Orchards at Capitol Reef are unexpected surprise
"Can you believe this?" Brian Garding, of Mesa, Ariz., asked his wife. The two watched the animal scavenging fallen fruit a few yards away as their toddler collected apples.
The buck, Garding said, was the second surprise. The orchard, considered a jewel in the national park system and the largest with 2,600 trees, was the first.
"It's all on the honor system," he said, shaking his head. "You don't see that much any more."
At the orchard, visitors can eat as much fruit as they want free while they pick, then weigh what they take home and put $1 per pound into a payment box in the orchard.
Many of the apples, cherries, apricots and pears picked every year by families like the Gardings come from trees originally planted by settlers 120 years ago. Today the trees' harvest and the protection of the park provide an unexpected experience for people like Garding, his wife, Lauren, and 2-year-old Taylor.
The toddler scrambled with an apple-picker pole, squealed and the buck a few yards away hardly moved.
The community grew from one family to about 108 residents by 1920. Today 11 clusters of trees are named after those early pioneering families — Jackson Orchard, Mott Orchard, Abie Clarke Orchard. There are 19 varieties of apples, seven types of cherries, six blends of peaches, three kinds of plums, almonds, apricots, nectarines, pears, pecans and quince.
Park Service staff is trying to identify all the varieties of fruit in the orchards. Many are heirloom or antique varieties unavailable in the marketplace.
The Park Service works to protect the cultural integrity of the orchards and encourages visitors to pick the cherries, apricots, peaches, pears and apples available for harvest between June and October at the historic Fruita orchards.
Jams, jellies and preserves made from the orchards' harvests are for sale at a restored historic house once owned by the pioneer Gifford family. The shop sells ice cream, salsas and other homemade and homegrown items, too, but pies are the top seller.
Local restaurants pick the ripe fruit every day in the growing season and bake fresh pies. By noon every day, four dozen pies are gone, said park superintendent Al Hendricks.
"It's just like Mrs. Gifford setting a pie out on the windowsill to cool off," he said.
E-mail: lucy@desnews.com
Recent comments
I agree, Fruita is a beautiful and magical place. It's funny...
Tuckerville11 | Sept. 2, 2007 at 11:38 p.m.
I remember as a young girl going to Fruita with my family to pick...
Myrna T.Behunin | Sept. 2, 2007 at 7:35 a.m.
