SR-12 Scenic Highway Trip (Southern Utah)

This week we went on a three-day trip to Southern Utah (Cannonville, Escalante, Boulder, Torrey) to experience the outdoors. On the way to our destination we passed through Bryce Canyon National Park. We paused alongside the rode to stretch our legs and take in some of beauty of the red mountains and spires that welcome visitors traveling along Highway 12.

CANNONVILLE AND GROSVENOR'S ARCH

Our first stop was Grosvenor'S Arch. Located about 18 miles from Cannonville (9 miles of the trip is over washboard worn dirt roads) Along the way you encounter beautiful desert landscape that changes from moment to moment as clouds pass over the red, grey, blue and green of the mountains.

Grosvenor's Arch is a magnificent monument rising from the desert floor. Here we took time there to eat lunch and then look for fossil sea shells on a nearby hill.

ESCALANTE

Here we stayed at the Slot Canyon Inn just a few miles west of Escalante. This bed and breakfast is located on a 160-acre piece of property. One of the amenities that we enjoyed are the hiking trails. Within eyeshot of the Inn are petroglyphs and pictographs from the Fremont indians.

Farther up the road are more. Also on the property is a beautiful valley with some spectacular scenery.  We loved the whole experience, except the bugs!!! Along the way we found some fossil seashells imbedded in a large stone, another petroglyph and a small rattlesnake. Never a dull moment.

That evening we were treated with a double rainbow over the southern horizon. 

Before we left on Tuesday the owner of the inn took us and another family to a "secret" location to see some really fabulous pictographs. One of them appears to represent a family or tribe in a circle holding hands.

On Tuesday morning we left the inn and went to the Escalante Petrified Forest. The area is made up of two trails, one is the main trail that is about one mile long and the other is a .75 mile loop that goes down into a steep ravine to the edge of a small canyon. This latter loop was really worth the time and the energy to hike. All along the way were huge trunks of petrified wood.

GRAND STAIRCASE NATIONAL MONUMENT

This is probably one of the most fascinating areas to visit. You travel through a variety of climate and ecological regions. There are deserts.

canyons and rivers.

CALF CREEK FALLS

Calf Creek Falls is one of the most amazing experiences. The six-mile round trip takes you through both a geological as well as a historical trip through time.  All along the path are evidences of the Fremont Indians, pioneers and cattlemen/farmers. The only hard thing about the trail is that a lot of it is sandy, so the going is a little slow at times. I am pleased to say that the WHOLE family walked the entire trail. Caleb and Seth were real troopers.

The scenery along the way is really amazing. Here are some scenes to contemplate.

At the end of the trail is a box canyon with a 126-foot high waterfall. I am not sure that the pictures will do it justice. The falls are just beautiful! Here is what it is like as you approach the falls.

We all had a good time playing in the water.

Jeremy decided that it would be cool to build a sand castle. I guess that he has spent too much time in Spain!!!!

As luck would have it we got caught in a rain storm just as we were reaching the falls. After getting back to the car we headed for Torrey to spend the night. Along the way we got the beautiful vista of the Grand Staircase area with thunderclouds and rain in the distance.

It was a great trip and time to be together as a family.