Up and ready to pull out of Willard Bay State Park at 6:00 AM we headed toward Salt Lake City. We hoped that the early hour and holiday would keep the nasty traffic at bay. Thankfully traffic was light & accident free. We decided to stop for some breakfast & gas in Provo, UT on our way to Fruita Campground in Capital Reef National Park. A drive of only 284 miles but, we made a number of stops along the way...made easier by towing a rolling rest stop. Too many big drinks!
There is only one developed campground in Capital Reed National Park. It's located in an area settled in the 1880's by Mormon pioneers along the Freemont River. Huge cottonwoods & large orchards of approximately 1900 trees including apple, pear, cherry, apricot, peach, nectarine, plum, mulberry, quince, almond, pecan, & walnut are still kicking after all these years. If you visit when the fruit is ripe you can eat as much as you want in the orchard & buy fruit to take home.
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| Campsite view |
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| Old Cottonwood |
Since it was a bit too late to start a hike we drove the Scenic Road to Grand Wash... only 7 miles of pavement and a couple of miles of dirt road. The red & cream rock cliffs are stunning. Too bad the photos cannot quite capture the beauty & size of the cliffs. Lots of wildflowers were blooming along the road.
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| Rose heath |
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| Stansbury cliffrose...smells amazing! |
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| Sunset ride |
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| Red cliffs |
After dinner we took off for a quick bike ride of 4 miles down the Scenic Road. The ride back was all downhill so that was a blast.
When we turned west the sunset lit up the rocks. Spectacular scenery to ride in & very few cars were out driving after supper. A perfect ending to our day.
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| View at Fruita Campground Entrance |
*click picture to enlarge
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