Next stop on our journey was a state park named Kodachrome Basin State Park just outside Cannonville on Route 12. It was a very nice state park with some interesting formations with very well maintained dirt roads and very walkable trails to the formations. The first first thing we did was to take a nice little hike to Shakespeare Arch. It was a small arch, but an enjoyable hike none the less after they previous day's two grueling hikes. After taking in the arch we drove to Chimney Rock, another interesting formation in the park, and various unnamed rock formations. Altogether we spent about 2 hours in the park. Pictures follow, be sure to check out Terry's wild shorts.
Just outside Kodachrome Basin State Park was the entrance to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Cottonwood Canyon Road. My friend Laurie told me about this great arch by the name of Grosvenor Arch which was off of Cottonwood Canyon Road so we headed out to see it. Although I believe she took the road from the south end, outside of Page, and worked her way up about 30 miles to Grosvenor Arch, we decided to take the shortcut and go from the north end. The ranger at the park's visitors center told us we wouldn't be able to come up from the south anyway because the road was impassable. We only had 9 miles on this not so well maintained dirt road. There were a number of times I was ready to turn back the road was so bad. At one point we had to ford a stream. Actually it was one of the washes that had not dried out from the rain they had a few days earlier. The sign at the entrance to Cottonwood Canyon Road had these big warning signs that 4-wheel drive was highly suggested. We finally made it and were rewarded with a wonderful sight. Anyway, attached are pictures of our adventure.
After we made it back to Utah Scenic Byway 12 we decided to take it easy for the rest of the day and just take a leisurely drive to our next stop - Torrey, Utah. This scenic byway is names one of only 20 All-American Roads in the U.S. by the National Scenic Byways Program and it didn't disappoint. We stopped at every scenic overlook, and some that I'm positive were not actually "official" overlooks. There were a lot of places where the scenery was so beautiful but there was absolutely nowhere to pull off. Here are some pictures from the drive.
We arrived in Torrey and found our accommodations, Torrey Schoolhouse Bed & Breakfast Inn. We didn't need any directions to find it, the town is rather small and it was the 2nd tallest building in the town, the first being the new Morman temple they are building. Our B&B was a converted schoolhouse that the new owners lovingly restored. Ty, the proprietor, was such a gracious hostess, and her breakfasts were outstanding, all organic items. She grew the herbs and vegetables in her garden out back. In addition to the above link to her website I am also attaching some pictures I took of our room, the Grand Room where guests could gather to relax and also where breakfast was served, and the garden.
Since we had arrived early at our accommodations for the next 2 nights, Ty gave us some suggestions on what to do with the rest of our afternoon, and a suggestion on where to go for dinner as well. Both suggestions turned out to be wonderful. First we went into Capitol Reef and did a few of the overlooks and trails in the late afternoon between 4 and 5:30 PM. We were back at the B&B by 5:45 where we changed and went to Cafe Diablo for dinner (Ty's suggestion). I am glad she had suggested it because I had also read about it in my Fodor's guidebook and it is apparently one of the best restaurant's in the state of Utah. Dinner was fabulous. Who would have thought that a little town like Torrey would have such an amazing restaurant. After dinner we waddled back to the B&B and got a good night's sleep.
