Hole In the Rock Road:

 The wonderful thing about living in the West is that you can plan a "trip of a lifetime" around a long
weekend.  I had never been to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument before which is located in the southwest corner of Utah.  Roger had last been there 25 years ago on a camping trip with the kids and was excited to show me what was available in our own backyard.  Our destination was the 62 mile "Hole In the Rock" road which begins just outside of Escalante.

 It was the start of the spring break for the school districts around here, but crowds were minimal and the weather in the mid 70's.  Perfect!  We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Escalante for two nights.  The fact that the West draws people from around the world was reflected in our breakfast companions.  The first morning we shared a table with two men from Russia and the next morning with two sisters from Guatemala.  They both were working their way around the west, taking a state a year and probably seeing more than a lot of locals do in their lifetime.

Our first stop on the road was to visit  Devil's Garden, above.  It was full of interesting formations and small natural arches.  The walk through these formations took us about 45 minutes and only wetted our appetite for more to come.  The road was unpaved and you really needed a four wheel drive to get over or around the rocks and ruts the road eventually became.  We even shared the road with cattle from time to time as this area is open to grazing for cattle ranches near by.

Below is the end of the road.  "Hole in the Rock" is a slice through the rock formation which has allowed for run off to the Colorado river below.  What you are seeing now, however, is the backup of Lake Powell rather than the river.  The history of this area is interesting.  Early pioneers were directed to settle across the river.  Their wagon train traveled down the 62 miles on this open area (a lot of it very similar to the slick rock around Moab) where it ended in a sheer drop to the river below.  It took months, but they lowered their dismantled wagons, horses, supplies and people down to the bottom.  Once there they still had to cross the river and begin their lives anew in this rather desolate place.  This route was used for another year before they were able to find an easier way.

On the return trip we stopped to explore one of two slot canyons in the area aptly named Peek-a-Boo.  Roger remembered the entrance to be pretty much a drive up, but the BLM (Bureau of Land Management)  had changed it over the years and we now were required to do a bit of hiking up and down the slick rock to get to the entrance.  I hadn't planned on that, but with Roger's help and encouragement, I made it both down and back up. Well worth the effort.

 After leaving Escalante on Sunday morning we drove  into Bryce National Park.  Even without going into the main park area, there were more than a few photo opportunities along the way.