July 2015: A Quick Stop in New Mexico Before Exploring Utah in Depth (page 8 of 15)

Hi Fanny,

Sulphur Creek... a good idea to note for next time... if the sun shows up, of course! 😉

Yes, if the sun’s at the meet-up! Because with a risk of storms, I wouldn’t go back there!

As for Austin’s Chuckwagon Lodge, we really liked it... for the pool, the super comfy beds, and the soft sheets😎!

Yeah, I think I remember you mentioning it in your travel journal. For us, the beds were pretty comfy most of the time, so no specific memory of those ones...😛

And that little walk in Torrey at sunset—such an indescribable moment! So peaceful!

Yeah, I can totally picture it! It reminds me of a walk we took at dusk in Cannonville back in 2012... And then more recently, our two evenings at the pool in Caineville. Like you said, so peaceful!

Hi Delphine,

Thank you for this amazing travel journal that I’ve been devouring day by day (in silence!)

Well, there you go—no more silence! 🙂 Thanks for your kind comments!

Can’t wait for the next part! 🙂

It should be up tonight...

Hi Valérie,

Wow, what a comment!!! Thanks for reading me—you who won’t discover anything new in my lines... I’m actually the one drawing inspiration from your travel journals, so thanks for that!

OH a real 4x4! It’s been ages since I’ve seen one in a rental parking lot!

Yes, and I hope it’ll be the same next July! 😉

Beautiful and long hike, anyway! It’s true that at the start, we’re still in shape and super motivated.

Totally! That’s why we gave up on White Domes this year—it was at the end of the trip, and we just didn’t feel up for it. We’re rescheduling it for next summer, but at the beginning this time!

Great to see the close-up photos of Ship Rock, which we hadn’t tried to get near. Great idea and stunning photos! Any HDR in there?

Nice eye! But I’m not surprised, coming from a photographer like you! There are indeed a few photos edited in HDR mode. Though sometimes HDR can look a bit fake—it’s not always easy to find the right setting.

Lovely photos of Little Wild Horse Canyon, which we’ve never done.

Add it to the itinerary, then! But for hikers like you, you’ll have to do the full loop! 🙂

Hi Chris,

for a fan of Tony Hillerman’s Navajo tribal police novels like me

I’m not familiar with them—I’ll have to fix that! ;)

And your little family is still as resilient as ever—I admire that!

Thanks! :)

Day 13 Sunday, July 19

No early wake-up call today—the hike yesterday was exhausting. We finally leave Torrey at 9:45 AM after grabbing a few groceries, but not via Notom Road as planned. After yesterday’s storms, it’s not recommended.

So we take Highway 12 (which isn’t at its most scenic between Torrey and Boulder), and around 10:30 AM, we turn onto Burr Trail Road.

The road is truly stunning. It’s too bad we couldn’t take Notom, but we’re already thrilled by what we’re seeing here.

View of Long Canyon

Along the road

After a while, the paved road turns into a very smooth dirt track.

Then we reach the switchbacks, which we descend. We won’t go any farther—I wasn’t reassured during the descent, Moki Dugway was nothing compared to this!

Once back up, we settle in for a picnic with a magnificent view.

After lunch, we head to Upper Muley Twist Canyon up to the first parking lot. We’d have liked to reach the second parking lot with the car since no one’s motivated to walk the 4 km to Strike Valley Overlook. Unfortunately, the rangers put up a barrier blocking access, and when we get closer, we see the road is indeed very rough. We’re not going to break the rules, especially since we’ve already had our fill of bumpy roads!

So we head back calmly along Burr Trail Road.

We reach Boulder around 2:00 PM and continue on Highway 12 to Escalante. In this stretch, the term Scenic road really lives up to its name!

We pass Calf Creek Recreation Area without stopping, even though I’d planned to visit Lower Calf Creek Falls this afternoon. But with no volunteers for a hike, it’s a lost cause today!

We go past Escalante and drive to Wide Hollow Reservoir. Swimming isn’t allowed, but Yannick and I relax on the pseudo-beach while the kids dip their feet in the water and play in the sand. There’s an American family spending the afternoon here.

After that, we stop by the Visitor Center and chat at length with a very friendly ranger. We talk about our plans for tomorrow and the risk of storms.

Then, check-in for two nights at the Circle D Motel. The manager is quite chatty and suggests several hikes, even after we tell him we’ve already been to the visitor center. He must just want to talk!

Next up: the chore of laundry (no laundry at the Circle D, but we can use the one at the nearby campground). Finally, we go grocery shopping. Oops—it’s Sunday, and nothing’s open in Escalante on Sundays! We find a single mini-shop with very little selection and pharmacy-level prices (Yannick’s words). We just buy enough for tomorrow’s breakfast and see what we can find when the real stores open!

To end the evening, we’d hoped to eat at Subway, but it’s also closed on Sunday nights. We have to settle for Nemo’s, which doesn’t sell the best burgers and isn’t cheap either. We miss Stan’s Burger Shak in Hanksville…

Hotel: Circle D Motel in Escalante 76.40 € Day’s summary: Compared to the original plan, a lot got scrapped today—whether due to the weather, a rough road, or our lack of motivation to hike. But Burr Trail Road is absolutely gorgeous, and our eyes are still dazzled by the wonders we saw there. No regrets!

Once we got back up, we settled in for a picnic with a magnificent view.

Hi Peggy,

Yeah, I totally know the spot you're talking about 😉

Day 14 – Monday, July 20



This morning, we set the alarm. We wanted to take Hole in the Rock Road, but storms were forecast again for the afternoon, so it was better to leave early.

We left Escalante at 7:45 AM. Google Maps had estimated a 40-minute drive to the Zebra Slot Canyon parking lot, so we weren’t paying super close attention. After about 25 minutes, we realized we’d already passed it! No big deal—we made a quick U-turn and found it easily. It’s just a roadside parking area with no signs.

We suspected the canyon might be flooded after the heavy rains of the past few days, but we wanted to try anyway. Sure enough, when we reached the entrance of the slot canyon after an hour’s hike, it was flooded, and the water didn’t look very appealing…

Yannick didn’t go any farther than waist-deep, so no amazing photos this time…



On the other hand, we had no idea the approach hike would be so beautiful! The trip was worth it just for that! And to top it off, we had the place completely to ourselves until we ran into an American family—us on the way back, them on the way in.

Here are some photos from the approach hike (outbound trip):

A few animal tracks:

And the return trip:



It was around 11:00 AM when we got back to the parking lot. We had two options: either continue on HITRR to do Dry Fork as planned or head back and visit Lower Calf Creek Falls, which we’d skipped the day before. Our adventures at Sulphur Creek had taught us a lesson, so we decided to skip Dry Fork.

Instead of heading straight to Lower Calf Creek Falls, we went back to Escalante to grab some groceries (the main store was finally open) and eat at the hotel. What a great idea that turned out to be! It started raining at noon—not just a light drizzle, but a downpour! The skies opened up for over two hours! !😮 We even had time to relax a bit…

Continuation of Day 14, Monday, July 20

Once the sun came back, we hit the road for Lower Calf Creek Falls. And it seems the rest did us good—we caught up with and passed everyone walking ahead of us! Felt like we’d eaten a lion or something!

We arrive in sight of the waterfall.

It’s gorgeous, but it’s cold there. We don’t linger.

We head back the other way.

Back via Route 12, which we never get tired of… The photos are even more beautiful than yesterday’s.

Dinner was bought at Subway and eaten at one of the wooden tables at Circle D. Really nice, even if it wasn’t very warm!

Hotel: Circle D Motel in Escalante 76.40 € Lower Calf Creek Falls: $5 Day’s summary: Today we walked 8 km in the morning and over 10 km in the afternoon—18 km we barely felt. What a great day of hiking!

Next part here!

The weather’s really something else... It’s been a few years now where the weather in the Southwest has been so unpredictable (plus, the vegetation is much greener than usual). Meanwhile, in the Northwest, drought and heatwaves all summer long...

Makes it tough to hit all the different Slot Canyons in the area, as a result.

I'm surprised by all this bad weather in July because in August, we were sweltering everywhere in the Southwest. Just one more word about Highway 12—oh, Highway 12! 😊 😊 😊

Hello,

We miss Stan’s Burger Shak in Hanksville

Really??? Never thought I’d hear (or read) that one day 😛

In Sulfur Creek, I know others who got caught off guard by a storm 🤪 The valley’s steep walls amplify the sounds, and the thunderclaps there are especially impressive! It’s a hike that must be really pleasant and pretty in good weather.

The UT-12 between Boulder and Escalante is truly stunning. And what about Burr Trail Road and Long Canyon... That area is absolutely gorgeous. The surroundings of Zebra Slot Canyon are amazing too. All your photos suddenly make me want to go back!!!

HDR allows you to shift from a realistic photo to an artistic one. The challenge is processing it to get a beautiful result. But many cameras now offer an HDR mode that does the work for you.

I really like it (if you don’t overdo it...)

7/19: Burr Trail Road—a beautiful representation of the American West. I love it!

Too bad about the barrier. We’d walked it before (there wasn’t a barrier back then, but I was more cautious at the time). The overlook was a moment of pure happiness, but you still get a little taste of the Burr Trail by the end. We’ll have to add it to the itinerary next year!

7/20

We’ve been trying to do this for years, but it’s always flooded... It really is a stunning approach. So worth it!

Lower Calf Creek Falls—a lovely photographic spot. One time, we missed the turnoff and ended up giving up.

Scenic Byway 12 is a feast for the eyes too! 😉

I was curious to hear your thoughts on Zebra Slot Canyon, but like us in 2013, it was flooded. Though, once there, did no one warn you about it ?

For the weather, these storms are still super localized because for us, for example, it was pretty dry overall. We only had rain in Colorado and at White Sands. All the trails we took were dry.

Hi Thibaud,

The weather was really ...

And it's not over yet! ;) But it'll only last one more day, then it calmed down.

For a few years now, the weather has been really unpredictable in the Southwest

Must be since we started going there! ;)

Meanwhile, in the Northwest, drought and heatwaves during the summer months ...

Well, I hope we don’t bring the rain when we go... (planned for 2018).

Hi Chris,

I’m surprised by all this bad weather in July because in August we were sweltering everywhere in the Southwest.

Yeah, I read that in your travel journal. We didn’t suffer from the heat either, even though it got really hot as soon as the sun came back. But it’s normal we had bad weather—it always rains everywhere we go! ;)

Thanks for letting us know in advance when and where you're going next time. We’ll avoid that date and area. 😏 😏 😏

Hi Virginie,

We miss Stan’s Burger Shak in Hanksville…

Really???

Yes, yes, really!! 😛 The burgers were good (even if not amazing), but that feeling of nostalgia isn’t just about the Burger Shak, of course. We had a really great time at the hotel in Caineville—the atmosphere was so relaxing, and the day at LWHC and Goblin Valley was really nice. So, the memory of those few days is pure happiness. It’s one of our best moments from an absolutely amazing trip!

In Sulfur Creek, I know others who got caught off guard by a storm

But you had started at the Visitor Center, right, if I remember correctly? How far did you end up going?

The valley’s steep walls amplify the sounds, and the thunderclaps are especially impressive!

Yeah, totally—I wasn’t acting brave when it was thundering!

It must be a really pleasant and pretty hike in good weather.

It was for us at the beginning. I’m sure it’s even nicer when the weather stays good the whole time.

Hi Valérie,

The overlook was a truly magical moment, but we still have a little idea for the end of the Burr Trail. We’ll have to add it to the itinerary next year!

Yes, definitely one day! We were left wanting more after missing the Notom and Cathedral Valley sections, plus that hike we didn’t get to do. There’s still so much to explore in that area.

We’ve been trying to do it for several years, but it’s always flooded...

Have you tried different seasons? When’s the best time to go to avoid flooding?

I was curious to hear your thoughts on Zebra Slot, but like us in 2013, it was flooded. However, no one warned you about that on-site 😮?

I don’t even remember if we talked about it with the Ranger in Escalante, since, as I wrote, we suspected the canyon would be flooded but wanted to try anyway. In the end, it was only a half-disappointment for the canyon itself, and the approach hike was actually a pleasant surprise. No regrets, then!

For the weather, these storms are still super localized—like for us, the weather was mostly dry overall. We only had rain in Colorado and at White Sands. All the trails we took were dry.

You were lucky. We’ll follow in your footsteps next time! 😉

Thanks for letting us know ahead of time when and where you're going next. We’ll avoid that date and area. 😏 😏 😏

I was just about to tell you!!!