When our friends, Jim and Irene, invited us to go camping with them
down to Torrey,
Utah, I must admit I'd never heard of the place.
But, as we told friends where we were going, it became quite
apparent that Linda and I were the only ones on the planet who had never heard of
or visited Torrey!
High Expectations
Everyone we talked to raved about Torrey, how we had to
camp at the Thousand Lakes RV Park (spot #14 if it was available because
of the view), how we had to order the Park's freshly baked muffins because they
were "to die for," how we had to eat at the Park's outside restaurant because
their steaks were always
cooked to perfection, and how we absolutely had to
eat at the Cafe Diablo restaurant because they served the best
southwestern cuisine available any place at any price.
Well, with endorsements like that, how could we not get excited about
experiencing Torrey for ourselves.
As we approached Torrey, we could see the spectacular, red rock canyon
walls flanking the town. It is reminiscent of Moab,
but on a much smaller scale and, as we would soon found out, a lot less crowded,
too. This place had to be one of Utah's best kept secrets. Well,
obviously, because we were totally oblivious to the existence of Torrey
and we thought we knew all the camping hot spots in Utah.
Thousand Lakes RV Park
We pulled into the Thousand Lakes RV Park Thousand Lakes RV Park in Jim and Irene's traveling
Hilton--a 37
foot Monaco motorhome with all the comforts of a 5-star
hotel--and checked ourselves in remembering to place our muffin order for
pickup the next morning. Linda and I opted to rent
a 27 foot trailer right next to Jim and Irene's spot just to give everyone
a little more elbow room.
Once all that was sorted, we pulled the motorhome into it's spot and
settled in for cocktail hour before exploring the park and heading over to
the Western Cookout outdoor restaurant for that much anticipated steak.
After exploring the park, it was evident that if a person didn't want to
leave the park for whatever reason they really wouldn't need to.
The
well maintained park has just about everything you'd need including a
convenience store, gift shop, full service camping spots, cabins, fire pits,
barbeques, showers, restrooms, laundry room, swimming pool, pavilion and a
play area for the kids. The park even has friendly campsite hosts in case you need help or have questions.
Okay, so with the exploring now out of the way, it was time to head over
to the Western Cookout to silence our empty, growling stomachs.
The Western Cookout's seating is all outside under a nice, covered area
with plenty of tables and an open fire pit. While the chef prepares the
meals inside, you get to chow down on the delicious homemade buttermilk
scones and honey as starters. Yum!
When our steaks arrived, they were every bit as good as we'd anticipated
and were cooked to perfection.
The meal included all the sides you'd expect with a western cookout like
dutch oven potatoes, cowboy beans, salad and, of course, dessert. Even with our
empty bellies and hearty appetites, it called for doggy bags to haul back enough steak
leftovers for one of our famous morning breakfasts.
Capital Reef National Park
Capital
Reef National Park has always been one of my favorite places to
photograph. Although the weather didn't
cooperate, from a photographic point of view it was perfect because of
the soft, muted colors
that overcast and stormy clouds provide.
Strong sunlight can often overpower a picture giving contrasty results
with lost detail in the shadows and washed out highlights. Only if I have
no other choice will I photograph in the midday sun because the high
contrast shots are well outside of the range of what film and digital camera's
can capture anyway.
My favorite times to
shoot are early morning, late afternoon and overcast or stormy days. Many
a time Linda has held an umbrella over the camera while I've been
taking pictures in the pouring rain.
If you've never taken the 9 mile Scenic Drive that branches off from the
Fruita Historic District and takes you past Egyptian Temple and Golden
Throne, you owe it to yourself to put that drive high on your list of
places to see. The route includes some magnificent slick rock scenery. It
didn't get its name of Scenic Drive for nothing, let me tell you.
Once you branch off from Fruita, if you
look to your left (east) you'll see
the
remains of old wagons and farming equipment. If you wander around amongst
them, remember, these aren't playground toys so keep the kids off.
Further along the Scenic Drive you go through canyons with red colored
walls of every shade. Some of it reminded me of rock candy with orange,
pink and red strips running vertically through it. In some places you can
even see where the more weakly cemented sand grains have eroded away leaving
behind thousands upon thousands of holes of all shapes and sizes in the
sides of the canyon.
If you've got a sunroof or a convertible,
you'll definitely want to open it up so you can look up at the colors and rock
formations as you drive along the narrow canyon. If you do, just remember
to occasionally look down at the road so
you don't run into other tourists doing the same thing in front of you.
Click here to
see more pictures of the Capitol Reef National Park.
Cafe Diablo
For our last night in Torrey, we'd saved our appetites for a place we'd
heard so many good things about... the
Cafe Diablo.
From the moment you walk in the door and see the lobby walls filled with
ornate masks from all over the world, to the southwestern decor of the
main restaurant and the aromas emanating from the kitchen, you know you're
in for a treat. The rattlesnake cakes offered as a first course is another
indicator you're not in your typical suburban restaurant!
The ten main course meals on the menu have something to please everyone including
beef, pork, chicken, fish and vegetable dishes. For a restaurant of this
caliber we were pleasantly surprised to see there was nothing on the menu
over $30. In fact, half of the dishes were $20 and under making it a very
affordable place to eat. Our entire meal for 4 people, including wine,
came to less that $120, not including tip. That's only $30 per person!
The food was exquisite and the meal presentation better than what you'd
expect even from a big city 5-star restaurant.
Torrey is filled with a lot of pleasant surprises... the Cafe Diablo being
one of them.
Mark Your Maps
If you're looking for a getaway weekend and want to enjoy mother
nature at her best but don't want to pay an arm and a leg, you will want to
head to Torrey, Utah.
I'd highly recommend staying at the Thousand Island
RV Park and making good use of it's facilities. With it being only minutes
away from Capital Reef National Park and other fun places to see, it makes
for a great base camp.
And, without saying, you
have to visit the Cafe Diablo.
If you do visit Torrey, you have to make one promise... you won't tell too many
people about the place so it doesn't lose it's reputation as one of the best
kept secrets in the State of Utah.
Heck, if Linda and I don't know anything about it, it's got to be good! ;-)
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