Escalante, UT, is in the heart of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The town was founded in 1875 and named for Father Silvestre Velez De Escalante, who, along with his superior, Father Francisco Atanasio Domínguez, explored the area in 1776.

The town has a lot to offer. There are three gas stations, a grocery store, and organic grocery store, outfitters, guided tour shops, a bicycle shop, a couple of restaurants, several motels and RV parks.

The Grand Staircase is a series of colorful sedimentary rock layers that extends 100 miles from Bryce Canyon to the Grand Canyon.

National Park Service

We booked a site at the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park for five nights. This long stay allows us to explore the area without dragging the camper around. We ended up resting, exploring, resting, and exploring over four days.

Saturday

This was a take-it-easy day. We went grocery shopping and got gas in town, then sat around the campsite.

There are lots of petrified tree trunks scattered around the park.

Sunday

We hiked the mile-long Petrified Forest Trail here at the state park.

Next, we went for a ride on UT-12 up to Boulder, UT. The highway was built by the CCC in the 30s. The sights from the highway are astounding.

We turned right off the highway and explored the Burr Trail. We went 11 miles before turning around. The road brings the canyons up-close and personal.

A section of the highway known as, “The Hogback,” has steep drop-offs on both sides of the pavement. I found this video on Google, which shows “The Hogback.” Click Here.

We ran into some rain on our way back to the highway. Beth found a municipal park in Boulder where we had lunch. The pavilion was equipped with spotlights and audio equipment for live entertainment.

On the way back, Beth’s motorcycle odometer hit a significant milestone.

We stopped for gas, coffee, and beer at one of the stores in town before returning to the campground.

Monday

The solar panel hasn’t been able to keep up with the refrigerator usage because of the cloud cover.

The site next to us became free and has electricity, so we moved our stuff. We tried putting a tarp over the tent to see if it would reduce the temperature inside. It did – a little bit.

Beth did laundry in the afternoon, and we played Gin Rumy while we waited. This turned out to be another restful day. We had time to listen to the geese honk as they landed on the lake and to take in a beautiful sunset.

Tuesday

We woke to a beautiful sunrise – and coffee.

We were on the road by 7:30 a.m. while it was still 68 degrees. Our destination was Capitol Reef National Park. We repeated the ride up UT-12 to Boulder and continued north to Torrey, UT. The section from Boulder to Torrey is entirely different – it’s at a higher elevation and there are aspens and pine trees. The pass at the top has an elevation of 9600 ft.

We stopped for coffee before heading to the park.

The scenic drive is open only as far as the Gifford house museum and shop.

We took lots of pictures, which you’ll be able to see on the picture pages I’m putting together.

From the visitors’ center we went farther east to the Notom Rd, then south to the end of the pavement. From this road you can see the Waterpocket Fold.

Capitol Reef’s Waterpocket Fold is the defining geologic feature of this majestic national park. This wrinkle in the earth’s surface extends for nearly 100 miles, creating a dramatic landscape of rugged cliffs and canyons, striking natural bridges and arches, and distinct formations in the heart of red rock country. This warp in the Earth’s crust is a classic monocline: a steep fold on one side of otherwise horizontal geological layers, about 7,000 feet higher in the west than on the east. Like most folds, the Waterpocket Fold was formed along an underlying fault; in this case during the Laramide Orogeny, a major mountain-forming event that occurred 50 to 70 million years ago.

capitolreefcountry.com

We returned to Torrey for lunch at the Chuck Wagon grocery and deli. We had a Philly Cheese Steak and chips.

Tomorrow we pack up and head for Bryce Canyon and Kanab, UT.

Travel distances (4 days/total): 216/3417