Desert Cabin Dreams

If you’ve followed along here for any length of time, you know that John and I love taking mini getaways together. We are blessed to have loving, long-term caregivers who have sleepovers with the boys so we can escape for a night or two as adults. More likely than not, we’ll find some kind of cabin to rent, and we’ve stayed in some incredible ones! Back in May, we hit the road and headed south to a desert town called Torrey.

Torrey is sort of where it all began for us as a couple. It was our first getaway together, to the Red River Lodge. We hiked and explored and made friends with the buffalo on the ranch. There’s not much going on in the town itself, so we just enjoyed time together. Here are a few shots from way back when…

For Mother’s Day, John’s card included a printout of our reservation to a funky-looking A-frame in Torrey. Don’t you love it when your expectations are exceeded? The cabin at Tinker Creek was charming and rustic in all the best ways.  Built sometime in the 70’s, the current owners had updated the things that needed updating but kept so much of the original vibe in tact. There was even an old photo of the cabin from 1978 on the wall. We settled in for a 2-night stay and my cabin daydreams went into overdrive.

With Covid shutdown in full swing, there wasn’t much to do but be together. We’d brought food for breakfasts and snacks and ordered take-out for our dinners. John played the guitar. We read a lot. We talked about what we loved about the cabin and explored the grounds. We went for walks. It was chilly enough at night to fire up the wood stove and I wore slippers while I sipped my coffee in the morning. Despite missing the boys, it was blissful.

Torrey’s claim to fame is its proximity to Capitol Reef National Park. If you’ve never spent time in Utah’s southern desert, do yourself a favor and put it on your post-Covid travel list! It’s so different than the mountains of Park City. The earth is the most gorgeous rusty red color, and the rock formations and canyons made by eons of wind and water are stunning. After a lazy morning and breakfast for fuel, we headed into the park to get in a hike while the weather was good!

John’s hip was bothering him a lot (this was before a full hip replacement this summer!), so we opted for a couple of shorter hikes. One of them was through a deep canyon and one of them led us up onto the top of it. Both were equally beautiful. Springtime in the desert is incredible; the wildflowers were in full bloom. You know I love a good wildflower hike! And the peaceful feeling at the top of the red cliffs, looking down on the beauty…unbeatable.

We finished up our hiking with creaking hips and sore legs, right before the sky opened up with delicious desert rain. After I relaxed in the bathtub and John played more guitar, we settled in for another night in front of the wood stove with takeout. The first night, we had tasty diner-style burgers. The second night, we took a chance on a place called Curry Pizza. It is what it sounds like- pizza with curry ingredients. Scrumptious!

By the next morning, the sun was shining again. We took our time leaving the cabin and starting our drive, although the photos coming in on my phone from home made me anxious to see my kiddos. We savored the last quiet minutes in sleepy Torrey and even stopped by to see my old buffalo buddies.

A weekend in a cabin in the desert certainly gave us a refresh we needed. Little did we know how long this pandemic would last or what madness the year had in store for us yet, but I guess a good lesson from this crazy chapter of our lives is to make your own magic. Find your moments of bliss when you can, whether they are big or little. There’s something in each day! We left the desert to head home to the mountains, where I gave Oden a Torrey pinecone and enjoyed a dance party with two toddlers before bed…full of gratitude.

Remember being able to take trips? Daydream a little bit on my Travel page.