2006-07-02 Capitol Reef National Monument 04

Capitol Reef National Monument, UT. We were here a few months ago, before visiting Moab, UT, but we had to cut out visit short. Capitol Reef has within it a historic Mormon Orchard that is maintained by the park service and has fruit that can be picked in season. We had just missed the cherries (a ranger said they are gone in a couple of days) but we were in time for apricots. I love fresh apricots! 50 cents per pound... all you want to pick. But they don't stay fresh long. We got 3 pounds for $1.50, (what a bargain!) and snacked on then for the next couple of days. We stayed at the campground in the park (and right in the apricot orchard). We would have boondocked on a back road, but just as we got into the park, it started raining heavily. The dirt roads in this part of the desert are made up of a very gooey, slippery form of clay. This is the desert, and for most of the time, it's not a problem. Except when it rains. They have lovely old photos of cars being pulled out of deep mud by farming tractors. They caution heavily about flash floods and how you should never go into a wash when rain is threatening. Many of the washes serve as roads here. So tonight, we stayed at the campground with a large family group with loud children right across the street. The apricot orchards are all around the campground, so we ate all the fresh fruit we could stand.