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!

The "trail"

The Escalante River

Anasazi Ruins

Escalante State Park, Escalante, UT: Today sure didn’t go the way we planned. We thought we’d go have breakfast in town and then hike a slot canyon back towards Bryce. We stopped at the National Forest headquarters to check out the viability of hiking a slot canyon today and they recommended we not do it. Threat of rain for the next three days. Slot canyons are beautiful but really dangerous if there’s a threat of flash flooding. So we decided to go watch the parade and then have breakfast and hike the Calf Creek Canyon trail. The parade was cute. Sat next to a Korean war vet who was very friendly. He loves Escalante. After the parade we headed to the restaurant for breakfast. The whole town is shut down for the festivities. So, back to our campground and had something to eat and then back on the road to the Calf Creek Canyon trailhead. Got there and parked. Some guy pulled up after us and got really rude because he wanted us to move over so part of his entourage could park. He was so rude that I told Mike to forget it. Let’s go somewhere else. There were a whole lot of people there anyway. So we went back towards Escalante a couple of miles to the Escalante River Canyon trail. Parked and headed out on the trail. The stream was really pretty and fast flowing. Hiked along the canyon and then down next to the stream and the trail sort of ended there. So it was go into the stream or go back. We sat there contemplating what to do and a fisherman came down and said he wouldn’t do it. He backtracked and found a ladder up to a ledge on the side of the canyon. I said no thanks so we went back down the stream and found a little place to have a snack and we sat there for a while. On the way back to where we parked we saw two ancient Anasazi ruins in the cliffs. What a find! These were not reconstructions—these were the real deal. Probably over 1000 years old! When we got back to where we parked there was a sign there that showed an aerial view of this beautiful river canyon that winds and twists its way to Lake Powell (70 miles). The sign said there is no official trail. You take what you get and it can be very dangerous. OK then. Driving back to Escalante we stopped at the Kiva Coffee House which sits on a cliff overlooking the Canyon. Had something to eat and then back to Escalante. The sky towards Escalante was very black. Big storm coming in. It was in the upper 80s when we left the coffee house and in the upper 60s when we got back to our site. The guy at the coffee shop told us a couple went on a guided hike up a slot canyon called “Spooky” when a flash flood hit and all three were killed. OK then.

View from our site--reservoir is beyond those trees

Amazing drive through all this white sandstone

Anasazi Dwelling

Escalante State Park, Escalante, UT: Mostly cloudy this morning. We just hung around our site all morning waiting to leave for my hair appointment. Our site is pretty nice. Our living area faces a reservoir which is hidden by large sage brush and cottonwood trees…which is just as well because it’s really low right now. But we have a lot of privacy and can’t really see any other sites. And the sage brush gives off the most wonderful aroma. Got my hair cut and then headed further down Rt. 12 to Boulder, UT, and the Anasazi Museum there. I couldn’t imagine this area could get any more rugged and remote, but it did. Rt. 12 winds down through a large, arid no-man’s land of white sandstone—I guess petrified sand dunes. This whole area was once the bottom of a huge inland sea which formed all these unusual rock formations. Then we started climbing up onto a canyon rim and at one point the road went over this ridge with drops on both sides—the only place they could put the road. Scared the crap outta me! And we have to go back over this route with the fifth-wheel in tow in four days (sigh). The view from up there was amazing though—rugged canyons, side canyons and gorges as far as the eye could see. We finally started going down again and a small, green valley that was Boulder appeared. Not very big. Escalante is pretty small, but Boulder is smaller. And it’s big doings right now in Utah. This is their Pioneer Day holiday—sort of our July 4th. There’s a parade tomorrow, a carnival, a rodeo, and then fireworks. And there’s a dance in Escalante tonight. We were thinking of going to that—actually, I was thinking of going. I’m sure Mike would rather get a root canal. Probably only in the high 80s today. But more humid.

On the road through the canyon up to the lake

Posey Lake

KOA, Cannonville, UT, to Escalante State Park, Escalante, UT: Left Cannonville this morning at about 10:45. I ended up driving—Escalante is only about 36 miles up Rt. 12 from Cannonville. Rt. 12 takes you right through Escalante Staircase National Monument. A really pretty drive, but I was getting a little nervous going up over the pass. But it was okay. We arrived at Escalane State Park and were set up by 12:15. Sat around and relaxed for a while and then drove into Escalante to see what’s there and have some lunch. Ate at the Golden Circle Café and I asked the waitress if there might be a place in town to get my hair cut and she gave me the name and number of a girl that does hair out of her home. I called after we ate and got an appointment for tomorrow. We decided to drive up to Posey Lake. It’s supposedly 12 miles from Escalante, so we headed out. The paved road turned to dirt after a couple of miles and then it was slow going in areas where the road was like a washboard. A beautiful drive up through this canyon with white sandstone mountains on one side and cedar covered mountains on the other. More of that swirly-looking rock they call slick rock. Very rugged with lots of narrow side canyons. Ebenezer Bryce (Bryce Canyon’s namesake) used to lament that it was hell losing a cow in there (Bryce Canyon). Must be the same here. I thought we’d never get to the lake and the last few miles we climbed up into a beautiful, old-growth forest of fir, pine, spruce, and aspens. And the lake was really pretty up there. And it was 10 degrees cooler. Fish were jumping all over the place and there were lots of ducks and ducklings. A really pretty spot. The campground was pretty nice also. Reluctantly we headed back down and back to our site. It was 95 today for the high. Got pretty warm inside the fifth wheel, but it cooled down nicely at night.

KOA, Cannonville, UT: Switched the bikes from the RV to the truck and headed to Red Canyon to do the bike trail there. A beautiful day—not a cloud in the sky. This trail is really nice—better than the main road. And it goes up through a forest of pines with the red canyon all around. We went steadily up hill for quite a while and then stopped in a real pretty area and had something to drink and some snacks. Saw a mule deer buck. Started back and it was mostly down hill. Wasn’t a very long ride but very pretty. Stopped to pick up some groceries on the way back and then relaxed the rest of the day. Tomorrow we head down the road to Escalante State Park with no hook-ups. Hope it’s not too hot.

Entrance to the slot canyon from the Navajo Trail

The hoodoos of Bryce Canyon

Natural Bridge

KOA, Cannonville, UT: This morning was overcast and threatening rain again, but we decided to go back to Bryce Canyon NP to see some of the things we missed and maybe do a hike. So we loaded our packs and headed out. Stopped at several vantage points and then backtracked to Sunrise Point. Started to walk up to Inspiration Point and it started raining. So we headed over to the Bryce Canyon Lodge for lunch. After relaxing and enjoying a great lunch we walked up to the rim trail and walked over to Sunset Point. The Navajo Trail head is there and we decided to give it a try. This trail goes down into the canyon with a series of switchbacks. Then at the bottom the trail goes through a slot canyon named “Wall Street.” I really wanted to do that, but after about three switchbacks I chickened out. We brought our packs, my trekking poles were in the truck, but we didn’t think to get them before we walked up to the rim trail. And there were so many people on the trail. So we drove to some more overlooks and then back home. High of about 85 today down in the valley and about 75 up on the rim.

Abandoned homestead on Rt. 89

The beautiful alpine pond trail

KOA, Cannonville, UT: This morning was cloudy and threatening rain so we decided to just hang out and get some things done—like the laundry. Got the laundry done just before it started to rain. Had a thunder storm, and it rained off and on all day. It was cooler anyway. Hope it clears up because we want to do a couple of hikes.