Torrey, UT
After a great stay in Moab, we fired up the bus on Thursday and headed west. Our last travel day three weeks ago we were headed east across central Utah on I-70. Now here we were headed west on the same highway. What’s up with that?
Well, our original plan had us entering Utah on the west side of the state, then making a slow journey across to the east visiting the many national parks in southern Utah along the way. But as we researched the trip, we found that the second planned stop, Bryce Canyon NP, is at an altitude of almost 9,000 feet. At this height, spring arrives a little later than the rest of southern Utah. So in an effort to avoid the freezing temperatures of the high country we circled around it and drove across the state from Zion NP in western Utah to the Moab area in eastern Utah. Now we are circling back into the high country, as temperatures are slowly rising to a more moderate level acceptable to our tender skin.
We left Moab just after 9:00 (extremely early for us) and headed to I-70. After a fuel stop in Green River, one of the most desolate poor towns we have seen, we headed to the southwest on UT-24. Most of this road is designated as a Scenic Byway, and as we continued we could see why it earned this designation. The first twenty miles was a bit mundane as we drove over flat desert, rarely seeing another vehicle.
As we continued, the Henry Mountains loomed larger and the landscape slowly became more interesting.
As we approached our destination, the road meandered through a section of Capitol Reefs National Park, with beautiful rock formations on both sides of the highway. Yes, Kevin, more pictures of rocks!
After a drive of about 150 miles, we arrived at Thousand Lakes RV Park in Torrey, UT. With a population of under 200 people, Torrey is a small town just outside the entrance of Capitol Reef National Park.
Although not the luxurious, concrete site we enjoyed in Moab, we have a nice site on gravel with great views of the mountains to the south.
One of our reasons for stopping in Torrey is to do some hiking in the national park, but the main reason for being here is to visit the home of Annette and Larry. Annette is the person who first enlightened us to the possibility of living full time in a motorhome.
Over ten years ago we were thinking of retirement and trying to figure out a way to tour the country and stay in places we would visit for more than a few days. That summer Pam participated in a workshop at her school district on technology in the classroom. She came home one afternoon saying that the instructor of the workshop didn’t have a house, she lived full time in a motorhome traveling the country. Wow, this is exactly what we needed to do! That instructor was Annette, and for the next few years she returned to the district each summer. We would take her to dinner each year and pick her brain about how to live on the road. After ten years travelling the country, she and husband Larry settled down and built a beautiful home in a canyon near Torrey. They invited us to their home for dinner the night of our arrival, where we enjoyed a delicious meal and many hours of great conversation.

Larry, John, and Annette
Larry and Annette are avid hikers and have done extensive exploration of the area. Annette even prepared a list of hikes and adventures in the area for our use. We’ll spend the next two days exploring the national park on our own while Annette completes grading work for an online course she teaches as part of her role as professor at the School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. Then the four of us have some adventures planned together next week.
More on that later . . .
Have fun. Annette and Larry will surely give you a good time.
Annette’s Mom
Nancy Smith
Thanks, Nancy!! I know we are going to have a wonderful time.
Another outstanding header photo.
That flat desert with the Henry MT in the background is gorgeous!
Does Kevin know the difference between a rock and a mountain? What about rock and beauty?
How cool to meet up with your mentors. I now know you will have an absolute awesome time in Torrey. Enjoy!
Sounds like you will have a great visit! We LOVE Capitol Reef…awesome hiking..and you will have the advantage of “local knowledge.” Enjoy!!
Definitely having locals to help our visit will make it much more of a learning experience. Capital Reef is another amazing area.
How cool is that? Waaaaaay cool! What a nice treat for all. I know you are going to have some awesome hikes…I can’t wait to see!
We’ll work hard to add to your list of things to do when you get to this area sometime.
Sounds like you will have a GREAT time in the Torrey area!
I remember we had a good time in Bryce for a few short days back in the ’80s … but I also remember the sun burn I got while hiking! Be careful and have fun.
Hope it doesn’t get too warm. We should be fine since it is just beginning to thaw out at Bryce. Bryce is up next in a week!!
Your blog pictures are amazing. Utah is so beautiful and you are reminding me to make sure we don’t rush our next visit there, truly so much to take in. I loved that Bryce and Zion were so different yet I loved both areas. 24 mos until we are full timing but enjoying following along with you. Kris
Thanks, Kris! Glad you are joining us. I remember when we were in your position of counting the days until we headed out for good. Yes, you definitely don’t want to rush Utah. And after three months, I think we need to return to see all we missed!
One of the biggest surprises was when I drove south on Bullfrog-Notum road to the little primitive campground out there. The drive was fantastically beautiful and drivable in my Camry.
That road is on the plans for near future as it will take us to our hike in Mulley Area.
Thanks for another great place and RV Park to add to my bucket list. Love the pics of you adventures! Beautiful!!
Glad you are along for the journey! Thanks!
Looks like more fun adventures on the horizon. 🙂
Capitol Reef is one of my favorite areas in Utah. The landscape is incredibly beautiful and, at times, quite unique. I am interested in connecting with your friend Annette via email to learn more about the online teaching she does. I currently work at Butler University in Indianapolis and I plan to start traveling full-time with my husband in June. I’d like to continue my work online and want to hear from Annette about her experiences. My email is 4jcallahan (at) gmail.com