We are finishing up our stay in Torrey, Utah, which is near Capitol Reef National Park. This is park 3 of the 5 in Utah we are seeing this month. Before I get to Capitol Reef let me tell you about leaving Bryce.
On our moving day from Bryce we woke up to this
The snow was falling, lightly, on and off for a few hours in the morning. Around the RV it accumulated to about an inch. Fortunately the temperature was hovering right around freezing so the snow was not sticking to the roadway. With the snow on the ground and a good wind it did affect our decision on what route to take to Capitol Reef. Our original plan was to take Scenic Highway 12 which is a direct route from Bryce to Torrey, but the road, we were told, is narrow and climbs to 10,000 feet with many switchbacks, big climbs and steep descents. We decided it would not be a good idea to try it with the RV in tow. We took an alternate route that kept us lower and on more traveled routes, including an interstate. It added about 60 miles to the route but it was a good decision. It also allowed us to make a stop in a large town, with a Wal-Mart, so we could do some grocery shopping. These towns near the national parks have slim pickings for groceries.
Back to Highway 12. Since we did not take it to get to Torrey we decided to spend one or our days driving it from Torrey back towards Bryce. What a great decision!. This is a must see for anybody that comes to see the Utah parks. It also confirmed our decision not to drive it with the RV. For many miles of the road it actually is on top of the crest of the mountains. This means the road was as wide as two lanes with a small shoulder on both sides then cliffs that drop off, big time! With the truck, and no RV, we had to drive 20 mph. We drove it halfway back to Bryce, stopping in the town of Escalante for lunch then turning around to come back. I don’t think my pictures can give you the majesty of the views you get on this road, but here are some of them.
Capitol Reef is what the call a water pocket. It is in between two large ridges. It has some great vistas, canyons and rock formations. Some of the sights require you to drive off road (dirt roads) to get to them. There are some hikes, which we did a couple. One was the Great Wash Basin. The trail is actually a dry river bed. They warn you to not take the hike if there is any possibility of rain or flash flood. This was fascinating as it took us to the “narrows” which is where the canyon walls come very close.
Here are some other great pictures from the park
Next up is Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. Our friends from Idaho, The Cover’s, decided to meet up with us in their RV, so it should be a very enjoyable week.
Route: From Bryce Canyon we took Highway 12 west to Highway 89 north to to Highway 24 east into Torrey, Utah.
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