Torrey '09

I just can't get enough of Torrey. The Cowboy Cabins on HWY 12 just south of town are almost starting to feel like a second home. My parents joined us this time for the annual trip to Torrey over Labor Day weekend and a good time was had by all.


Above: the drive to Torrey from Cedar is pretty fantastic as well; just south of Circleville, the wary traveler may spot this well-preserved childhood home of Robert Leroy Parker, a.k.a. "Butch" Cassidy.




Above: snow comes early on top of Thousand Lake Mountain near Loa.





Above: green and vibrant Fruita in the heart of Capitol Reef just doesn't seem to quite fit in with the sun-scorched desert surroundings, but that's OK with me.





Above: pit-weathering along the Cohab Canyon Trail in Capitol Reef.












Above: a bird's-eye view of Fruita.






Above: faded and nearly forgotten inscriptions from miners on their way to the San Juan gold rush. These inscriptions, dating from the 1890s, can be found along the now-abandoned wagon route between Torrey and Fruita near Twin Rocks.






This huge mess of vines, that strangely resemble giant spaghetti hanging from a large cottonwood, are popular with kids.



Below: Zoe tries her best Tarzan impersonation.





Above: I finally found this lonely grave on the edge of the lifeless Blue Desert east of Capitol Reef. The tombstone reads, "John Richard Crowther, Oct. 28, 1891 - Dec. 21, 1891."






Above: purple banded hills of Jurassic Morrison Formation make for a colorful scene along Pleasant Creek near Notom. White and pink tilted knobs of Navajo Sandstone comprise the "reef" in the distance.






Pelycypods (fossil clams) litter the ground where they have weathered out of the Cretaceous-age Dakota Sandstone along the old Notom Road. I think we have a future paleontologist on our hands.


















No trip to Torrey is complete without a good-ol' fashioned exploratory mountain bike ride. The old wagon road, now used mostly by ATVs, between Grover and Boulder is a hidden gem.












There is something special about Fish Creek Cove, nestled at the foot of Boulder Mountain between Teasdale and Grover. As our resident Fremont-culture expert explained, this was a sacred place to the Indians. The pictographs here are intriguingly cryptic.