Capitol Reef

With homeschooling in full swing I am yet again slower than anticipated in getting this post up! Kids are loving the flexibility of homeschooling and I feel like I am, most days, keeping my head above water. Some days are hard, some days are easy and most days are filled with interesting ideas and thoughtful thinking. We have had some pretty magical moments getting to work one on one and spend as little or as much time on topics as we need. I love seeing an idea spark their interest and being able to follow our imaginations where they take us. Ask me again in a week, but today it is rainbows and kittens!

Our next stop took us into Utah and to Capitol Reef National Park. We stayed in a small RV Park in the quaint town of Torrey with sweeping views in all directions. And most excitingly two of my sisters joined us on this leg for a visit!

We spent four glorious days catching up and exploring the area.

And took lots of group photos!

My sisters and I enjoyed some quality time together exploring, playing games and doing lots of laughing.

And of course the B‘s got lots of Aunt time in.

Aunt Em has always been a traveler and through my visits to her over the years she has shown me many amazing things in our country and these experiences definitely played a part in our decision to hit the road.

Capitol Reef gets its name form the geologic structures present within the park. Early settlers of the area thought that the white domes of Navaho sandstone looked similar to the roof of the Capitol building lending the name ”Capitol.”

The most striking feature of this park is a geologic monocline. A monocline is basically a giant warp in the earths crust that gives it a step like appearance in the rock. The monocline at Capitol Reef is called the Waterpocket Fold and it stretches 100 miles in length. It’s size and height makes travel through this area nearly impossible, similar to how a reef impedes water travel, hence the name “reef.”

When we first drove through the park I thought it looked like a giant rubble pile, but as my eyes adjusted to the landscape I could see how unique and special and truly beautiful this place is. Everywhere you look, you see interesting ways the rocks have formed and eroded away.

This park was very accessible to the average explorer. Hikes were mostly flat and in slot canyons and along the river and therefore I felt like we saw more of this park than most.

Each day we chose a different part of the park to explore.

Here are some of the beautiful wildflowers we spotted along the path. I am always to surprised to spy these little treasures in the desolate desert landscape.

The kids were so excited to have their Aunts there and get to spend time all together. Due to COVID our time apart was more extended than usual. Although FaceTime and weekly read aloud sessions have made the time apart a little easier to handle there is nothing better than hugs and in person time together with the people you love.

My girl is always on the hunt for heart shaped rocks!

Here the ground gets so dry it cracks apart and it almost felt like pottery when you picked up pieces for closer inspection.

The crew walking in a dried up river bed in one of the slot canyons.

We thought this was a really neat example of how some rocks form in layers and are impacted by pressure...well at least I did!

The mountians were huge and were surrounded by giant piles of rubble showing how different types of rock withstand erosion over time.

We were able to find lots of easy trails to explore and this park even has an orchard. Although nothing was in season for us to pick we did get to sample some delicious homemade pies sold at a very cute general store within the park.

This photo is a great example of the rock structures found in Capitol Reef.

The kids had a blast walking and climbing and getting to do it with their Aunts!

Truly stunning views throughout the park!

None of the trails or roads were very steep or high up so I was a bit less stressed letting the kids wander and explore.

This was one of our favorite spots in the park with a nice look out and lots of rocks to climb on and scramble over.

This is one of my most favorite pictures of B1 so far on our trip.

Just two adventures pausing their explorations for a quick photo!

B1 has always had a close bond with his Aunts and it was so wonderful to watch him get to have special time with them. B2 continues to grow her relationship with these two amazing human beings and you can see the love in her eyes when she looks at them.

Aunt Sa, as we call her, is such a loving and all encompassing presence in their lives. She loves these kids just the way they are and spends such meaningful time with them. She provides them with logical structure and guides them in a way that I find dazzling to watch. Aunt Sa is pure magic.

At one point B2 got a little gentle reminder from AJ to keep her sassy talk under control.

She immediately broke into giant sobs (which is so so so out of character for her) and ran into my arms. She said “Daddy embarrassed me in front of my friends.”

This struck a chord and pulled on my heart strings for two reasons.

One: isn’t it amazing when you have family you consider friends. I am lucky beyond measure to have sisters who are my friends. And who my kids look at that way too and hold in such high esteem.

And second, although we have done our best to navigate the pandemic it really has been so hard on the kids not having the interactions they would normally have with other kiddos. So we will take our friends where we can get them!

Pretty nice to have “photographers” with us so we are all actually in the same picture for once.

One of the scenic overlooks was down into a deep gorge with a winding river at the bottom.

Viisiting places like this is a reminder that our time on this earth is so small in the grand scheme of earths timeline. An on going theme and topic of conversation with the kids is about how we borrow these places for such a short time and yet our actions can make such a big impact, which is why we are responsible for limiting our footprint and protecting these natural wonders.

We were high up and it was incredible to look down and see this small river winding it’s way through this ravine and still continuing to carve its path.

Stunning and very impassable vistas!

B1 loves him some Aunt Em time. ♥️

Em has always known just what to do with B1.

I will never forget when Brayden first came to live with us just after his second birthday and AJ and I were sitting with him in our living room looking at each other like, he’s here, now what do we do?

Up rolls Aunt Em with a toy train and wooden blocks to build and knock down a million times providing hours of entertainment and a new way for us to interact with him. She just gets him and what he needs. I don’t know what we would do without her in our lives.

On one of our excursions we found a deserted segment of Fremont River to explore in and cool off our feet. This river plus the impenetrable mountian range was a big reason why people settled this area instead of continuing further west.

After spending so much time in the desert this water was a welcome treat.

I absolutely loved walked in the steam beds and into the slot canyons.

It gave us the opportunity for up close and personal encounters with the geology that make this park special that the whole family could enjoy.

And gave us lots of great rock hunting opportunities!

This was the view from our campsite. It was beautiful by day with the most amazing sunsets at night.

From the campground we had lots of wide open spaces to walk the pup-os and take in the views.

We saw a lot of deer here. We spotted these three handsome gentlemen relaxing in the shade by the side of a building as we drove through the little town outside of the park.

There were lots of signs up around the park about not feeding the deer. The many sightings and close proximity made us think they had very little fear of us humans. One of the rules we have learned visiting the national parks is the “rule of thumb.” When you are viewing an animal you should hold up your thumb toward the animal and the close one eye. If you can see any part of the animal outside of your thumb then you are too close. It has really helped the kids balance the excitement and tendency to want to get as close as possible to these wild creatures with the understanding that to keep these animals and ourselves safe we need to give them the space to remain wild.

Having my sisters visit was a huge morale booster for the whole crew. I am beyond thankful that they made the decision to visit us. It was no small feat to make this trip happen. Flying during a pandemic, renting a car during a rental car shortage and using up precious vacation days all to come see us! Their love and dedication to our family does not go unnoticed. I appreciate you both so much and I am so glad we had this opportunity to make memories that will last a lifetime.♥️

Brooklyn has discovered that she loves a good pot pie. I warmed this up for her for lunch and without me realizing it she ate the whole thing in one sitting.

Shortly after she fell asleep just like this for about an hour.

Now she says “Mom can I have a pot pie because I need a good nap.”

Leaving Torrey we drove into some serious weather. We came upon a segment of flooded road and a crazy waterfall spewing rocks and debris onto the road.

Since you can’t turn around a forty foot camper we had no choice but to go forward. While it was a very harrowing experience it was also very exhilarating. Very glad AJ was there as our fearless leader to navigate this treacherous obstacle and get us through this impasse!