Our Trip to Escalanate

This last week Cindy and I went for a three day trip. It was suppose to be a youth conference but since they released me from the Bishopric and changed ward boundaries we canceled youth conference. I turned in the other camp ground reservations but decided to keep the one that I had and Cindy and I went. Maddie was having her own adventures that week with her whale watching excursion. The day before we left it was 90 degrees and then a cold front moved in and on the 6th of June there was snow on the peaks.

We headed off by noon- now real rush. There were several forest fires along the way as southern Utah is dry and hot. Going over Boulder Mountain is a great view of Capital Reef and the Henry Mountains.We made it to camp before sunset.

The next day we hiked along the Escalanate River and saw some beautiful sites. The wind and the rain carve some unique shapes in the sandstone.

We even walked in the river for some distance. We saw several trout moving in the stream with us.

We finally came to our destination which was an arch. We were the only ones there. It was so quiet and peaceful and we laid under the arch in the cool shade and just looked at the colors on the rock, the green of the trees and the blue sky. It was really nice.

In the afternoon we went along the Burr Trail and again were amazed at all the colors and the rock formations.  We found a small alcove that was in shade with tall walls and soft sand. We thought this would be a fun place for the grandkids to play in.

The hike the next day was to lower Calf Creek Falls. It is a six mile or so round trip hike but a lot of the trail is sand which makes it harder to walk. Along the way are signs that point out different things like this Indian Rock art on the canyon wall.

 

After two hours in the hot sun we could see the falls and in a few minutes were wading in its cold water. While the photos look like we are alone there were a lot of people there. We enjoyed our rest at this beautiful spot.

We made it back to the car, tired and exhausted. Ice cream was the only thing to revive us so we went to an ice cream shop in Escalanate before returning to camp.  I spent the afternoon talking to the Swiss couple who was next to our camp spot which was one of the sites I turned back a week earlier. This young coupe had been a year traveling in their van from the tip of South America to this point and were now heading east to New York and then back home. We were amazed at their adventures and how they could even do such a thing.

The next morning we packed up and headed home. There was an eagle nest on a cliff near the entrance to the camp ground so I took this picture of the young eagles.

We stopped at the Manti temple and went through a session. The wind was blowing so strong. Once we got to Nephi the wind was blowing strong but the other direction and the temperature had dropped so that by the time we got home it was in the mid 50's.