Capitol Reef National Park… a one hundred mile long wrinkle or fold in the earth’s crust that gives rise to amazing canyons, cliffs, domes, and colored rocks that glow long after the light is gone. In many guidebooks, Capitol Reef is listed as the fifth of Utah’s five grand National Parks, but that does this place a great disservice. In my book, it ranks near the top for the the grandeur and sheer beauty of the landscape, largely un-marred by all that comes with huge crowds of people. We witnessed an incredible landscape, a surprisingly diverse set of plant life, and weather that changed often and defied explanation. It was the last national park in Utah that I visited. It may be one of the first I return to… over and over again.

How It Ended

On the last day of my first trip to Capitol Reef National Park, I was given what felt like a parting gift and a call to return to this magical place where the light glows in the sky and on the rocks. It felt like the land was telling me that I just scratched the surface during these five days and that I should come back because there is much more to see for those who are patient and look closely. As the sun dipped below the horizon, I found this tree with the perfect ring of shrubs around its base and the perfect sunset behind it. And I just sat there and watched the light change… growing in intensity, glowing first with orange, then tinges of red, and finally fading out. Other than pressing the shutter button a few times, I really didn’t move much - I just enjoyed a great end to a wonderful trip.

A Random Pile of Rocks

You won’t find this location listed on the Capitol Reef national park map. There’s nothing to see here. It’s just rocks on the side of the road. And 99% of the already small number of cars that travel this section of the park, just drive on by… maybe slowing down to look at the two hoodoos that mark the location. But nobody gets out… except us. We explored this random pile of rocks for a couple hours and on two different occasions under different light. We sat on the cool rocks and had a great breakfast, completely cut off from the rest of the world. We explored the swirling landscape and found an incredible number of scenes to create photographs. People would laugh to hear that this “nowhere place” was one of our favorite locations… yet it was. There is so much to see here, if you take the time and explore.

Canyon Light

It is truly magical in the last few moments of light in Capitol Reef. Something happens here that I haven’t seen in other places. The light, earth, elevation, and air come together in a spectacular display of color. The rocks seem to glow from within as the last rays of sun light them up from an immeasurably low angle. When you think you have seen the impossible, something else astonishes you even more.

Life

Life in the desert is harsh, but it is undeniably present. We found countless examples of life in the harshest of conditions… sometimes full of vitality and sometimes with the barest whisper of survival. If you think a desert is void of life, you would be wrong. And you might even be astonished at the variety of life that exists there. Many of the images on this page have at their core the idea of life triumphing against the toughest conditions imaginable… yet unmistakably alive.

Capital Reef Gallery

Featured

Behind The Scenes

The images are really just a nice outcome. The real fun is the experience of being in a special landscape, in this case the desert of Utah. Our trusty steed for the week was a white Jeep Wrangler, courtesy of Avis. And if they ask, no we did not take it off paved surfaces! Often, people will ask what Rich does while I compose photographs… well, now you know!. Enjoy a few behind the scenes images below…