a breakfast place in confusingly-named Boulder, UT. I still don’t know what “shirred eggs” are but my ignorance didn’t prevent me from devouring them, along with homemade bread with homemade cinnamon butter and homemade jam. I strongly considered a second round of breakfast but decided it was not a good fit for my unemployed dirtbag lifestyle.

UT-12 through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Dixie NF: best drive of the trip so far. It twists and turns through scorched deserts and cool aspen forests. You can skip Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, though. It’s fine; it has a collection of petrified wood, as advertised. It’s also listed in my notes as “Worst $5 spent (even though it was only $4)”. I guess I was a little let down since it was so soon after my best $5 purchase.

I pulled into Capitol Reef NP having done basically no homework on the area. Jon recommended that I not skip it. The garrulous ranger from Bryce Canyon suggested that I investigate the park’s long thin southern section. Otherwise, I would rely on the knowledgeable men and women of the National Park Service and their glorious infographics.

The view from the parking lot was a promising start:

Pic: The Castle and the Visitor Center. Capitol Reef NP, UT