The Dickgieser Chronicles - Geoff and Marsha's Grand Adventure: Escalante

Escalante, Utah is one of those quirky little towns you hope to find on a road trip. The cheesy themed motels and hole in the wall restaurants surrounded by bizarre landscapes and insane roads make it the perfect place to relax and explore for a few days.

Delicious! HO-MADE Pies.... yup. Oh Utah.

After spending a night in our comfy room at the Cowboy Country Inn we decided to take the cheaper route and camp for a few days at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. Bet you can't guess why it's called that!? Yup! There is, essentially, a whole forest of petrified trees. But the biggest draw for us was the huge reservoir there. Wide Hollow Reservoir is actually owned and run by an irrigation company but is open to the public to use. And we did! And it was incredibly refreshing!

Our first day there we did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be. We napped, we snacked, we swam, we read, we listened to the rain on the metal roof of our van. It was lovely. We had a big dinner and as we were cleaning up a deer bounded through the campsite. We cooled off with a late night swim and took advantage of the FREE showers there. Perfect.

BBQ going and some beans on the stove. This is livin!
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, UT

Love our little kitchen! Working in full gear!
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, UT

The next morning we headed to the Escalante/Grand Staircase National Monument Visitors Center. We were looking for information on the slot canyons (Peek-a-boo and Spooky) our friends had so eagerly recommended to us. Unfortunately with all the thunderstorms in the area flash flooding was a real possibility and going into a slot canyon and encountering a flash flood is a good way to get yourself killed. So we decided to wait another day and see if things cleared up.

In the meantime we decided to explore the dirt road known as Hell's Backbone Road. A twisting turning dirt road that takes you deep into the Dixie National Forest. It's called Hell's Backbone for a reason. Back in the day they wanted a faster way to connect the town of Escalante, Utah and the town of Boulder, Utah. The road was built in 1933 and needed to get across a precarious ridge of rock that separates Sand Creek and Box Death Hollow (fitting name for that canyon I guess) with a drop off of hundreds of feet on either side. How did they do this? Well, this is what was written on the informative board at the foot of the bridge: "Spanning the Gap: With typical Yankee ingenuity, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps.) felled two tall, straight pines. After leveling them off topside they placed them across this backbone of rock and secured them in place. When the bulldozer and compressor were needed on the south side of the chasm, a local man, Lorrel 'Sixty' McInelly, agreed to drive the bulldozer, pulling the compressor across the backbone on nothing more than the two pine logs. With a safety rope tied around his mid-section, Sixty slowly inched the dozer out onto the logs and across the backbone while onlookers held their breath and prayer." All of the nope. No thank you! Luckily for us the bridge that is there now is the third generation and is wider and stronger than its predecessors.

A little info on Hells Backbone Road. Click to open and read the goods.

Enjoying a dark chocolate Haagen Dazs Ice Cream Bar at almost 9000 feet in elevation at Hells Backbone, UT

Drinking it all in at Hells Backbone, UT

The beast driving across Hells Backbone, UT

Classic.

Just ignore those cracks in the road... Hells Backbone, UT

Box Death Hollow, Hells Backbone, UT

After an ice cream bar and a short break we continued on and finally met back up at the main, paved road, Scenic Byway UT 12. We stopped in to see Anasazi State Park in Boulder, where they've uncovered a vast village used by the ancient Puebloan peoples. Our first taste of peoples of the past here in the Four Corners region of the US. After touring the artifacts and ruins we headed back towards Escalante along the Scenic Byway 12 and across the heart stopping "Hogsback" portion of the road. The Hogsback portion of the road travels along a narrow Mesa (a flat topped mountain or hill) with steep canyons on either side and we heard many a local and tourist alike who've said they have no desire to drive it again. Honestly? They're wimps. The road is intimidating, no doubt about it, but it's not that narrow and the views truly are breathtaking. We were actually slightly disappointed after hearing so much hype about it. The drive is beautiful. It's easy to see why it's one of the top scenic drives in the country. We got back to camp and made tacos for dinner and it was easily the best meal we've made so far on this trip. So. Good.

Along the not-that-intimidating Hogsback Road, Scenic Byway 12, UT

This place though!! Scenic Byway 12, Utah

It just keeps going!!! Scenic Byway 12, Utah

The following morning we were eager to attempt the slot canyons again but.... nope. Thunderstorms were predicted to directly hit the area we were in. So disappointed! We decided to try our luck and head down the Hole-in-the-Rock Road anyways and see how far we got. This dirt road was in rough shape but our van (and Geoff's driving) came through like a champ. As we made our way down the road I was keeping a close eye on the storm clouds behind us. We made it was far as Devil's Garden before we decided that was far enough. We could have stayed and played there all day. What a cool place to scramble and explore some cool Hoodoos, arches and just plain ole fun rock formations. It would be a blast to have a huge group of people and play hide and seek there. We ended up only staying for maybe 30 mins before the thunder started getting closer. We got back in the car and raced back towards the paved road. These dirt roads become impassible when wet. A muddy mix of clay and sand will bring you to a complete halt and leave you to self rescue. We were about a half mile to the paved highway when the rain started and the heavens opened up. Whew! Made it just in time! The slot canyons will have to wait for another time. There are other places to get to.