Sunday, July 9, 2006 – Capitol Reef, Utah Today we had bacon and eggs for breakfast. At lunchtime we drove to the picnic area in the Fruita Historic District and had cheese and crackers. The Fruita Historic District is the area where the Mormon settlers built their fruit orchards. We drove to the Visitor Center, where Susan learned that at the Gifford Homestead, they served homemade blackberry, apple, and peach pie and homemade vanilla and strawberry ice cream. We started on the self-guided scenic drive tour. One of the first stops was the Gifford Homestead, where we purchased a small blackberry pie and vanilla ice cream. We shared the pie and ice cream on a picnic bench in the yard. The Gifford Homestead was built in 1908 by polygamist Calvin Pendleton. He and his family occupied it for eight years. The original house had a combined front room/kitchen and two small bedrooms. An outside ladder accessed two upstairs bedrooms. Bob and I wondered if one wife lived in one bedroom and the other wife in the other bedroom. He also constructed a barn and a smoke house. On the scenic drive tour, we saw Oyler Mine, which was a uranium mine which is now closed. At one time, people used the uranium to cure arthritis and other illnesses. The sign said, “Which was worse- the illness or the cure?” At the next stop, we saw Cassidy Arch. It is called Cassidy Arch because it is believed that Butch Cassidy used the canyon as a hideout from the law. The scenery here at Capitol Reef is reminiscent of the western movies that Bob and I watched as a child. |