I, the accomplished naturalist, have noted a curious behavior among the restaurant-goers in Torrey. I arrived at a café for breakfast around 8:30, and spent my entire meal as the only customer. At 9, I used the restroom. At 9:05, as I returned to the dining room, I was astonished to see no fewer than seven parties freshly seated. The same pattern happened at dinner. In Torrey, diners move in droves.
We are firmly out of the Mountain/Lake part of the trip and well entrenched in the Geology Era. More big rock-gazing was in store today. Capitol Reef National Park is centered around a 100-mile monocline (think a hill on one side and a cliff on the other) caused by an uplifted tectonic plate seventy million years ago. The monocline is named the Waterpocket Fold after the myriad spongelike holes in the rock, the remnants of (you guessed it) water pockets. The scenic drive hugs the cliffs; I’ll drive over the hills tomorrow.
The other star attraction of Capitol Reef is the Fruita District, a preserved Mormon pioneer town in the shadow of the Waterpocket Fold. The area is surprisingly green, with some fairly well-preserved buildings and a gift shop masquerading as a museum. In the summer, you can pick your own fruit in the orchards. I went hungry and climbed into the Fold to hike Cohab Canyon. A fellow visitor, on her twenty-fifth trip to the park, told me this was the most beautiful location in Capitol Reef. After walking through the dry riverbed, clambering over the occasional boulder, and attuning myself to the complete solitude, I was inclined to agree.
I could have hiked more, but I felt like watching a movie instead. This is my trip and I can bring it to a screeching halt whenever I want, so I downloaded Point Break and watched the first half. Pure Doritos. I will finish my monthly Swayze allotment later. For now, I sleep.
Jake, the Cohab Canyon picture actually glows! You managed to capture that at exactly the right moment. I love it, we have been to Capitol Reef a couple of times but to only one overlook. There is so much more to it, obviously. I was thinking about the late and clubby breakfast people you wrote about. By any chance were they old geezers like Jeff and I? A bunch of retired friends vacationing together, perhaps. We watched ‘Red River’ (1948 version) last evening . Great western. We start for home tomorrow, driving to an El Paso airport motel so that we can catch a 5 am flight to Dallas, and then from Dallas to Newark. It’s a beautiful warm autumn day here today. Wish we could stay longer. Love, Grandma