May 20th-25th, 2021

Capitol Reef, Torrey, Utah

Capitol Reef was a pleasant surprise. Robert and I had never been to any of the BIG 5 (Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, and Capitol Reef NP) until we started living full time in our RV. Bryce and Zion NP were our first two National Parks to visit and we loved both of them for different reasons. But when we got to Capitol Reef, we were blown away by the spectacular rock formations and how very different is was from the other two parks. 

When we arrived at Sand Creek RV Park, we weren't terribly impressed by the rv park itself, but it did offer a place close to Capitol Reef for us to drive into every day. Torrey is a rather small town and not a lot of places to eat but we did find a great food truck that serves burgers and had breakfast at one of the Mexican food restaurants in town. We also had a meal in Hanksville with our friends, Laura and Doug Bennett.

Capitol Reef National Park is located in the south central part of the state of Utah and became a monument under President F. D. Roosevelt in 1937 but didn't become open to the public until 1950 and it wasn't until 1971 that it would be named a national park. The Navajo sandstone cliffs with the whitish dome formations is how it got its name.

The Fremont River runs through Capitol Reef and sustained several generations of Native Americans up until the 13th century when a drought occurred and they moved on. In the late 1880's, an expedition of Mormons arrived and settled the area and started several towns around the Fremont. Fruita being one of them. The town possibly got it's name from the large fruit trees in the area and the bartering that the Mormons did with fruit as a staple.

Enough of the historical stuff...let's get to the good stuff. When we discovered our friends, the Bennett's were going to be in Hanksville, they suggested that we meet up and do some photography together. They introduced us to Cathedral Valley which is on the Bureau of Land Management. There are some spectacular buttes in the area and some incredibly vistas so we just couldn't refuse. We spent two separate occasions photographing the area with them and had lots of fun.

The days we weren't photographing things we were exploring and photographing! Seriously, what an incredible area to visit if you are into photography. We got some images of dirt bike riders at Swing Arm west of Capitol Reef and flew the drone around the area of Factory Butte. We even did a hike at Hickman Natural Bridge which was incredible.

If you were to ask us if we would go back, I would say in a heartbeat! I don't think I could ever get tired of the area. I hope that you enjoy the images and make sure to check out our YouTube video about the area.

Safe travels and "keep the blue side up"!