OK, Janie?s birthday was coming up---what can we do special for a wife who loves great food/wine, beautiful scenery, and RV travel?? Well, my brother Ron, his wife Pam, and I came up with the perfect solution that put all three together--but first a little background.
Last May, the four of us made a 5 day road trip from our homes in Prescott and Cottonwood, AZ, up through Utah?s Monument Valley, Canyon Lands National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon and home. On this trip we spent one night in a little town just west of the Capitol Reef area---Torrey, Utah--once the home of Butch Cassidy, Sundance, and the gang. Torrey is not very big---just a small community clustered around the intersection of State Highways 24 and 12--but it has several very nice places to stay. The one selected by our family was the Torrey Schoolhouse B&B---a 3 story, stone construction, 1920?s vintage school house that was ?boarded up? for 50 years until a very enterprising lady purchased it and transformed it into a very nice Inn.
Knowing nothing about the area we asked the Inn Keeper for recommendations on places to have dinner. She recommended several places but first choice was the Diablo Restaurant on the west end of Torrey. Not knowing what to expect, and with expectations that were not high, we drove the two blocks to the other side of town to the restaurant. We spent the next 2.5 hrs enjoying one of the top 2 or 3 meals I have had in my 60 year life. It turns out this place is owned by a chef who also has another restaurant in the Ski area north of Salt Lake City. He so loves the beautiful scenery around Torrey that he opened this restaurant and spends his non-ski season catering to the locals and the travelers. The food, the wine, the dessert, and the presentation were incredible---and the place was packed on a weeknight.
OK, enough background! Since Janie loved this place, we decided to fly her to Torrey on Wed of last week, stay at the Torrey Schoolhouse, have dinner at the Diablo, and fly back the next day. My brother Ron and his wife Pam would accompany us in their RV7a and Janie and I would be traveling in our RV9a. Our route of flight took us direct from Prescott (KPRC) at 11,500 ft to the Zuni Corridor over Grand Canyon, across the Vermillion Cliffs toward the Bryce VOR, a little jog to the NW toward Panguitch, and then direct to Richfield, Utah (KRIF).
Both planes took off at 0800 Prescott time on Wednesday and headed north. Mr. TruTrak was doing most of the flying so I was really enjoying the view. Approaching The Grand Canyon, there is just something about seeing and then crossing that rim and watching the ground make an instant drop of 5000 ft that just gets your heart pumping!
See the haze in the air--the controller told us it was the result of ?controlled burns? conducted by the Forest Service. The north side of Grand Canyon was almost IFR. Ron and Pam flew through the Dragon Corridor, slightly to the west of our route, and had even more smoke on the north side.
The smoke cleared in time for us to enjoy the scene of Bryce Canyon as we flew just to the east of it on our route toward Panguitch and ultimately Richfield.
The reason for the NW jog after Bryce was to keep us over lower terrain and allow a direct route up a beautiful valley (11k+ ft mountains on both sides) as well as clearing a forest fire TFR just SW of Richfield.
We landed at Richfield (within 3 minutes of each other) at 1 hr 43 minutes flight time, picked up our rental car at the airport (nice people at the FBO and $4.05 avgas) and drove the 50 or so miles to Torrey. Spent the afternoon exploring the old pioneer section of town, marveling at the scenery, enjoying the cool/dry climate, and having one or two ?adult beverages? (GlenLivet) on the patio of the B&B prior to dinner.
As I am sure you guessed, the evening was spent indulging our appetites at the Diablo Restaurant. We had Duck Mariachi as an appetizer, followed by Fire Roasted Tenderloin for Pam/Ron/myself, Beef Flank Steak Carbon for Janie, and a nice Beringer Cabernet for all. Desserts all around. It was another top five lifetime dining experience.
Check out the restaurant and its menu at:
www.cafediablo.net
BTW, if you have an interest in visiting this restaurant, do so prior to Oct 23 as THE CHEF makes the transition to Salt Lake on that date.
Check out the Torrey B&B at:
www.torreyschoolhouse.com
The drive and flight home on Thursday was uneventful with the exception of the incredible scenery. The smoke was still on the north side of GC but not as heavy. The last travel shot is heading southbound through the Zuni Corridor at 12,500 ft (14,500 density). Note the South Rim GC airport in the left of the last pic.
Overall it was a really enjoyable trip. Both RV?s performed flawlessly, the return trip took 1:44 to Prescott, and Janie had another great time in Torrey. I continue to be amazed at the versatility and performance of these machines that we build in our garages. It seems we packed a weeks worth of experiences in a very short time--thanks to the speed and efficiency of Vans Aircraft.
Attached is a final pic of the two transports with their RV grinning owner/builders/brothers. My red/white RV9a was first flown in early 2006 and Ron?s RV7a in early 2008. The passage of time has not dampened the enthusiasm as you still can?t get those silly grins off our faces.
All the Best and as always,
Cheers,
db
A Trek to Torrey
Kinda what I do for my Jenny....keeping the embers glowing
Linear Mode
