Took the family down to Escalante last weekend. It was a blast! We thought it would be quicker to go down I-15 and then make our way to Escalante that way. It took about 6 hours to get to calf creek campground, including gasing up once in Beaver. It was definitely worth it though, the drive through Red Canyon was awesome. The color of the rock in that canyon was so bright and rich. We will definitely be visiting that area. We found a great spot (#6) at the campground when we arrived at about 3 pm, much to our surprise, there was actually 2 spots left. The first day we just relaxed and played in the creek.
Day 2
The trailhead to Lower Calf Creek Falls is in the campground so we just walked to it. The temps were in the 90's I'm guessing and the hike was pretty killer. We forgot to put the booties on our dog and she was having issues with the hot sand. My 4 year old couldn't make it past about half way so we turned around without seeing the falls. We went back to camp and played in the river some more.
Day 3
We had Upper Calf Creek on the menu but I was worried about the heat so we got an early start. I figured if I could trick the kids into hiking down hill in the cool morning then they would be forced to hike out. My plan went off without a hitch. We made it to Upper Calf Creek Falls and it was beautiful. We explored around and I played in the water, it was too cold for the girls. The hike out looked worse than it really was. it is a really steep hill and then it is pretty tame. The hike up the slickrock hill wasn't too bad, the little ones took a couple quick breaks but we made it up in about 20 minutes. Then more playing in the creek at camp.
Day 4
We went down the Harris Wash road and visited Devils Garden. Fun place for the kids to play. It was really hot but fun. The we went down to Skutumpah road and hiked the Willis Creek that I had found from Tanya's sight http://www.zionnational-park.com/gra...ase-hiking.htm. The drive there was longer than I had planned. It took about an hour to get to the trail head, luckily there is a gas station in Cannonville or I would have been hitchhiking. Willis Creek is a great easy hike. It was almost flat the whole way. We found a couple of places to down climb for fun that we could have just walked around. Great place for pictures if you know what you are doing, I don't unfortunately.
We wanted to visit the petrified forest but didn't have time.
The next day on the way home we decided to take the scenic drive on Highway 12 through Boulder Mountain to Torrey then visit some relatives in Richfield. We actually got home quicker that way, not counting the stop at Brink's drive in (highly recommended) and the visit in Richfield.
And now for pics...
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...creekview4.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...fcreekview.jpg
wierd bug, what is this?
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...e/wierdbug.jpg
artsy?
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ctusflower.jpg
car on the cliff to the east of the trail in lower calf creek
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...mlccftrail.jpg
Upper Calf Creek Falls
The canyon we were headed to
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...uccfcanyon.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...reekfalls5.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...uccfcanyon.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...reekfalls4.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...reekfalls2.jpg
Killer hill to trailhead
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...eephillout.jpg
Devils Garden:
What is this plant called? Is the fruit edible?
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../coolplant.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ilsgarden3.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...nte/dgarch.jpg
Willis Creek
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...lwaterfall.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...eknarrows1.jpg
Artsy?
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...eeshadowwc.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...eknarrows2.jpg
