Abandoned homestead outside Cannonville, UT

The Mormon homesteaders built these rip-gut fences which required no hardware

...called so because if the animal didn't jump high enough over the fence, well you get the idea

Water Lizzard: This would be hand-filled at the water source and then dragged back by mule or horse. It weighed 400 lbs full.

Escalante State Park, Escalante, UT: This morning we awoke to the smell of frying bacon. We were immediately starving. So, after showering and getting dressed we headed out to breakfast. Went back to the little western restaurant where we had steak dinners the other night. I had bacon and eggs and Mike had ham and eggs. I also had a pancake on the side. After that we checked with the Forest Service about hiking the slot canyon and they advised against it. So we did the laundry at an RV park in Escalante—the only Laundromat around. I bought a book at the Forest Service visitor center on the “Hole in the Rock” road the Mormon settlers built. This is an amazing story. This group of Mormons were requested by the church to settle an area around what is now Bluff, UT. We were there when we were at Monument Valley. It’s on the San Juan River. Anyway, the route they originally decided on was too long with little water and no graze for the cattle and horses, so they decided on a shortcut from Escalante southwest to the Colorado River where this “hole in the rock” (an opening in the canyon wall) would be wide enough for a wagon to get through. The rock they’re talking about is a canyon wall which drops 2000 ft. to the Colorado River below. This road goes through some of the most rugged, treacherous, arid, but beautiful areas in the west. I haven’t finished the book yet, but they had to lower 26 wagons over the side of this cliff down to the Colorado River. They did this with ropes and pulleys. And then they had to rig up some sort of ferry to get everything across the river. They all made it safely. What an incredible journey! And I whine when we have to go over a scary, PAVED road. What a wimp!