We rolled up the sleeping bags and packed up the tent. It was sunny and hot in Moab, Utah – perfect weather for the month of May. After camping 14 nights, we looked forward to staying in a motel in Torrey – just outside Capitol Reef National Park. We yearned for a room of our own, a shower, and wifi.
We awoke to very cold weather the next morning. 34 degrees F (1 degree C). The news reported a cold front had pushed through and would continue to keep the temperatures down for two days.
We looked out the window from our little room at The Chuckwagon Inn. Snow!
Snow and a driving cold wind continued on-and-off until early afternoon.
By the time we finished our late lunch, the snow had stopped and the wind had died down. We knew it was useless to drive into the National Park to attempt a hike, so we decided to walk around little Torrey (population 182), staying close enough to escape back to The Chuckwagon Inn if the weather got worse.
A short walk down the road we saw the Torrey Log School and Church, constructed in 1898.
Canals flowed through the town, connected to the Freemont River 11 miles away. The canals are now over 100 years old. We watched barn swallows circling the water and occasionally dipping down for a drink.
The town was very small, but properties were large. We saw more old wooden buildings here than any other place we could remember in the US.
Almost all of the wooden buildings were no longer occupied.
Some slowly decayed in place.
Still, the town looked well-kept – almost charming. How many travelers have the time – or take the time – to walk the back roads of Torrey? If not for the sudden drop in temperature and the driving snow, we most certainly would have been in Capitol Reef National Park hiking the trails. Sometimes, bad weather opens up opportunities. Seeing Torrey, Utah was one of them.
May 2017
simpletravelourway 
That was a big drop in temperature. Brrrr!
Well! Didn’t you just scoot into that hotel room in the nick of time! (I remember once, in Newfoundland, waking up to snow on our tent in June, and thinking this was somehow Against The Rules…)
What a weather contrast! Lovely photographs of the wooden buildings.
It is reassuring to know that other travellers suffer the whims of the weather as well. We were beginning to think it was an affliction specifically allocated to us. Yes the weather can result in you doing those unplanned things that can be fun, enlightening and even relaxing, such as catching up with chores that it is easy to neglect while on the move. Hope it was just a one-off though.
Wow, that was a bitter change in temperature. Glad you found a silver lining.