Enchanted Torrey - Utah - Brief Article

Sunset, July, 2000 by Nicky Leach

This outpost in Utah's red rock country is worth a stop for the arts and for dining

Torrey travel planner

Torrey is about 3 1/2 hours south of Salt Lake City. Most visitor services are only open from late April through October. Area code is 435 unless noted.

LODGING. The Capitol Reef Inn and Cafe (from $44; 360 W. Main St., Torrey; 425-3271 or www.capitolreefinn.com) has 10 rooms with handmade wood furniture. The Road Creek Inn (from $69; 98 S. Main St., Loa; 800/388-7688 or www.roadcreekranch.com) is open year-round and has 21 rooms.

ACTIVITIES. Enjoy weekend events and classes at Entrada Institute (425-3265 or www.xmission.com/[sim]entrada).

CONTACT. For travel information, contact the Wayne County Travel Council at (800) 858-7951 or www.capitolreef.org.

The Technicolor country that surrounds Utah's Capitol Reef National Park has long attracted writers and artists to its red rock and mesas. Zane Grey and Wallace Stegner found inspiration in the soaring sandstone cliffs, as did artist Maynard Dixon. It was here that comic-book guru Dick Sprang drew his most famous work: Batman.

But Capitol Reef country's real-life superhero was undoubtedly Utah writer Ward Roylance, who fell in love with the land he dubbed "the Enchanted Wilderness" and then tirelessly fought to preserve it. Roylance moved to Torrey, the gateway community to Capitol Reef, in the early 1970s. In 1993, the year of his death, he cofounded the nonprofit Entrada Institute, which is dedicated to preserving the red rock country and its heritage through arts and education.

Today Torrey, just west of the park on State 24, is a good base for exploring Capitol Reef country. The Entrada Institute is a gathering place for the local art community, and it offers weekend events throughout the summer. July and August programs this year include classes on rock art and astronomy, a one-woman show called Desert Wife, and readings by Utah authors. Entrada's programs take place in Roylance's unusual pyramidshaped home, now converted to Robber's Roost Books and Beverages (185 W. Main St./State 24; 435/425-3265), an essential stop for regional books and maps, pioneer-inspired handicrafts, or a moment of relaxation creekside with a latte.

Nearby the Torrey Gallery (80 E. Main; 425-3909) displays Navajo rugs and works by Bonnie Posselli, Doug Snow, and other Utah artists. Locals like Snow can often be found across the road in the sunny Capitol Reef Inn and Cafe (see travel planner), run by ex-UC Berkeley professor Southey Swede, who transforms locally produced cheeses, meats, fish, and vegetables into hearty dishes. Another culinary haven is Cafe Diablo (599 W Main; 425-3070), where artful Southwest dishes like lime-and-honey-glazed chicken with tomatillo salsa are showstoppers on an all-star menu.

Farm-raised fish is prepared four delicious ways--including trout en papillote--at Road Creek Inn (see travel planner) 15 miles northwest of Torrey on State 24 in the tiny hamlet of Loa. The inn resides on a working ranch in a converted 1912 Mormon mercantile building owned by Utah governor Mike Leavitt's family The ranch offers a glimpse into the traditional lifestyle of the Torrey area.

It is a way of life that, like so much else the Entrada Institute hopes to preserve, is intrinsic to the appeal of Roylance's enchanted wilderness.