About this event
Welcome to the IRPCA "Torrey Fall Color" driving tour sponsored by Porsche of Salt Lake City. This is a first-ever event that will allow IRPCA members from both ends of Utah to meet in the middle!
As of September 12th this site was updated to provide a more detailed update with information that was not previously provided.
CURRENT REGISTRANTS -If you registered prior to September 12th, and you are reading this now, it is because you received a direct email from Motorsportreg.com to come back here, or perhaps because you read a general email blast asking you to do the same. Welcome back! Please read ALL of the information below as it is important for all of us to have an enjoyable experience as a group. After reading all of the text below, there is no need to continue to the registration steps because you are already expected to attend. However, if you registered a long time ago and your plans may have changed, please modify your registration accordingly by canceling. To do this, click at the top of this page on "dashboard" (above the club logo), then click on the Torrey Tour and click on "cancel".
NEW REGISTRANTS- If you are just now registering for the first time, welcome. Please read all of the instructions below, and then continue to the complete the registration information. For those new to the club, these tours are intended to be a relaxing way to enjoy your Porsche. They are neither "granny" speed, nor adrenaline tours. PCA national requires that every tour be insured and that attendees sign waivers. With the insurance coverage comes the expectation that our behavior on public highways fits within the bounds of local regulations. Let's take the time to savor the scenery! Thanks for taking the time to let us know your plans! It helps the club with our tour plan!
MEETING POINTS-
For tourers coming from south to Torrey- Your meeting point will be at the IHOP in Cedar City, Utah at 1:30 pm on Friday September 23rd. The address is 9800 W. , 200 N, located one block east of the central exit from I-15 in Cedar City. Please be on time for instructions and a driver's meeting. Departure will be by 2:00pm.
For tourers coming from the north to Torrey- Your meeting point will be along the north side of the Ruby River Steakhouse/ Ramada Inn located in Provo, Utah. From I-15 southbound, take exit 263. Turn right at the exit light, then left at the next light onto 189 North/ University Ave, then take a left at the following light toward the mall, and another immediate left into the parking lot. Meeting time is 12 o'clock NOON- 12:15 at the LATEST please. After a driver's meeting, the first group will depart at 12:30 with a second group departing about 15 minutes later. The staggered departures are for safety, courtesy to other drivers on the road, and to also not overwhelm the parking lot size, restroom facilities, or gas pumps at the two planned bio/ view point stops, or the one fuel stop along the way.
Starting points may be up to an hour from your home, but they were chosen so that no one has to go "the wrong way" just to meet up and then wave at their house as they pass it on the tour.
ARRIVAL AT TORREY UTAH-
While not all in the group are planning to stay at the Capitol Reef Resort, our tour is actually scheduled to end there on Friday and Saturday. Both groups, north and south, are on a path to arrive somewhere between 5:15 and 5:45 pm on Friday. If you are staying at another location we'll likely pass it in the last mile or so prior to ending at Capitol Reef Resort as CRR is about the eastern most hotel along the path through Torrey and closest to the park entrance.
OPTIONAL MEET AND GREET DINNER-
For those who travel to luxury locations and may have a different understanding of the word "resort", please come to Torrey (or pretty much ANY American rural vacation town near a National Park) with a flexible understanding of the term. I've come to learn that in this context "resort" means that there are other things to do there, beyond sleeping in your room and grabbing a reconsituted egg, and a forever code-dated danish with your free coffee in the morning. Instead it may mean a big view, llama rides, horseback rides, a spa, and even a RESTAURANT- all of which can be found at "CRR".
With that in mind, the restaurant manager Shaun has been very accomodating in letting us make a reservation as a group, but with individual dinner tickets. The food looked good on our recon run. The steaks and the trout sound like good choices. The Pioneer Kitchen seats up to about 70. For planning purposes, I've provided an initial GUESS of about 30 and have placed a reservation for IRPCA at 6:30 pm. A copy of the menu and wine lists are shown below. As well, I've included a 2 page print out that the resort provides to guests showing the alternate food choices in Torrey and slightly beyond.
As you read this please reply to me with your plans to join an opening dinner group, or not. Just reply for example- "Yes, dinner for two (or one if solo). Or "no dinner". I'll keep track in order to provide a better reservation count to the restaurant by Monday the 19th so he can plan his provisions. If you lost the email from me by the time you read this, then just let me know at richsanders2020@comcast.net.
Waivers-
Every person in your car will need to have a fully signed waiver. Not just the driver. So if you have indicated on your registration that there will be two people in your car, you will need to be prepared to show 2 waivers with images of 2 separate people on your mobile phones, at check in for the drive to Torrey. We can see in the Motorsportreg.com data files how many will be in your car, and how many waivers have been completed. We can also see if the waivers are marked as downloaded to a phone, but not yet completed on the phone. So expect an interim email if our final check shows an incomplete process. You will know your waiver is complete when you get a green check mark on your phone app and a message that says "You're all set". If you need help with the process, feel free to contact me for help at the email address above. ALSO- if you have anyone under the age of 18 in your car, please drop me a note, as a separate waiver will need to be completed.
GENERAL TOUR INFORMATION
Maps will be provided for both days, as you start the tour. Each group of cars (typically about 15 cars) will have a leader and a sweeper car. Your map will contain instructions as well as mobile phone contact information for the lead car and the sweeper. The route on Saturday will be a counterclockwise loop. We will head west past Loa along route 24, and down through Koosharim heading south toward Bryce Canyon NP on route 62 then route 22. As we arrive outside of the park entrance, leg one of the day will end. We are allowing time, on average 3-4 hours with staggered departure groups for you to spend having lunch, shopping and seeing the park. This allows time ON YOUR OWN, to take a hike, or to drive the 18 miles length of the park with time viewing at the numerous pull outs. Around mid-afternoon there will be two departures scheduled as a group. There will be a check-in process for this second tour of the day heading back to Capitol Reef. The route will head east toward Escalante and then north toward Boulder and back to Torrey. You will have the option of joining group 1 or group 2 or returning on your own. The two groups will depart Bryce NP one hour apart. Your PCA insurance will not apply unless you join one of the two groups. However this gives you the option to spend longer in the park, or to meander up route 12 at your own pace without the planned view stops. Group 1 is timed to depart Bryce NP in order go past the reknowned Hell's Backbone Grill at their opening time, 4PM. This will minimize time for seating and service allowing time to return on your own before dark. For BOTH afternoon groups there will be the option to finish your tour day at the grill in Boulder. Please be aware that if you stop at the grill, there will be 45 minutes of additional driving on your own to get to Torrey after you leave. As dusk approaches there can be lots of deer and cattle along the road. For obvious reasons (no leader, no sweeper and the possiblity of alcohol) those leaving the tour at this stop will not be under the insurance. For those not stopping for dinner, arrival at the end of the tour in Torrey will be around 5:00pm to 5:30pm for the first group and one hour later for the second. That leaves plenty of time for dining in Torrey.
Below is a copy of the most recent menu for the Hell's Backbone Grill. If you KNOW RIGHT NOW that this is what you definately want to do, please let me know asap. While we will be giving a final count to the restaurant as we depart Bryce on the 24th, it would be nice to give the restaurant a MINIMUM number sooner for their planning purposes. Thank you.
FINALLY- What about Capitol Reef National Park?
Torrey Utah is located just a few miles outside the visitors entrance to the park. Sunset on the road that leads to the park is amazing. So if you choose to stay on the tour all the way back to Torrey, there should be a picturesque reward a few miles to the east, and with far fewer deer and cattle along the road as the sun begins to set. As well, this trip was planned to end near the park, in order to allow you additional time on Sunday morning to check out the park, or the petroglyphs and short hikes accessible right along the main road outside the park. And if you leave the area by mid-day on Sunday, you will still have adequate time to return home via any number of beautiful roads prior to nightfall on Sunday.
That's all for now. We look forward to welcoming you on the tour.