Cannonville to Torrey

Trip Start Apr 25, 2008

Trip End Jun 15, 2008

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Where I stayed

Thousand Lakes RV Park & Campground Torrey

(Torrey hotels)

Flag of United States Torrey, Utah, United States
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Today we push of early as we are going to have breakfast in Ruby's at the entrance to Bryce Canyon because we are going to get an oil change for Abby. Into the Chevron and we leave Abby and are told that she would be ready by 10:00. Time right now was 8:30. Off we go to breakfast. Imagine our surprise to get a nice table a pleasant waiter and most importantly a hot breakfast served in a timely fashion. Both Patsy and I are intrigued with the item under beverages called "BC Water". We ask our waiter if they imported this water from British Columbia and we were told that BC stood for Bryce Canyon. Of course we said rather sheepishly trying to hide our embarrassment. Only we would think our water would be exported!
We are quite excited about our trip today as we are going to travel Highway 12 which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful highways in North America. We will be going from Bryce Canyon to Torrey Utah. On the way we plan to stop at the Anasazi State Park Museum as well as stop at some of the view points along the way

Capitol Reef State Park

. The drive took us four hours.
This road was in good condition. There was not a time that our views did not change. It is also a road which has some steep climbs and descents especially when you go over Boulder Mountain. At one point both Pat and I were not going to go on this road because we had heard so much about how scary the section called the "hogs back" was. Boy are we glad that we decided to go. This section is only about 1/4 of a mile in length and it does drop off on both sides but is is nothing to worry about. I thought the climb and descent over Boulder Mountain more difficult. It was certainly worth it and we would do it again. The views going from the south to the north were spectacular. We also stopped at the Anasazi State Park Museum in Boulder. This a museum dedicated to the Pueblo Indians and their ancestors. The word Anasazi comes from the Navajo and means ancient enemies or enemy ancestors. This is a stop well attending. They had a very good short film that explained the history of these people as well as an interesting display of different artifacts. Outside there is an area where you see the excavation of some of the ancient ruins. We also purchased a nice necklace for Pat.
After leaving the museum you have to climb over Boulder Mountain (elevation 9400') and then carry on to Torrey. Recommend that you stop at Steep Creek Lookout because the vista is breathtaking

Driving out of the Grand Wash Capitol Reef

. As we have said before you have sensory overload with all this scenery. After another 37 miles we got in to Torrey around 2:30 and set up for the next couple of days. Torrey was going to be our base so that we could explore Capitol Reef National Park.
The next day (Wednesday) we push off to Capitol Reef. We have been told that we have to stop at the Gifford Farm House and get some scones. We did and they were great as well as the peach butter which we spread on them. I also bought a fresh apple pie and I ordered some fresh whole wheat bread which I could pick up at the RV park at 4:30!.To view this park you have a scenic drive of 10 miles. Along the way there are several viewpoints as well as some trails. We stopped at the lookout for "Chimney Rock" and I was approached by two guys on motorcycles who asked if I could take their picture. They were from Vancouver BC! How small is this world! Just like the other Canyons we have visited this was just a beautiful. Words just cannot express just how beautiful the scenery is. Prior to going into the Park you go through the historical district of Fruita. This was a Mormon settlement dating from the 19th century. There is a schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, and the Gifford Homestead. There is an orchard that still produces fruit and in season you can pick you own. Quite neat. We finished our exploring and back to Abby. We have some rest as Patsy is taking me out to Cafe Diablo (check out their menu on their web page www.cafediablo.net) for dinner

The Chimney Capitol Reef State Park

. We had a fabulous dinner with really good food. I might also add that the presentation was great. I had a crown rack of pork ribs with fresh veggies as well as an appetizer and a Mexican beer and Patsy had the pork tenderloins and a citrus salad. There was so much that we had doggie bags and dinner for the next day. Finished dinner and back to Abby and the dogs.
We have now finished doing the Canyons and all we can say is that was worth every bit of time we spent in the various locations. It is difficult to say what my favourite one was as they all have some totally different to offer. I think for me it would have to be Arches and I think Pat really liked Zion. They were all very special and it was great we got to see them. Tomorrow we push of for the suburb of Draper, south of Salt Lake City in preparation for out trek across Nevada.