Capitol Reef

I got up before the sunrise, put on my pink hat and fleece, and was happy for it. I enjoyed the cool of the high desert morning, like a splash of cold water to wake you for the day. Rex whipped up a dark roast French press and hash browns with chives, with a cream cheese muffin for desert. A hearty meal, a breakfast of plein air champions.

Cleaning the Big Green House

After I cleaned up from breakfast, I set to cleaning the Big Green House. I borrowed a pair of gloves from Rex, snagged a trash bag, and set to work.

Trash collected

• Plastic twine
• Aluminum cans, barley sodas and regular sodas.
• Tin can lids with sharp edges
• Starbursts wrappers
• Chocolate candy foil wrappers
• One sock with hole in the toe
• Two bandannas
• One RTV or motorcycle driving glove
• Paper towels
• Plastic water bottle tops
• One mechanical pencil
• Whiskey bottle
• Tin cans
• A large bolt
• Oil cans
• Plastic wrap
• Cupcake wrapper
• One ticket

Not pictured

• One window wiper blade
• A snarl of wire
• One dead head, of either a horse or an elk.

Dead head

I noticed the smell after we set up in our first spot.

“Smells like death,” I said to Rex

Later he got a whiff of it too and followed his nose. Just beyond our campsite was a dead head, rotting in the sun, greeting all campers who followed the jerk who flung discarded hunted body parts over the side of camping grounds. I am not a hunter, but I do know of few who bear a rifle or bow, and I know they would never casually leave a decapitated head, unburied, out for others to not enjoy. At least put the head to bed, and bury it.

Hit the road

After collecting ten pounds of trash, and producing two successful paintings (despite the fact that a Western Scrub-Jay dipped its beak into Rex’s Indian Yellow), we set off to collect water and drive around the park.

Instead of our usual somewhere off Notom road camping, we camped out on the other side of the Park’s entrance. A little closer to the road than we like, and three or four cars of campers arrived later, we chose it because of location, location, location. This spot not only offered incredible vistas but also intimate views as well. The location proved to be inspiring. Rex went on to paint four more paintings. One painting was a timed fifteen minutes piece that blew my mind. And another painting was a first-time-ever nocturne scene. He completed it in less than an hour, or at least it felt like it. After he signed it, he said it was hard to see with the wonky headlamp and glare. He called it done and said he would wait until daylight to “really” see what it looked like.

Full moon rising

I too was inspired by the nearly full moon rising.

8pm

The full moon rising is dusk red like the earth dirt caked on my bare feet. Beautiful, stunning. I wish to cover my skin in red earth to reflect her beauty back.