It was a beautiful day in the West today, and we certainly enjoyed driving around Capitol Reef. We made some short stops at viewpoints, and particularly liked the view of a canyon made by Sulfur Creek.

We then saw a remaining farmhouse from the early Mormon settlers and picked a few apples from an orchard that dates back to that era. There was a gift shop inside, and I bought a jar of pickled squash…haven’t tried them yet.

Next was the scenic drive through the heart of the park. We intended to drive to the end of the paved road, then proceed on a gravel road through the Capitol Gorge to the trailhead of a short hike, but the gravel road had been washed out by a thunderstorm last week. A number of our group were there when we arrived, and it turned into a two mile group hike on the road. We dodged a road grader and a front loader as they were trying to get the road cleared. Just the same, the gorge was impressive, the power of 2-4 feet of water to wreck a road was powerful, and we had a good time.

Driver’s meeting was held tonight, we leave for Moab tomorrow morning. It is going to be a busy few days, we’ll have a lot to say.