Home Care In Torrey, UT

The desert is a dark, foreboding place at night, one that requires four wheel drive to trace the silver, starlit veins of Capitol Reef National Park to its heart.

An hour from any paved pipelines to civilization, the Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon await adventurous passersby. The freestanding shadows of these geologic monoliths blot out the Milky Way as they have since the Jurassic. Here—beneath the bewildering conjunction of starlight and father time—you’ll find one of Joshua Rowley’s favorite Capitol Reef haunts, Cathedral Valley.

This place is one of the most famous sections of the sprawling, 377-square-mile national park. The temples grace local merchandise, murals and even the official park map of the place. But unlike cousins at Arches, Canyonlands, Zion and Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef’s greatest treasures lie far off of the beaten path. That, Rowley reckons, is part of the appeal. Capitol Reef typically receives a fracture of the number of visitors that its neighbors attract. And for Rowley, that’s just fine.

In March of this year, Rowley and partner Nicholas Derrick flung open the doors of a waypoint for travelers making their way through one of America’s most darkest dust lands. The Skyview Hotel sits about 30 miles from the Temple of the Sun and Moon in nearby Torrey, Utah. Perched on the side of State Route 24 beneath the rippling, red sinews of a mesa dubbed the Velvet Ridge, The Skyview is the culmination of a dream the two co-owners conjured on their first date a little more than a decade ago.

“Nick and I wanted to have a small hotel that was geared towards outdoor adventurers,” says Rowley. “We have this beef with hotel chains that will put the exact same layout of a building in a suburb as they will a really beautiful place like this. So, we designed everything here around the town of Torrey and Capitol Reef—down to the last detail.”

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ByAmy DaniseEditor

ByAmy DaniseEditor

Rowley and Derrick each hail from Utah. They both have a passion for architecture and design; and the attention to detail shows inside their oasis. The hotel is designed for adventurers ranging from desert trekkers bumbling in with dusty, well-worn boots in the middle of the night to road trippers making a cleaner, faster circuit of Utah’s “Big 5.”

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In the parking area, glossy Range Rovers armored in unspoiled overlanding gear mingle with trail battered pickup trucks and luxury rental cars looking a little dinged up and maligned. “Adventure means something different to each guest,” Rowley explains. “For some people, adventure is backpacking for a week. For others, it might literally be just taking a scenic drive.”

On the exterior, the Skyview itself looks plucked from a Wes Anderson film. a floating slot canyon of faded, vermillion ropes guards the passage to a single row of 14 rooms. Some feature patios with burbling spas beneath the cliffs. All feature artwork inspired by geologic wonders located throughout the park.

The artwork, Rowley says, is meant to play on the inspirational empty unique to this corner of the country. When guests come in, he says mental light bulbs often start to flicker. “I had someone the other day from New Hampshire that was stunned to be able to see 15 miles away. They said they’d never experienced that before.

“So much of Utah is public land that it’s just empty. But it’s empty in a wonderful way. It’s National Forest. It’s Bureau of Land Management. It’s national monuments. It’s largely undeveloped and we see a lot of people experiencing that for the first time.”

Up top, a roof deck with dark sky-certified lighting allows visitors to lounge in comfort beneath the stars.

As of 2021, the town of Torrey held just 272 citizens. Rowley thinks the numbers may be slightly higher today, noting a smattering of luxuries available to travelers: a coffee roaster, a cider distillery, emerging upscale eateries that float in and out just down the road. In 2018, the town became Utah’s first International Dark Sky Community.

For Rowley, it’s the perfect mix of rural solitude and creature comfort. “I’m someone that finds New York to be cozy,” Rowley adds, noting the town has felt like a welcoming place for LGBTQ community. “I love it here.”

Though the bulk of this upscale, boutique hotel rests indoors, the undeniable stars of the show loom like lunar outposts outside. Here, Rowley and Derrick have installed six glamping domes that pull more than a few onlookers off of two-lane highway they sit alongside. People often pull over for a “looky-loo” at the Martianesque geodesic desert domes with sweeping views of the night sky.

Those choosing to “rough it” for the night find themselves with an unfettered dreamscape of the Milky Way on moonless nights, though Rowley admits the domes aren’t truly camps—they each come with a keycard and a fully furnished bathroom attached to the hotel.

Rowley says guests are often curious about staying in both a traditional room and a glamping dome; but just a few months after doors opened he’s still waiting on more data to determine a demographic swing either way. What he does see, for certain, is a clientele that is actively seeking their own adventure.

To help travelers maximize their time in Capitol Reef, the hotel partners with Get in the Wild Canyoneering Adventures for outdoor activities like family adventure trips and even wilderness yoga. They also tap local shutter fly Hunter Page Photography to connect guests with a master of capturing the national park in its best light.

In the 1960s, visitor figures at Capitol Reef National Park tallied about 160,000 people per year. Today, as those numbers climb to more than 1.2 million, small hotels like the Skyview still have the power to offer intimate experiences with the outdoors that Rowley says don’t have to be left to days of old. “It’s a great park to see in two hours if you just want to drive through,” he adds. “You can go to Gifford’s and grab a pie. You can go to the orchards and take a stroll and have a lovely experience. But I think Capitol Reef really caters to those who off-the-beaten-path travelers who want to stay a while. Take your truck. Go out to Cathedral Valley. Find the desolate places that make you feel alive.”

Nestled in the serene heart of Utah’s red rock country in Torrey, Utah, offers visitors a perfect combination of old-world charm and modern innovation through their hard cider creations. And it’s more than just a business, it’s a labor of love.

Owners and founders Ann Torrence and Robert Marc never planned to open a cidery. But having water rights on their homestead on the Fremont River eventually lead them to plant 90 different kinds of heirloom cider apples in their high-elevation orchards in Torrey.

Their small-but-mighty cidery on the west end of the town (700 W Highway 24 Torrey, UT) takes its moniker from the legendary Etta Place, who was the girlfriend of the notorious Sundance Kid. They and the Wild Bunch gang hid out at Robbers Roost. And much like its namesake, Etta Place Cider is a true trailblazer in the world of hard cider.

They’re committed to creating delicious hard ciders that capture the spirit of the American West. Their picturesque tasting room affords scenic views of Thousand Lake Mountain. Always willing to chat with visitors about their cider-making process, any visitor’s experience is enhanced by Torrence’s storytelling ability (she’s a writer and former researcher). And that friendly atmosphere combined with tranquil setting make for an unforgettable experience for anyone who visits.

What to do with the apples?

“So I now have 500 trees,” says Torrence. “Our plantings were selected for aromatics, flavors, acidity and tannins that separate an orchard-based cider from the rest.”

Those apples that many Americans have never heard of (let alone tasted), lead them down a path of distinctive creations that are turning heads in the cider scene. They create handcrafted and seasonal hard ciders featuring the fruits from their orchard and around southern Utah. Traditional cider-making techniques are employed, although Marc’s scientific experiments around what can be created from apples in as little as six weeks is right up his alley as a retired neuroscientist-turned-cider maker.

Some of their ciders are named for the awe-inspiring landscape that surrounds them–Grand Circle Semi-Dry and Camp Fruitah. Their best-selling Etta Place Dry is lightly carbonated and brut dry while other inspired bottles such as the Etta Place Gingered can be used in a cocktail that might otherwise be topped with ginger ale. Most treasured are the limited edition delights like Etta’s Reserve Fig Mead.

Having become known for its rustic charm as much as the delightful characters of the founders and their dedication to crafting exceptional ciders, Etta Place Cider has become a local treasure, drawing visitors and hard cider enthusiasts alike.

Bar license acquisition complete

“It’s official!!! Etta Place Cidery now has a taproom – we have a bar license! We just the met with the Commissioners of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services and persuaded them we are sufficiently serious and sober enough to operate Wayne County’s only bar.” This news was delivered to email subscribers the morning of November 30th.

The new taproom has been in the works over the past few months. It included the destruction of the Zion Wall that formerly hid the tasting room from view to make way for a larger and open taproom and an official bar license from DABS.

They plan to serve cider-based cocktails (featuring Etta ciders), delicious Utah beer and of course their own meads and hard ciders as well as flights. “We are using all Utah-produced spirits for our well liquors,” Torrence writes. (You’ll note that they lease space to Robbers Roost Spirits in the adjoining space.) It’s an exciting transition from the original tasting room and educational license they’ve been operating under and will allow visitors to truly see how versatile their ciders can be. The evolution will enable the cidery to open its doors to new collaborations, events and experiences for patrons.

“We will be hosting a series of fun events over the winter (trivia nights, game nights, guest chef appearances, etc.) after we get through the shakedown period.”

Taproom product launch

Etta Place Cider will kick off the celebration of the license and taproom by introducing a new product: raspberry-hibiscus session mead. At 6% ABV it’s not sweet and the couple feel that it will be amazing on its own and in cocktails.

Raise a glass to a new chapter of Etta Place Cider

Cheers to Etta Place Cider, Wayne County’s newest (and only) bar, by raising a glass to this new era of hard cider from Thursday to Saturday, 2.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m.

“We are promising a very soft open, with all the hilarity and anxiety of figuring it out as we go. We will probably run out of something, be lacking an essential bar tool, or overload the power. We will still sell our bottled products in our retail shop, along with our merch and selection of groceries and snacks. The bottle shop will be open when the taproom is open. We can also open the bottle shop on other days and at other times by appointment, so just call and ask!”

Want to stay on top of the SLC food scene, minute by minute, dish by dish? Here are a few other places you should follow along:

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On a recent weekend escape to Southern Utah, we landed in Torrey tired, hungry, and a little grumpy from the drive, if I’m being honest. We operated under the “we’ll just leave after work and make a quick drive down” philosophy. The one where you forget that rush hour traffic is a thing, and a three-and-a-half hour drive (in theory) will be closer to five hours. Road trip snacks were not cutting it anymore when we rolled into town. Torrey has some great restaurants, but I was not feeling fit for public consumption. I wanted minimal interaction with humans and looked pretty rumpled.

We lucked out and drove past a food truck, just getting ready to close. Parked on Torrey’s main (only?) drag, they took pity on us and let us order. Hooray for small towns and food trucks, and friendly people.

I was impressed, and to be honest, we ate almost exclusively at Capitol Reef food trucks for the remainder of the trip. I don’t know about you, but when I’m dusty from the trail, sore from a day of hiking, and hungry for more than jerky and trail mix, the last thing I want to do is shower, get cleaned up, and head back out for dinner. The food trucks we discovered were the perfect solution. We could devour our food in the parking lot (or on a curb, or in our hotel room, or in the car) without feeling out of place.

Here are some food truck stops you need to make when you’re in the area. We highly recommend checking websites, google listings, or social media for hours and locations (and if they are even open). And know they may not be parked in the same spot throughout the day.

Capitol Reef Food: Autentico Street Tacos | Torrey, Utah

We ended up at Autentico Street Tacos more than once; it was that good. Over the course of a couple of meals, we ate pretty much everything on the menu. You should know a couple of things: 1) These are authentic as advertised. The corn tortillas tasted handmade, and the flavors were very traditional. Bonus points for being thick enough that you only needed one tortilla instead of two, which is rare. 2) The refried beans are not vegetarian. Which is also proper. 3) The accompanying salsas are homemade and lean towards spicy.

We got the Al Pastor tacos, which came with slices of grilled pineapple instead of the ubiquitous canned pineapple chunks. It made the pineapple more than just a pop of fruit. It makes for a vibrant, extra juicy, and smoky foil for the rich and spicy pork. It was chilly that first night, and the sunset colors, orange and red, warmed the soul.

Speaking of pork, the slow-simmered Pork in Salsa Verde tacos was mellow and tart compared to the sweet and flamboyant Al Pastor. The real showstopper (yes, I used the word showstopper when talking about a food truck) is the El Autentico Taco. Spread out between two tortillas (it is too big for just one) is a fire-grilled “steak,” aka flank steak, grilled spring onions, queso fresco, fresh guac, and grilled nopales, which is a type of cactus. Hands down, it was the best street taco I’ve had in a long time. The special touch of cooking the queso fresco on a flattop grill so it was crispy and melty, along with the astringent flavor of the nopales, made it somehow both unique and traditional. You’ll walk away feeling like your favorite abuela made you lunch. Even if you don’t have an abuela.

I’ll say here that if you don’t douse your street tacos in extra lime juice and homemade hot sauce, you and I can’t be friends. It would be like eating lasagna without cheese.

How to find Autentico Street Tacos: Visit their social media pages. They are often parked along the main drag in Torrey, Utah.

Capitol Reef Food: Capitol Burger | Torrey, Utah

Named for the beautiful and nearby Capitol Reef National Park, Capitol Burger is what you dream of in the best diner burger. Cooked mid-rare, the beef crispy around the edges from being smashed down, made with American cheese – as is only proper. But the real magic comes with the toppings. Think garlic crimini mushrooms + caramelized onions + blue cheese or pulled pork with pickled jalapenos and house-made BBQ sauce. Over the course of four days in Torrey, we managed to find our way there twice.

Owned by Luck Fowles and his wife, Sunny, this food truck has its origins in fine dining. Luke was on the team at Forage before hanging up the white linens and precision plating for his Southern Utah food truck. But you’ll catch hints of his attention to detail – from the house-ground local beef and freshly made brioche buns.

My favorite, hands down, was the Pastrami Burger with house-cured pastrami, provolone, slaw, and that Utah of all Utah classics – fry sauce. The pastrami was thick-cut, peppery, and fatty. A chef-y nod to one of our original fast food joint classics. Get the shoestring fries to go along with it. Just go all in.

The crowd-pleaser and probably the most ‘gradable burger is the Mac n Cheese Burger. Smothered in sauced macaroni and topped with smoked bacon and coal-roasted green chilies, the slather of whole grain mustard keeps it grounded in reality and tames all the decadent. Find a good view (there are lots of them in Torrey) and take your photos. Guaranteed, everyone will ask where you got THAT.

How to find Capitol Burger: Visit their social media pages. They are often parked along the main drag in Torrey, Utah.

Magnolias Street Food | Boulder, Utah

Driving past the Anasazi State Park Visitors Center on Highway 12 heading into Boulder, Utah, you can’t miss the aqua blue Chevy Bluebird Bus in the parking lot. The permanent home to Magnolias Street Food, it is the perfect pit stop after a long drive. Serving breakfast and lunch, I stopped there to visit Hell’s Backbone Farm for another article and arrived at the farm a little stuffed but very happy.

Working with lots of fresh veggies, house-made pickle-y fermented things work their way into every part of the menu. Their kimchi is fantastic, and a bottle of the habanero hot sauce *may* have made its way home with me.

Speaking of kimchi, the Kimchi Hotdog is delicious. And the perfect post-hiking guilty pleasure treat. If you are going for a guilty pleasure, dive in and get the Loaded Fries – topped with the crispy carnitas-style pork. They are hand cut and deeply satisfying. If you want a more basic bite, the street tacos will treat you well.

While they are outside the immediate Capitol Reef food circle, if you are driving up to Boulder or taking Hell’s Backbone to Escalante, they are worth the pit stop.

Where to find Magnolias Street Food: Find them permanently parked at the Anasazi State Park Museum parking lot at 460 UT-12 Boulder, UT 84716

See more stories like this and all of our food and drink coverage. And while you’re here, why not subscribe and get six annual issues of Salt Lake magazine’s curated guide to the best of life in Utah.

Survivor's relief after UT Supreme Court affirms former USU athlete's rape convictions

After nearly a decade of seeking justice, one survivor said she finally has some closure.

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KSLTV.com

SALT LAKE CITY— After nearly a decade of seeking justice, one survivor said she finally has some closure.

There were seven women in a case involving former Utah State University football player Torrey Green.

The last time KSL’S Erin Cox interviewed the survivor together was in 2019, during the court proceedings.

As they spoke over the phone on Friday, there was happiness in the survivor’s voice.

“It hasn’t fully hit me yet that this could really be the end, and I can finally heal, move on and be my best self,” the survivor, who asked to remain anonymous said.

This survivor was an 18-year-old USU student when she met Torrey Green, a linebacker on the football team.

She was in her second semester of college when she said Green raped her.

“I think that’s been the hardest thing for me is accepting that I’ll never be who I was because I loved who I was, I love that woman,” the survivor said. “But change is not always a bad thing. Even though we went through a really, really bad traumatic experience, I know that I’m better for it. I’m a better woman.”

Seven other women testified against Green in court. In 2019, Green was convicted of multiple counts of rape.

Barbara Lachmar was one of the prosecutors who worked with the survivors.

“It’s a very grueling process,” Lachmar said. “Most of them were already traumatized, and to have to go through a process like this takes a lot of courage, stamina and willpower.”

In 2020, Green appealed his conviction, challenging the doctrine of chances—a legal term referring to the possibility that multiple people without any relationship to each other could accuse the same person.

Green’s appeal suggested there was no way six women could have similar cases and be tried all together, which is what happened.

The seventh victim was tried separately.

The Utah Supreme Court overturned the doctrine of chances for use in future cases and re-affirmed Green’s conviction due to overwhelming evidence in the cases.

“I’m so proud of them, and their courage and their steadfastness,” Lachmar said. “This was so difficult.”

The trial process was one law enforcement, attorney’s and victim advocates learned from, Lachmar said.

For the survivor, she has tried to heal over the past eight years—though the process has been interrupted by court proceedings, appeals and more.

Now, she hopes to focus on schooling, possibly becoming a victim-advocate herself, or maybe fulfilling her dream to become a nurse.

And though this was difficult, she said she is grateful she reported Green because it has helped save others.

“This is probably the happiest I felt about everything in a really long time,” said the survivor.

Green will continue to serve his sentence of 26 years to life in prison.

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – The Utah Supreme Court unanimously denied an appeal from a former Utah State University player to overturn his rape convictions.

In 2019, a jury convicted Torrey Jordan Green of multiple counts of rape of six women. The district judge presiding over the case said Green was a “serial rapist and showed no mercy.” Green was sentenced 26-years-to-life in prison. He maintained his innocence throughout the conviction and sentencing.

Green’s attorneys filed an appeal in 2022 to overturn the convictions, saying Green did not receive a fair trial. As part of their arguments, each case should not have been consolidated into one trial. Instead, the attorneys argued each incident should have been tried on its own. Green also argued hearsay statements presented during his trial should have been excused.

The Utah Supreme Court heard arguments of the appeal in October 2022 and issued its opinion at the start of June 2023.

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In their ruling, the Utah Supreme Court justices did admit they were persuaded to overrule their own rules regarding the doctrine of chances – a rule of evidence that allows evidence of past events or circumstances to be presented in a court case should they meet certain criteria.

The overruling of the doctrine of chances, however, still did not help Green’s appeal.

“Because of this change in course, we analyze whether the district court erred in admitting the other-acts evidence in Mr. Green’s case under the rules of evidence (without any reference to the doctrine of chances),” wrote the Court in its opinion. “Under this standard, we find no error in the district court’s other-acts evidence determination.”

The Utah justices ruled that the hearsay claims were properly admitted as evidence. The justices also said that because the evidence against Green was overwhelming, any statements that should have been excluded as hearsay were harmless.

The Utah Attorney General’s Office said that the Court’s landmark ruling will make it easier for prosecutors to admit evidence of similar acts of sexual assault against multiple victims in future cases.

The full opinion from the Utah Supreme Court can be read in its entirety below:

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