During our tour of the Southwest we wanted to visit Goblin State Park and Capitol Reef NP. The parks where located in south-central Utah in the heart of red rock country. We left Dead Horse Point campgrounds and headed west. We arrange to stay the night in the Fruita Campground in Capitol Reef NP.

The area of Capitol Reef has been a homeland to people for thousands of years. Archaic hunters and gatherers migrated through the canyons. The Fremont Culture solidified around 500 CE (Common Era), from food foraging groups, to farmers of corn, beans and squash. Petroglyphs etched in rock walls and painted pictographs remain as sacred remnants of the ancient saga.

Capitol Reef National Park was established primarily to preserve geologic features, such as the scenic rock domes and narrow canyons. The geology was very different from Arches and Canyonlands. The Scenic Drives in and around the park included Fruita schoolhouse, prehistoric petroglyph panels, Navajo Dome,Elijah Cutler Behunin's cabin, Chimney Rock, Twin Rocks, Cainville Mesa, and Temple of the Sun.

The orchards that lie within a mile or two of the visitor center are evident remnants of the pioneer community of Fruita, settled in 1880. Many varieties of heirloom fruit are found in Capitol Reef's historic orchards.