Monday, September 15, 2014

Road to Escalante, Utah

1a

We headed out of the Red Canyon RV Park not to the east, toward Escalante, but to the west toward Panguitch…leaving the HHR in the campground.  I wanted to give it a quick shower at the RV/Car wash on the east side of Panguitch.  $2 for the first 2 minutes, 50 cents for each minute thereafter.  After $5 worth, the motorhome was in good shape and we headed back to pick up the HHR.  Then we headed east along highway 12, through Red Canyon, past Bryce Canyon National Park….our goal is Escalante, on the other side and just north of Barney Top Mountain (above).

1b

As we past through the town of Tropic, you can see some of Bryce Canyon National Park in the distance….and from here you can clearly see it is no canyon, but that is the name they have given it.

1c    1d
1e   1f

The views along the road are coming and going on both sides of the road…..Marcia and I keep handing the camera back and forth to each other.  There are few cars along the way, and I only had to pull over two or three times for the entire 60 mile route to allow someone to pass.


2b

Marcia is getting some great shots….



2e

By now the road has made its swing around the south side of Barney Top…

2f

….and I get this last shot of it from the east looking west as we pulled over to allow two cars pass by.  It is a steep climb for about two miles, had to put it into the lowest gear for nearly a mile, but there was no one behind me even when I got to the summit.

3a

Around the corner and on the other side of this ridge we head down into the town of Escalante.  

3b

We are staying at the Canyons of Escalante RV Park which is a Good Sams Park, it has FAST WiFi (although only one of the two broadcast points are working, but we are within 15 yards of the one that is working), has full hookups but TV is over-the-air, and we are getting about 25 stations, including our favorite “MeTV”.

3c

It is nothing to write home about..but it is in the midst of such natural beauty and we are here for two nights.  Tomorrow we will be doing a little sight-seeing to the north, and we are definitely going to be doing the Burr Trail, and if I can talk Marcia into doing a dirt road, then we will also do Hells Backbone.  Highs are in the mid-80’s, and while setting up I did get a few rain drops on me…and when I say a few, they dried up before I could even see them as they landed.

Note:  Our last post on Saturday did not get published to many of the blog rolls that we are on.  If you did not get a chance to see our blog on Cedar Breaks and Kolob Canyon, Click Here.

6 comments:

  1. Beautiful scenery! I love the riding along the roads in southern Utah. It's all gorgeous.

    I think that the Burr Trail is a dirt road so don't try it if rain is in the forecast. I'd never heard of Hells Backbone but it looks cool! Can't wait to see your photos!

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    Replies
    1. Oh, you have had some scenery up there in Nova Scotia too. But you are right, the roads of Southern Utah are unreal, that's for sure.

      As for the Burr Trail, the first 31+ miles is paved, then it is dirt, but we will be turning around at or near the dirt road portion. Hells Backbone is hard pebbled non-paved road from what the guy at the RV park said. He said it is a good non-paved road...we will see.

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  2. I think US Scenic Hwy 12 is one of the prettiest roads we have ever traveled...cant wait to read about Hell's Backbone. enjoy the trails!

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    Replies
    1. Could not agree with you more....and Hell's Backbone will need to wait until another trip, it was just too much to do both....darn.

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  3. Boy I'll say Marsha got some great shots. What a drive you guys had. Campground looks good. Happy Hiking!

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