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Capitol Reef National Park was a complete
surprise to us. We hadn't realized that there was yet another National Park on
our way to Moab. We drove through and stopped with time to take a few
photos. We would have liked to have done some hikes but our timing was poor, as
high-noon is no time to be hiking in the desert. It's into the shade with a tall
cool drink until the sun sets over the ridge.
“Strolling on, it seems to me that the strangeness and
wonder of existence are emphasized here, in the desert, by the comparative
sparsity of the flora and fauna: life not crowded upon life as in other places
but scattered abroad in spareness and simplicity, with a generous gift of space
for each herb and bush and tree, each stem of grass, so that the living organism
stands out bold and brave and vivid against the lifeless sand and barren rock.
The extreme clarity of the desert light is equaled by the extreme individuation
of desert life-forms. Love flowers best in openness and freedom.”
Edward Abbey, Desert
Solitaire
