Day 5, October 10
Sometimes travel is exciting, exotic, and photogenic. Sometimes it is... Walmart.
The Idiots made a leisurely morning departure from Mesa Verde and shortly found themselves in Cortez, Colorado. Noting a sign for Walmart they realized they were about to head into remote parts of Utah with insufficient toilet paper – and no donuts! A brief stop turned into over an hour as crowds of residents made their Sunday visit to the big W. Idiot He made some quick adjustments to make up for lost time - a faster, less challenging route. It was a bit strange to blast past Moab and Canyonlands and Arches NP, but after numerous past visits the Idiots were more interested in “making some miles” to allow more time to enjoy what was to come.
Day 6, October 11
The Idiots spent the night in a rustic country campground near Capitol Reef NP. How rustic was it? Upon arriving, there is a notice to use the toll-free pay phone on the deck of the office building to call and the owners will drive from their ranch to check you in. No credit cards accepted – there is no cell phone or internet service in the area so it is cash-or-check only. Morning view from the window of The Beast at the campground...
Still... it was quiet and had electricity and the Idiots had a good night's rest. That was important, because Day 6 was dedicated to slowly driving the Idiots' favorite road in the whole wide world.
Capitol Reef used to not get a lot of respect. It was denied national park status for many years and people who would not miss the amazing parks to the west – Zion and Bryce... or the famous parks to the east- Arches and Canyonlands... just didn't find the appeal of making a long journey to central-southern Utah for a “national monument.“
With National Park status, Capitol Reef got “discovered” and is now a popular destination. Even in October, in this very remote area, popular trailheads are mobbed. But many planning their first trip to visit the park don't realize that it is only a small part of the region - there are thousands of square miles of visual feast accessible from the windshield of a car outside the boundaries of a specific park. This dramatic landscape is the result of titanic geologic forces that cracked and twisted the earths surface, creating what is called the Waterpocket Fold that stretches over 100 miles north-south. Much of this land is designated as the sprawling Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Highway 24 from Hanksville to Torrey runs right through Capitol Reef NP... and so much more. From Torrey south and west stretches a road with the unassuming name SR12 – Scenic Route 12. It climbs out of the slickrock environs of Capitol Reef into mountain meadows full of fall-colored aspens and pines and an unnamed pass that summits at 9200 feet. In October, the cattle that have been grazing the open range in the high altitudes are being gathered by cowboys on horses with dogs – and sometimes on ATVs. This beautiful mountain scenery continues for 38 miles.
Capitol Reef NP...
Boulder Mountain Pass, the highest point on SR 12... over 9600'... crosses Boulder Mountain, the highest forested plateau in North America.
Descending from the pass, travelers find themselves in Boulder, Utah... a little village that used to be so remote there was no road to the outside world. They got their mail by mule train. In the 1930's, the Citizen Conservation Corps (CCC) built an extraordinary road connecting Boulder to Escalante. Though it was a road, it was not really considered a tourist route from Zion and Bryce to the Capitol Reef – in fact, it wasn't even completely paved until the 1980s.
Today this road has many nicknames, including the million dollar highway. It snakes its way up and down ridges and in one area is literally carved into the walls of a slickrock canyon. Perhaps the most famous section is called The Devil's Backbone where the two-lane highway follows a razorback ridge with steep cliffs falling off into colorful canyons on both sides of the road.
Stopping at a pull-out on the Devil's Backbone provides an amazing photographic “twofer.” Below is a 180 degree view of slickrock canyons... colorful banded, eroded cliffs punctuated with volcanic layers and twisted alpine cedars and pines... deep slot canyons filled with yellow cottonwoods growing along flowing streams... each stop worthy of a hundred photographs.
And then one walks across the road and starts all over because there is an equally majestic sight in that direction!
The Idiots stopped at one of the viewpoints... had a snack... played backgammon... and just drank in the views.
Then it was on to Escalante. Some years back the Idiots discovered Escalante, a small town in the middle of nowhere in south-central Utah. Even for those clever travelers who discover SR12, Escalante is often just a drive-through... or maybe a quick gas-and-lunch stop. The Idiots learned that Escalate hosts an annual plein air painting contest and decided to spend 3 nights so Idiot She could attend a watercolor workshop. As they saw art being created all around the Idiots extended their stay another couple days... and then someone pointed out that the second weekend was the really big event, with the awarding of prizes to the winners and an exhibit and sale and music and... The Idiots ended up spending 10 days in Escalante on that trip and have visited several times since.
In addition to the scenery... and the friendliness of the town... and the great pizza and desserts at Escalante Outfitters... the Idiots discovered one additional treasure – Mimi's Bakery. Actually, that is not accurate. The treasure they discovered is Mimi.
Idiot He has met a lot of fine donuts in his life. Idiot She will frequently eat dessert before dinner. In 1967, her after-prom breakfast in Taylor's Falls before going canoeing on the St. Croix was a hot fudge sundae, french fries and orange pop. When they saw a cute little house in Escalante with eclectic art and gardens with the lower level converted to a bakery and sandwich cafe, they had to check it out.
The Idiots did not enter Mimi's thinking “artisan scones.” But that is what they found. The Idiots have had good scones before. Idiot She makes very good scones. But Mimi's scones are in a whole different realm. Perfect textures combined with intense flavor pairings... food fit for angels! Of course, all of her pastries are amazing.
More amazing is the chef herself. Mimi has a story to tell – and it is not the Idiots' place to tell it. Suffice to say, she has lived a life. She was part of the famous “Laurel Canyon” era and bartered catering private meals for the rich and famous who didn't want to be mobbed by fans in a regular restaurant in return for the use of a nighttime comedy club space to start a small cafe during daylight hours. Mimi once admitted that she makes the second-best scones in the United States. At some point she apprenticed with a famous French baker. She knew she was ready to “graduate” when her teacher, who made the best scones in the US, said Mimi makes the second-best scones in the US. Smiling her big Mimi smile, she noted that her teacher had returned to France and was no longer making scones in the US, so...
And now this amazing spirit lives and bakes in a little town in the middle of nowhere in Utah.
Last spring the Idiots visited and sat out in the garden sampling scones and craving good coffee. Mimi brought them a pot of French Press and then announced that she decided that morning to put the place up for sale and that the Idiots would be her last customers! Mimi has faced, with strength and grace, extraordinary medical issues – but her joy and life-force is such that she just had to keep delighting the people who found their ways to her door. She sat with the Idiots and talked about life and philosophy and the universe. They talked about the wisdom in nature... in trees and elephants and the rocks around us. The Idiots departed with full stomachs and full hearts – and a big box of pastries consisting of “we just have to try at least one of each!”
On Day 6 the Idiots dropped in on Mimi. Undeterred by the CLOSED and FOR SALE signs, Idiot She rapped on the door until someone answered. They went and fetched Mimi – who emerged wearing her apron with a dusting of flour. Though the bakery/cafe is closed, Mimi continues to cater for private events and for some of the local establishments. She also sells some baked goods in the small local grocery store down the street. The Idiots brought Mimi a notecard and refrigerator magnet made from photographs the Idiots took in Africa. They exchanged joy and hugs – and showed admirable restraint in refusing Mimi's offer to go in and get scones out of the freezer and fire up the oven!
State Highway 24... and Scenic Byway 12... and Mimi... are not on any reasonable route from Minnesota to Arizona. As Mimi reminded them from the last visit, the Idiots often comment that you don't happen by Escalante – you have to be going there! These are the kinds of places to see and people to meet that can only happen by taking the long way home.
