Tuesday, May 16, 2017. We were pretty tired from the past few days of exploring so we definitely slept past our alarms this day. That’s okay though. It’s always important to listen to your body and get rest when you need it! We were only about an hour away from Capitol Reef so we weren’t in a rush.

After getting up and freshening up, we headed to a local country store to grab some groceries for the next few days. It was so nice to be in one place for more than one night and have somewhere to cook meals. We bought enough food to make breakfast and dinner for the next few days and that was the smartest choice because it saved us so much money! Also, it was nice to be able to leave Sadie behind and not have to worry about her while we explored. We headed back to the house to start breakfast and after that we were on our way!

The drive to Capitol Reef was pretty easy and we were usually the only ones on the road for miles. We finally arrived to the park and it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. In a good way though! There was no entrance fee and you pretty much just drive straight in to the visitor center.

Before getting to the visitor center, we stopped at an overlook to catch a glimpse of what we were about to explore. Holy. Cow. Not even 5 minutes into the park and I was already obsessed. The formations surrounding us were so beautiful and I couldn’t stop staring. We sat and took in the view for a few minutes and went on to the visitor center.

 

This formation is called The Castle. How freaking cool!

At the visitor center, I made sure to grab my patch and we got some sunscreen for Lyle because he had been forgetting to use it the past few days and was already getting pretty toasty. We were about to walk to the front desk to ask for information when I notice the front door opening and hear “LORI?!” I was definitely caught off guard because I was thinking “We’re literally in the middle of nowhere. Who could be calling my name right now?” I turned around and see my friend Sabrina walking in towards me. I screamed and ran to hug her. Her and her husband were taking the exact same trip as us but going the opposite direction. What were the odds that we met in the middle at the same National Park? We had only met a few times during our college years in San Marcos but we’ve kept up through social media. It was a pretty awesome feeling to know that our paths had crossed on our adventures and it made me super happy! We chatted for a bit before heading out and parting ways.

We went on to see what we could get ourselves into here and one thing I had noticed was that there were hardly any people visiting this park. In comparison to the Grand Canyon, it was basically empty. We first stopped at the Fruita Schoolhouse and to see some cool petroglyphs. Our first main adventure, however, was hiking to Hickman Bridge. It was an easy short hike but quite a bit uphill in the beginning. For the parking lot being full, we hardly saw anyone on the hike, so I’m not entirely sure where everyone else had gone.

 

Discovered more arches on our hike to Hickman Bridge!

Like I said, along the hike we encountered maybe four or five other people. As we approached Hickman Bridge, there were about five people taking photos and exploring. Within a few minutes they were gone, and we had this beauty to ourselves! It was amazing to sit there and stare at what nature had created. While we were there, one other couple came along and left and we were left alone again. It was so different compared to the National Parks we had been to on our trip so far and I absolutely loved it.

 

We decided it was time to continue on and on our way back on the looped trail, I wandered off and discovered a beautiful view of the park. Once again, we sat and were enamored with the beauty surrounding us. I’m telling you, it was beautiful in every direction you looked.

 

Once we made our way back down to the parking lot, we decided to check out the scenic drive in the park. It was an 8 mile drive, but we didn’t do the whole drive. We drove maybe a few miles and pulled off to walk around. This part of the park was even further away from any sign of others. We sat in silence and listened to birds chirping and feeling the wind blow in our faces. I was in love with every inch of this park.

It was almost time for sunset and I wanted to catch it at Panorama Point. We tried to brave it as long as we could but it just started getting way too cold. We watched the sun set on the towering cliffs in the distance and then headed back to our Airbnb.

 

 

My expectations of Capitol Reef were definitely exceeded and I’m super happy we were able to make it out there. This is one National Park I would advise anyone to visit if given the chance!