The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

Eating in Torrey, Utah

When Mo and I traveled through Torrey in 2007, we discovered a great restaurant just across the street from our RV Campground west of town. Cafe Diablo boasts “southwestern cuisine”, and the first time we went there, it was a quiet place, fairly new, and nearly empty. Our meal was a fabulous treat, completely unexpected in a place like Torrey, and we were excited about eating there again on this trip.

Cafe Diablo is open seven days a week, and since we wanted to eat in the patio, I called for reservations just after five. Even that early, on a Sunday night, the place filled up before we even placed our order. The gardens were gorgeous, the menu was filled with fabulous creations, and the wine list was huge.

A special treat included complimentary tapas, fresh vegetables from the garden, marinated in various delectable flavors, presented beautifully. As the evening wore on, however, and the place filled to capacity, our server was too busy with larger tables of four to pay attention to us.

Our meal took forever to arrive, behind other diners who arrived much later than we did. When it did arrive, it was great, actually a fascinating piece of edible art, but then again, we were ignored for much too long. Considering the price range for entrees, we did expect better service. It took more than an hour to get our after dinner coffee, and when Mo asked for the check, the waitress basically ignored her.

We had looked forward to this particular dinner, so were pretty disappointed with the service. We won’t go back.

In contrast, another place in Torrey, just a half mile or so down the road, is the Capital Reef Inn and Cafe. I first found this place in the early 90’s, and always manage to stop in at least once when I am in Capital Reef. There is a small motel adjacent to the restaurant, and beautiful stone paved gardens filled with native and non native plants. The small store in the restaurant has canyon stuff, including maps, guidebooks, tee shirts and sweat shirts, the usual, but it is all so much fun to look through. In the dining room is a large mural of red canyons, and my favorite little treat is a display of dozens of vials of various colored sands collected from throughout canyon country.

What makes all this even more worthwhile is the fabulous, fresh, healthy tasty food, all at completely reasonable prices. I have had breakfast and lunch at this great inn, and last night I wished I had tried dinner there as well! The service was fast and efficient, and usually friendly.

There are other restaurants cropping up in Torrey, and some smaller establishments associated with newer hotels are appearing. But for me, the Capital Reef Inn is the perfect compliment to my time in Torrey.

September 26 Blanding to Torrey, the scenic route

The rest of the photos for this day are linked here>

After gassing up in Blanding, to the tune of 3.09 per gallon, our route led us across one of the most scenic roads in America. Highway 95 crosses the great canyons of the Colorado River dropping to Lake Powell at Hite Crossing, and rising again on the east side of the Henry Mountains to Hanksville, Utah. We took our time, stopping along the way for photos, and I cooked breakfast for us while we parked in a wide spot at a canyon trailhead. Again, one of my favorite parts of MoHo travel, the ability to stop and rest, or cook, or eat, just about anywhere we want to do so.

I first drove this road on a wintry February day after traveling to Santa Fe in 1991 alone in my little red Ranger. I fell in love with Canyon Country then and have loved it ever since. In 1993 I spent six days in a small paddleboat with five other women and two river guides rafting Cataract Canyon of the Colorado River.

Today we crossed Hite Bridge at Lake Powell and I remembered how it felt to see that bridge rise up into view after so many days in the canyons. It was where we put out and then flew back to Moab in less than 30 minutes. It was a trip of a lifetime. I stood above Hite today, and thought again with amazement about John Wesley Powell, who adventured through these wild unknown canyons in a wooden dory, all the way to the Gulf of California.

It was a perfect day and a gorgeous drive, and after leaving Hanksville on route 24 we stopped along the Fremont River in Capital Reef National Park so that Abby could go for a swim. The park was busy with fall visitors, and we decided to bypass the visitor center altogether and go directly to our campsite at the Sand Creek RV Campground.

Sand Creek is an unassuming little place, a bit tattered, but the proprietress is a sweetheart and had saved number 11 for us. We are at the end of the park, with nothing to obstruct our view of the red mountains north of us except a bit of debris and some old ramshackle outbuildings. Twenty bucks with full hookups and the quiet and privacy make this a better choice for us than the fancy and more crowded Ten Thousand Lakes RV Resort just half a mile down the road.

September 25 The rest of the Rockies

The rest of the photos for this day are linked here

Today lived up to my expectations of what the Colorado Rockies would be. I spent much of the time wondering if I couldn’t breathe because we were at 10,000 feet or because the views were just so breathtaking. Again, we spontaneously rerouted and after visiting Ouray decided to go south to Telluride and then take the San Juan Scenic highway south to Dolores and into Utah at Monticello.

What a great choice. Mo had camped in Ouray in the late 60’s and we stopped and walked through town to see if we could find the campground where she stayed. No luck on the old campground, but the town was delightful, with galleries and shops filled with truly amazing art and some very expensive wonders.

The aspens lit the mountains like yellow flame, accented perfectly by the dark green spruce. I took a ridiculous number of photos, and with a small point and shoot with a normal lens it is impossible to capture that light and those vistas. Of course, I tried, and my photos will help me remember what it felt like to be in this part of the Rockies.

After Telluride, and the last pass, the road followed the Dolores River, and within a very short distance we were over the mountains and on the Colorado Plateau, approaching Monticello from the east. I knew of a small RV park in Blanding, a simple overnight stop when necessary, so we though maybe that would do if the state parks were full.

Just beyond Monticello however, on highway 191, Mo caught a sign on the west side of the road for the Devils Canyon Forest Service camp and the road even looked paved. It took a mile or two to turn around, but it was worth it. This campground has 42 sites, all spaced well, with campfire rings and water available. After cruising the nearly empty campground, we settled on a pull through spot, and paid our five dollar fee for another night of dry camping.

We walked a couple of miles through the rest of the campground before settling in to supper and a quiet evening. One more walk around the loop took us past an RV all set up with a solar oven, TV antennas, satellite dish, the works. I saw a woman at the window and asked if she was getting TV. She laughed, and said, “No, I just saw all the other people had theirs up so thought I would try it”. We laughed too, saying that is exactly what we had done!

Kate was friendly and fun, and jumped right out of her motorhome to come and share with us all sorts of information, including her great solar oven, some nice small lightweight chairs she got from WalMart, and her blog, Cholulared.blogspot.com. Being a full timer, she knew all the full time bloggers, and we laughed about what a small world it is. Made for a fun evening.

September 24 Over the Rockies

We headed west over the Rockies today, no more agenda, no more visiting or guests, just homeward bound. Of course, between here and home lie the red canyons of Capitol Reef, my heart home and sweet spot on the planet. Before we slip into canyon country, however, I thought it might be fun to wander west via a different route than the fast, winding interstate across the mountains out of Denver.

We chose Highway 285 south from Littleton, across Kenosha Pass, famous for its mountain bike trails, turning west on US 50, the road that crosses the US from coast to coast. Another climb, Monarch Pass, looked challenging on the map. How in the world do we haul the baby car over 11.300 feet?! The best part of the day was going to be the ability to drive as long as we felt like it, and then stop wherever we wanted to stop.

The passes were a piece of cake, really, most of the way had two lanes and the steepest grade was maybe 6 percent. The MoHo has an automatic transmission downshift, so that makes the downhill sides of the passes easy and safe as well, even though we don’t have any extra brakes on the car. The aspens are turning at the higher elevations, and the colors were backlit by the afternoon sun.

The only problem with this plan is that it all went by much too quickly. We saw two forest service campgrounds on highway 50, just before 1pm, and thought it was way too early to stop. Once over Monarch Pass, however, the west slope of the Rockies opens up into big wide ranching country, and by the time we found a place to stop around 3, the landscape was as barren as any we have seen in Nevada.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the desert. Rabbitbrush and sage are familiar to me and camping in the wide open spaces is something we actually seek. But on this day, somehow, I thought I would be camping in the Colorado Rockies, among spruce and aspen. Instead I am at the Stevens Creek BLM campground on a reservoir of the Arkansas River, surrounded by sage and silence. The skies are clear, and at 7600 feet, I am sure the stars will be breathtaking.

Not far north is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, a dramatic National Park, and yet the drive there looks tortuous and we have decided to continue west on 50 tomorrow morning and camp tomorrow night in Canyonlands, at the Island in the Sky, at Horse Thief BLM campground. Canyon country calls, red canyons, not black ones, and I am a bit like a horse heading for the barn.

The rest of the photos for this day are linked here>

September 22 and 23 Two days with family

The rest of the photos for these days are linked here. and here

Most of this trip has been about traveling and seeing new sights and new places. However, along the route, we had several stops planned to visit friends and family. Mo’s sister lives in the Denver area, with her two daughters close by. In addition, Edna and her husband recently purchased a new (to them) motorhome and decided that a group camp would be a great way to check out all the bells and whistles.

Edna made reservations for both of us at Chatfield State Park, near Littleton, Colorado, a site only a few miles from their home and we both pulled in yesterday within a few minutes of each other. The skies were heavy and gray and even though they looked scary, the rain that fell was just a spit here and there. Tom and Edna were happy to have “experienced” RV’rs nearby to help with all the little details of setting up a motorhome and we enjoyed helping out, and remembering when we were new at all this as well.

After setup, we brought out some snacks and wine, and because of the weather, snuggled into the MoHo for some catching up time. As the evening wore on and cleared up a bit, Mo and I took an opportunity to try out the great bike trails that surround this very lovely, open park.

Edna was excited about cooking supper for all of us and did a great job of grilled dogs and all the fixings. The night was just cool enough to turn on the little electric heater and sleep comfortably. I did a big breakfast for all of us in the morning while we listened to their happy tales about their successful first night sleeping in their new RV. We all settled in to a peaceful day, with Tom and Edna hanging out and Mo and I driving to their home to visit Tom’s mother, who is a precious lady over 100 years old. It was great to see her again. Later in the afternoon Edna’s daughters appeared, even in the midst of their busy schedules, and we visited some more and caught up with all the family newss. Susan’s newest son is just 12 weeks old, so of course everyone had to ooh and ahh over the baby.

Edna’s dog, Abby, and Jeremy all got along just fine. Jeremy especially liked this camp, with the open space and the many critters than must have been scooting around in the grass. He spent a lot of the time out on his leash today while we sat around not doing much else. The skies were gorgeous, blue and brilliant with no smog or haze anywhere. Evening was perfect with a steak supper provided by Tom and Edna and a great full harvest moon to light the evening. Tomorrow we will be on our way to explore the Colorado Rockies as we wind our way to my heart home at Capital Reff. Soon, very soon, I will again be in my red world that speaks to me so deeply. My kids keep saying, mark the spt with gps or something, Mom, how in the heck are we supposed to find this place. (the one where my ashes go!) LOL