A Familiar Location

So we were watching Disney’s very popular space-western, The Mandalorian the other day. And wouldn’t you know it, but some very familiar scenery made an appearance on screen.

This last week’s episode Chapter 20: The Foundling saw the galaxy’s best bounty hunter (wait, is he even a bounty hunter anymore? how is he paying his bills these days?) the galaxy’s best adoptive father (there we go!) hang out with a bunch of fellow Mandalorians. And it seems like the whole enclave has set up shop on a desert planet on the edge of a pretty cool (and kinda dangerous) lake. And guess what… that’s Lake Powell! There are some other famous locations of the American Southwest that the filmmakers have used as backdrops. We’ll look at those too.

Lake Powell… in SPACE!

The real life Lake Powell is a man-made lake in Southern Utah. It’s a fantastic summer location for all sorts of water sports, and we’ve written a bunch about it before. But out in the Star Wars galaxy, it’s the perfect location for hiding out, and for a high-stakes rescue mission! (It’s also not the first time we’ve seen Lake Powell on screen, by the way.)

Baby Yoda taking in the view. Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

Just look at the little guy! Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

It’s getting away! Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

Going to rescue the kid. Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

Shiprock

After scouting out were the little Mandalorian kid was taken to, Bo-Katan Kryze flies back to base with Shiprock in the background. Shiprock is a very famous landmark in New Mexico, near the Four Corners Monument.

Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

Canyon Chase

The climactic climb to the nest, and the subsequent canyon chase to rescue the kid, are set against the backdrop of one of our favorite places in Southern Utah… Dead Horse Point State Park! We’ve written about that too, here.

Not our first choice for comofortable climbing attire. Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

A better view of the canyon. Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

See it All Yourself

For us, the coolest part about seeing familiar scenery in the background of our favorite television shows and films, is that we know that we can go see it in real life! So come visit Southern Utah, and pretend that you are hiding out deep in the Outer Rim!

Update: April 3rd, 2023

Ok, since we wrote this post, another episode of The Mandalorian has aired. And in the next chapter, we get some great aerial shots of Lake Powell as Captain Carson Teva flies over in his search for Mando. So we thought we’d add some of those photos too, just so you can admire one of our favorite lakes from above!

Gotta track down those Mandalorains! Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

Such a great setting for Star Wars. Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

Found them! Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

Not REALLY On Location

So it should be noted that The Mandalorian didn’t really take its actors on location to Lake Powell, or Dead Horse Point, or Shiprock, or practically anywhere. That’s because the team at Industrial Light and Magic, the company that handles the show’s massive special effects load, constructed a huge sphere of LED panels that the actors work inside. Pre-rendered scenes and destinations are projected onto the massive panels that allow the creatives to work and film like they were out on an alien planet, all while enjoying the benefits of a studio. Here’s a video that shows you how they pull this off:

So, while the actors who play the Mandalorains (and the puppeteers who controll Baby Yoda) never got to hangout in Lake Powell in person, somebody from the Industrial Light and Magic team did come out here and shoot a bunch of footage. That footage was compostited, cleaned-up, and projected into the LED sphere so the actors could move around, and climb cliff walls, like they were really in the deserts of Utah. Pretty cool. And we still get to feel like we’ve seen them really hanging out by the lake!

There are lots of films and television series that are filmed in the American West in general, and Southern Utah in particular. We’ve compiled this list here if you want to read about some of the most well-known examples. And there is this list from IMDb that is even more comprehensive. (Southern Utah has even been the setting for a few video games – see our blog post on the real-life locations in Horizon: Zero Dawn.)

But we’ve never written about an animated film before. And it just so happens that the 2002 DreamWorks Animation horse movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron casts Southern Utah, and the American West, as an integral part of the film’s story. So let’s look at the real locations the filmmakers used to tell their story.

DreamWorks Animation

The Opening Flyover Scene

We’ve got three locations just in the opening moments of the film!

1. The Grand Canyon in Arizona
2. Monument Valley on the Utah/Arizona border
3. Rainbow Bridge in Southern Utah

DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation

Home Land

Spirit’s home is located in the Grand Tetons in Montana. This where we see him grow up, and where he returns after his adventures.

DreamWorks Animation

Desert Fort

The army fort is a little bit tricky to place. But based on some of the monoliths in the background, we think we’re back in Monument Valley. What do you think?

DreamWorks Animation

Native American Camp

This one is easy! It’s located in (what is now) Yosemite National Park in California! Yosemite became a national park in 1890, so only a few years after this movie’s story takes place.

DreamWorks Animation

Railroad Scene

The railroad was a big deal in the 1860s, when this movie is set. The Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad met to form the transcontinental railway in Northern Utah on May 10, 1869. Today there is a monument to honor that historic achievement at Golden Spike National Historical Park.

DreamWorks Animation

Chase Scene in Bryce Canyon

The climactic chase sequence toward the end of the film take place in Bryce Canyon National Park in Southern Utah. (But there isn’t actually a large canyon in the park to cinematically leap over, unfortunately.)

DreamWorks Animation

Creative Liberties

It’s probably worth noting, in case you aren’t familiar with the general geography of the American West, that these locations are not close to each other. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron prioritizes the setting and feeling of each location to help convey the emotions of the characters – not the logical, real world distances between the set pieces. And that’s okay. It helps paint a picture of all the stunning places that you can find out here in the West.

It’s almost Independence Day! And here in Torrey, Utah that means Torrey Apple Days is coming up! Here’s the deal, every year the communities surrounding Capitol Reef National Park all come together to celebrate the Fourth of July in classic, small-town-America style. There are parades, games patriotic presentations, and fireworks in the park. If you’re visiting Capitol Reef the first week of July, then you don’t want to miss Torrey Apple Days 2022! Below you’ll find a scheduled list of activities and programs you can check out.

This year, Torrey Apple Days will be celebrated on Friday July 1st and Saturday July 2nd (the weekend before the Fourth.)

Photo by Aaron Burden via unsplash.com

Schedule of Events

Friday, July 1, 2022:

• 5pm to 7pm: Community Dinner at the Torrey Park Pavilion. Google Maps link here.
• 7:30pm: Patriotic Program begins at the Torrey Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Google Maps link here..
• 7:30pm: Entrada Live Music at the Robbers Roost Stage. The Quickfire Band will be performing.
• 9:15pm to 11:00pm: Torrey Dark Skies. A Star Party in the Torrey Park, celebrating the fact that Torrey is officially a Dark Sky Community.

Saturday, July 2, 2022:

• 7:00am to 7:30am: The 5K Race for the Apple! Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. at the Torrey Town Hall. The race starts at 7:30am. There is a $15 entry fee.
• 7:00am to 9:00am: Community Breakfast at the Torrey Park Pavilion. Proceeds go to help community youth groups.
• 9:00am to 1:00p: Color Country Animal Welfare Yard Sale at the Old House on the corner of Center Street and Main Street. Proceeds go to help the Color Country animals.
• 10:00am: The famous Torrey Apple Days Parade starts at ten. Just follow the crowds and pick a spot on Main Street to see the fun.
• 9:00am – 3:00pm: Apple Days Car Show at the Torrey Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If you happen to have a great car that you have with you on your trip to Capitol Reef, you can enter the show. For registration, contact Kermit at kevenchristensen@msn.com.
• 11:30am (or, more accurately, just whenever the Parade ends): The Pie Eating Contest at the Torrey Park Pavilion.
• 11:30am to 4:00pm: The Carnival and Swap Meet at the Torrey Town Park. There will lots of games for kids –including nerf wars, water slides, a foam pit – and lots of artisans selling really cool stuff.
• 12:00pm: Team Events Games at the Torrey Town Park. Which Team Event Games you ask? Four-on-four Volley Ball, and Horse Shoe and Cornhole Doubles.
• 3:00pm: The Apple Race. Another timeless tradition, and the one that gives Torrey Apple Days its name. Everybody selects and marks an apple, they are all tossed into the Torrey Canal, and the first apple to make it past the Big Apple Bridge wins the prize! It’s great fun! Meet at the Torrey Trading Post Bridge. Google Maps link here.
• 4:00pm: Raffle and Apple Race winners announced at the Torrey Park Pavilion.
• 7:00pm: Bingo inside the Torrey Park Pavilion. Proceeds go to help maintain the Park Playground.
• 7:30pm: Another great Entrada Live Music performance. This time from VadaWave.
• 8:30pm: Big Apple Dance. Hosted by the Wayne High Junior Class.
• 10:00pm (or really, whenever it’s dark enough): Fireworks in the Torrey Park. There will be popcorn!

Photo by Elias Zuniga Gonzalez via unsplash.com

A Chance to Hang Out With the Locals

Torrey Apple Days is the perfect chance to get to know the people who live in this part of Southern Utah. They’re fun to hang out with! We hope to see you in Torrey this coming weekend! Have a great Fourth of July!

The latest Jurassic World film came out this month. And that got us thinking about dinosaurs. Did you know that Utah is a hotbed of paleontological discovery for the Jurassic era? Well it is. In fact, we recently got a new national monument just for all the dino fossils we keep finding. It’s called the Jurassic National Monument and we think you should go check it out. After all, it’s got to be better than the movie.

Illustration by Mac Cervantes via unsplash.com

So Where is This Monument?

The new Jurassic National Monument is located near Cleveland, Utah. And if you’re up-to-date on your dinosaur news, you already know that the area is a gold mine for fossils. In fact, it’s got the densest collection of Jurassic-era fossils of anywhere in the world. For years, there has been a dig site and research center for scientific discovery and public relations at the nearby Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. But now, the quarry, the visitor center, and the surrounding land are all incorporated into the new monument.

And What’s the Big Deal?

As we mentioned, the area contains lots and lots of fossils. Experts estimate that over 12,000 individual bones have been removed from the site, possibly including several complete skeletons. (With so many fossils, from so many different eras, it can be a little hard to know for sure.) So how did all of these fossils end up in this area? Well, again, it’s a little hard to be certain, but one suggestion is that long ago there was a “predator trap” located nearby. Something – like a tar pit – trapped dinosaurs, which attracted predators, who might also have become trapped. So a lot of dinos died there, leaving us with a massive fossil record.

Illustration by Mike Spiske via unsplash.com

So It’s A Science Monument?

Mostly, yes. The designation as a national monument will help protect the area for scientific research, allowing for more fossil discovery. But it will also provide a great resource for the public. The visitor center at the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry is basically a museum. It has complete Allosaurus and Stegosaurus skeletons on display. And there is a lot of great information there. So yeah, it’s a science monument, but Jurassic National Monument is also a perfect place to take your 3rd-grader who is absolutely in love with dinosaurs, especially if you can’t stand to watch that last Jurassic World movie. Yikes. Plus, it’s got a few easy hiking trails to explore.

More Dinos, Please

If you do want some more dino entertainment ideas, check out that docu-series Prehistoric Planet from the Planet Earth team. And maybe make a trip to the Moab Giants Park. That’s pretty cool too.

This month Guerrilla Games released its follow up to the critically-acclaimed game Horizon: Zero Dawn. The new game, Horizon: Forbidden West, promises to take the main character, Aloy, to new territory, on an even bigger adventure. But before we get lost in her new world, we at the Lodge thought we’d take a moment to reminisce on one of the aspects of the last game, Zero Dawn, that made it such an instant classic – its unrivaled location.

Image by Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

A Familiar World

Warning: The following contains heavy spoilers for Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Horizon: Zero Dawn is set in our world during the 31st century – some thousand years after a plague of AI weaponry destroyed all life on earth. Prior to the complete annihilation of all biomass however, an international team was able to create another, benevolent artificial intelligence to resurrect and foster life after this inevitable extinction event. They completed their project – dubbed “Zero Dawn” – in about 2066, just before all life was wiped out.

Aloy then lives in a distant future version of our world. A world were machines created by this new, benevolent AI inhabit the same space as tribal peoples with semi-primitive weaponry. But – and this is the important part – even though the cultures and machines are strange and new, the geography of the world has changed very little in the thousand years after the mass extinction event. And it just so happens that the geography of Horizon: Zero Dawn is set right here in Southern Utah!

So you, as Aloy, get to roam around some of the best landscapes in the world, in one of the best story-games ever written. Let’s take a look at some of the places you can visit.

Image by Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

Dead Horse Point

Let’s start with one a little less obvious – Dead Horse Point. It’s one of the first landmarks you pass as the game leads you out of Nora lands and into Carja territory on the way to Meridian. It’s located just off the main road, but can be easy to miss. (You can see it’s in-game location marked on the map at the end of this blog post. It’s the green one.) It’s also the landmark that has experienced the most erosion, which would be accurate given the amount of time that has passed in the story.

If you want to learn a little more about the real Dead Horse Point State Park, we’ve written about it here. Just like in the game, it’s quite the grand vista in real life. And if you’re curious, you can see it’s real location on Google Maps here.

Image by Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

Lake Powell

Located at the far western side of the map is Lake Powell. You’ll encounter this area of the world after you’ve been to the Shadow Carja nation. It’s also the body of water that Aloy crosses as she rescues the young Shadow Carja puppet king and his mother. Lake Powell is probably the largest single landmark in the game, and there is plenty to do along its shores. (There are a lot of Snapmaws there, so watch how loudly you splash around.) If you’re wondering what you can do at the real Lake Powell, check out our guide here.

We’ve marked Lake Powell in orange on our map below. And you can find the real Lake Powell location here on Google Maps.

Image by Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

Bryce Canyon

In the story, the main Zero Dawn creation facility is located just outside of Bryce Canyon. The Shadow Carja capital, Sunfall, is built right on top of this underground installation. There are quite a few hoodoos in and around Sunfall, but if you want to experience the real Bryce Canyon, head a little bit west. You might notice that we’re not referring to Bryce as a national park, that’s because we learn that the national parks had been dissolved by the time the world ends in 2066. While there are plenty of machines to hunt and beautiful scenery to explore in the in-game Bryce Canyon, there aren’t any missions there. But there is lots to do at the real Bryce Canyon! (Which is thankfully still a national park in our universe.) Check out our in-depth guide on what to do in Bryce here.

See Bryce Canyon on the game map below marked in blue. And find your way to the real Bryce Canyon National Park here on Google Maps.

Image by Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

Delicate Arch

This is the quintessential Southern Utah landmark – and it’s a great addition to the game! It really makes us feel at home. Delicate Arch isn’t hard to find in the game, but there isn’t a story element that will lead you directly here. (There is a bandit camp and a Tallneck nearby though.) We’ve marked it in red on the map below. And of course we’ve written about Delicate Arch before, so if you’ve been inspired by this game to visit the iconic symbol of Southern Utah, check out this post about Arches National Park and our special trail description of the hike to Delicate Arch.

And if you want to reference it in real life, here’s the link to Google Maps.

So Much More

Horizon: Zero Dawn is a narratively complex game, set in the perfect location. And there are lots of other little easter eggs thrown in. If you dig around, you’ll find references to more locations in Utah – like Bridal Veil Falls – and the American West in general. (The expansion, The Frozen Wilds, all takes place in and around Yellowstone National Park.)

We hope you have as much fun as we had exploring a virtual recreation of Southern Utah in this fantastic game. And we hope you get the chance to have just as much fun exploring the real Southern Utah. (And hey, as a bonus, you won’t have to fight any killer robots here IRL. We promise.)

Image by Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

Summer is officially over. And that’s good news for all you travelers, because autumn is the best time to vacation in Southern Utah. That’s our opinion, anyway. But we’ve got some pretty good reasons to back that claim up.

First, there are fewer people in the national parks. Which means that you can explore them in relative solitude. Second, the days are cooler. The summer heat can be intense on the trail, but with the advent of fall, you can go hiking at any time of day. And third, the colorful foliage adds another layer of beauty to the already fantastic views.

So trust us – after all, we’ve been the premier hotel near Capitol Reef for 30 years – fall is the best time to visit Southern Utah. Here’s a short list of some things you can do this autumn:

Photo via shutterstock.com/p>

Epic Road Trip

The best road trip in Utah, and pretty much the world, is called the Grand Circle Tour. It takes you to Utah’s five national parks — Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Bryce Canyon. And if you feel like it, you can throw in the Grand Canyon too. You will see an amazing amount of scenery on this trip. And if you do it this time of year, you get the added bonus of seeing the changing colors of fall. You can read all about this epic road trip in our recent blog post about it.

Photo by Brady Stoeltzing via unsplash.com

Cathedral Valley – Parts Unknown

Southern Utah is a pretty big place. So there are lots of secret places and hidden gems to discover. One of our favorites? Cathedral Valley. Cathedral Valley is part of the northern section of Capitol Reef. It’s so remote that its was mostly unvisited and completely unmapped until the 1960s. Geologist C.E. Dutton said of it, “The colors are such as no pigment can portray. They are deep, rich, and variegated; and so luminous are they, that the light seems to flow or shine out of the rock rather than to be reflected from it.” Go explore Cathedral Valley’s colors while the desert heat is mild. We’ve written a definitive guide to help you know what to expect.

Photo by Stefano Stacchin via unsplash.com

Get Some Culture

We’re talking about the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Held in Cedar City, Utah, the festival brings in locals, out-of-state travelers, and even international Shakespeare gurus. (And if Shakespeare isn’t your favorite, don’t worry there are plenty of other, more modern, productions to choose from.) The southwest desert location of the festival creates a stunning backdrop for the phenomenal performances, especially those in the famous outdoor theatre. Plus, it’s their 60th anniversary season this year, so they’re pulling out all the stops. You can see the current line up of plays here. Our top pick? Richard the Third.

Photo by Danika Perkinson via unsplash.com

Avoid the Crowds at Zion

As we’ve mentioned before, Zion National Park is one of the greatest places in Utah. But the summer brings in serious crowds – and that was doubly true this year, as people were needing to get out of their houses after long periods of social isolation. But fall is the time to avoid the crush of other sightseers. Plus the cottonwoods turn a brilliant yellow in late October. If you want some helpful tips on what to do when visiting Zion, check out this in-depth review that we created.

Time for You to Explore

That’s our list. We at the Lodge at Red River Ranch hope you get out and explore the best of Southern Utah in the best season for exploring.

Back in 2012, Walt Disney Pictures released John Carter. And recently we had a chance to rewatch it. Is it a great movie? Eh. But it does have some fantastic action set pieces, and the director – Andrew Stanton – does a great job of capturing the landscape of “Mars.”

In case you missed it, or in case you need a refresher, John Carter follows the story of a former civil war soldier, John Carter, who is mysteriously transported to Mars. Once there, he gets involved in the war between the Green Martians and the Red Martians. There’s also a princess and a love story element. But it’s the scenes on Mars that are the most compelling aspect of the movie. This is because Disney chose to shoot the principle photography for Mars right here in Southern Utah.

So in case you saw a place in this movie that you thought was incredible, we at the Red River Ranch have created this list of filming locations for you to check out. We’ve included a bunch of links to Google Maps. This is John Carter of Southern Utah:

Photo by the Walt Disney Company via disneyplus.com

Opening Mars Sequence

The scene when John Carter first discovers he is on Mars (and tries to figure out the change in gravity) was shot in our very own backyard – Wayne County. Filmed near the town of Hanksville in the West Desert, this scene invites the audience to view the bleak, stark beauty of the Southern Utah, uh, we mean the Martian, desert. Hanksville is located an hour east of Capitol Reef National Park. Most people pass through it on their way to Lake Powell. If you want to explore this area thoroughly, we recommend that you use off-road vehicles to explore the desert. Also check out our blog post about the general area.

Photo by Zach Tilford via unsplash.com

River Scene

The entire John Carter river sequence was shot in Lake Powell and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Lake Powell is a massive reservoir over 180 miles long. It is full of winding, twisting, side canyons that made it perfect for the movie. In fact, it might be our favorite sequence in the film. We just wrote a blog post about Lake Powell if you want some tips about visiting – but we definitely recommend getting a personal watercraft and exploring those side canyons. You can have your own river journey!

Photo by Daqi Wang via unsplash.com

Various Traveling Scenes and Background Compilations

Kanab Area

Many of the shots that were used as backdrops for the traveling sequences (on the way to the River Isiss, etc.) came from Kane County. There is A LOT of great stuff for you to check out here: The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Zion National Park, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and even the Grand Canyon. Start by setting up base in the town of Kanab, then work your way to all those attractions.

Mount Carmel Junction

Disney filmed extensively near the Mount Carmel Junction. Mount Carmel is about 17 miles east of Zion National Park. (You might recognize the name from the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel in the national park.) The John Carter production team actually got permission from the national park to build a road out to a very remote location, previously only accessible on foot. An extensive amount of the principle photography was shot in the Zion/Mount Carmel area. The road was removed after production wrapped, so you’ll need to explore on foot. Be sure to get a backcountry camping permit if you’re spending time in the Zion backcountry.

Millard County

Another filming location for John Carter was in Millard County, near the city of Delta. It’s very sparse and gray near Delta, which is great for atmospheric shots of Mars. When visiting, check out the various trilobite dig sites nearby.

Moab Area

According to our research, there was additional background scenery shot out near Moab too. We hardly need to promote Moab, since people come from all over the world to visit. But in case you need some ideas of what to do when visiting there, check out our suggested itinerary.

Photo by Matther Hanksville via unsplash.com

Utah is Mars

While Utah is no stranger to the film industry – providing location shooting for over 100 major films – we at the Lodge at Red River Ranch have never seen a film that so prominently featured Utah. It’s not just background in John Carter either, the location is a vital part of the story. So is John Carter a great movie? No. But we really loved it anyway.

Did you know that there is a dinosaur-themed adventure park in Southern Utah? Located just outside of the town of Moab, the Moab Giants Dinosaur Park and Track Museum is the perfect place to have some fun and learn about dinos. Utah is famous – in certain circles – for the various species of dinosaurs that lived here, and Moab Giants has done a great job replicating the environment in which they lived.

Illustration by Fausto Garcia Menendez via unsplash.com

Dinosaur Trail

One of the first things you’ll want to do when visiting Moab Giants is check out its Outdoor Dinosaur Trail. It’s about a half-mile hike with life-sized replicas of the dinosaur species that used to live in this part of the world. You can really get a sense of the size and scope of these creatures (not all of which were big) when you can see them in the wild. So to speak. Also, as a bonus you get to enjoy the scenery of Moab, with views of desert splendor all around.

Photo by Markus Spiske via unsplash.com

Lots of Educational Fun

There are a number of other exciting educational venues at the park as well. In the Paleo Camp kids can learn the methods and techniques of a working dig-site. They can practice on some buried plastic “fossils”. The Tracks Museum has some very cool interactive exhibits, which help teach you all about track fossils – fossils formed from the footprints of ancient dinosaurs. You get to learn about how they’re made, and why they’re so important to paleontologists. And don’t forget to stop by the theatre for a beautifully-shot infotainment film, in 3D, of course.

But, for us, the biggest showstopper at the Moab Giants Park is the 5D Paleoaquarium. Because, as Moab Giants will tell you, not all giants were on land. The interactive tour is like being submerged in the ancient waters of the past. And it’s pretty fantastic. Just watch out for that Megalodon!

Go Have Fun With Dinos!

For more information, including ticket prices, driving directions and special events, you can visit Moab Giant’s official site. If you’re planning a trip to Moab, and you’re looking for fun things to do while in town, give this a try.

It’s almost Independence Day! And here in Torrey, Utah there is an annual event called “Apple Days” that marks the occasion. It’s a classic, small-town America celebration, complete with games, food, competitions, patriotic programs, and, of course, a parade. So if you’re planning on visiting Capitol Reef on the July 4th weekend, maybe stop by, hang out and celebrate with us.

Photo by Sheri Hooley via unsplash.com

When And Where?

This year things get started in the afternoon. The parade starts at 3pm at the Torrey Town Hall. You can find the Town Hall here on Google Maps. The theme of the parade this year is “Christmas in July,” so we’re excited to see what that looks like. The majority of the other activities will take place at the Torrey Park. Located here.

The Full Schedule

Here’s the complete list of all the fun activities happening at Apple Days 2020. You can pick and choose your favorites, or you can do them all. But you’re sure to have a blast celebrating the Fourth of July Torrey-style. See ya there!

• 3pm – Parade at the Town Hall
• 3pm – 5pm – Kid games at the Park
• 3pm – 5pm – Team Competitions at the Park
• 4pm – Patriotic Program at the Park
• 4:30pm – Music Performances at the Park (bands include Rough Around the Edges, Bristlecone, The Moony Wash Boys, Lifeline, and Broken Glass)
• 5pm – 8pm – Free Dinner at the Park
• 10pm – Fireworks Display at the Park

If you plan on watching the fireworks, be sure to bring your chairs and blankets. And also, if you want to participate in the Apple Derby, be sure to grab your tickets at the Chuckwagon. You can find all the latest updates at the official Torrey Apple Days Facebook page.

The other day we made a Facebook post about Monument Valley, and how it became the face of the Old West, thanks in large part to two John Ford films that where shot there. And that got us thinking about all the other famous movies and television episodes that have been filmed in Southern Utah. So we started making a list – this list – of some of the most famous ones. (And we’ll update it every once in a while with new content.) Feel free to visit these locations on your next tour of Southern Utah, and peek behind the movie-magic curtain.

Photo by Halie West via unsplash.com

Monument Valley

Let’s start at the beginning. John Ford made The Searches and Stagecoach, his two most famous Westerns, in Monument Valley. Which, as we mentioned, cemented the open desert and towering sandstone monoliths as the backdrop of the Old West. After Ford made the area famous, hundreds of shoots took place in Monument Valley. Here’s a few of the most famous –

• Fort Apache
• How the West Was Won
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Once Upon a Time in the West
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Disney’s The Lone Ranger

You can read about all of these and lots, lots more on this Wikipedia page. And you can find Monument Valley here, located on the Utah-Arizona border.

Photo by Rich Martello via unsplash.com

Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands

The area in and around Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park look a lot like the Grand Canyon. And whenever a film needed wide, red canyons to capture the look of the west, it usually ended up being filmed here. In Thelma and Louise it was the setting of the climactic ending, in Con-Air most of the aerial scenes take place above this area, in 127 Hours it’s the canyon in which James Franco’s character loses an arm, and in HBO’s Westworld, it’s the setting for a futuristic-robot-cowboy-murder-theme-park headquarters. (You can see our list of other Westworld filming locations here.)

Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point and are located here and here.

Photo by Michael Tuszynsk via unsplash.com

Lots of Other Locations

There have been a lot of other films shot all over Southern Utah, in lots of other locations. Here’s some that might be worth checking out.

Disney’s John Carter of Mars had scenes shot in Lake Powell. We’ve done a complete list of John Carter filming locations, which you can check out here.

Galaxy Quest, remember Galaxy Quest? It was filmed in Goblin Valley State Park.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was filmed in and around Zion National Park. The gang hides out with Katherine Ross’s schoolteacher in the little deserted town of Grafton, Utah. Grafton is one of Utah’s most famous ghost towns, which we’ve written about here.

John Wayne’s massive flop, The Conqueror was filmed in Snow Canyon State Park, just outside of Zion National Park and Saint George, Utah. It’s a horrible, horrible movie, but has some great scenery.

Photo by Chris Murray via unsplash.com

More, More, More!

If you’re a film buff looking for even more “Made in Utah” pictures, check out this site from the Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission. It’s got a pretty good, but not quite comprehensive list of movies and TV episodes filmed in Southern Utah.

Film Musuem

Last thing. There’s a dedicated film museum for the biggest productions that have taken place in Southern Utah. You can stop by and the history and magic of past films, complete with memorabilia, original set pieces, and collectables. Check out the museum’s official page here, and find it on the map here. We at Red River Ranch hope you have a great time tracking down and visiting some of these iconic film locations here in Southern Utah. And that’s a wrap!