Escalante & Nighttime Inspiration

Monday, May 13, 2024

We dedicated today to riding through Escalante. Escalante is the name of a small town in southern Utah named after a Franciscan missionary who was a member of the first European expedition into this area. But the name more commonly refers to the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Momument, a 1.8-million acre expanse of land that stretches from Bryce Canyon National Park on the west to Captitol Reef National Park on the east and southward into Arizona. The Grand Staircase referenced in the momument’s title is a huge and colorful sequence of sedimentary rock layers that stretch from Bryce Canyon into the Grand Canyon. Scenic Byway 12 runs along the northern edge of the Momument. The vast interior of the Monument is only accessbile via unpaved roads where vehicles with high clearance and four-wheel drive are recommended. Our toad, a Ford Focus, unfortunately, doesn’t qualify for such terrain.

Today’s journey was a 150-mile out-and-back trip to Boulder, UT, along Scenic Byway 12 that runs adjacent to our campground. Our first stop along the way was in the town of Cannonville where we hoped to explore one of the Momument’s Visitor Centers. Nope, it was closed. So, we continued eastward enjoying the landscape along Byway 12.

Grand Staircase – Escalante Visitor Center
Cannonville, UT – CLOSED

Yikes! 

—— Scenic Byway 12 – Cannonville to Escalatnte —–

When we arrived in the town of Escalante, we pulled into the parking lot for the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center. The three agencies sponsoring the Visitor Center and managing the monument are the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service. Inside the nice center, we investigated a room of displays, obtained maps and pamphlets from an agent, and watched a movie about the area. We learned that paleontologists, archeologists, geologists, entomologists, and multiple other ologists are just starting to uncover the wealth of knowledge that lies within the boundaries of this relatively unexplored national momument.

The most attention grabbing display was a huge dinosaur skull in the lobby. This skull was from a species named Utahceratops gettyi and is one of six new and unique ceratopsid (horned dinosaur) species that has been discoverd inside Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument in a 75-million-year-old formation. 

The following quote in one of the displays epitomized the vibe about the monument that we were receiving in the center:

“It is a lovely and terrible wilderness
… harshly and beautifully colored,
broken and worn until its bones
are exposed … and in hidden corners
and pockets under its cliffs
the sudden poetry of springs.”

— Wallace Stegner, Wilderness Letter 1960

——————— Escalante Interagency Visitor Center ———————

The Interagencies

580-Year-Old Bighorn Sheep Remains

Utahceratops gettyi Skull

Armed with maps and info, we continued our eastward trip on Byway 12. Our first overlook was Head of Rocks where we had a vast panaramoic view of a harsh whitish landscape below us that spanned to distant mountains. We could see the next section of our byway winding its way down and through this terrain. After curving our way downward in the car, we stopped at Boynton Overlook to observe more interesting views.

———————— Head of Rocks Overlook ———————— 

——————— Boynton Overook ———————

Later, we pulled into Calf Creek Recreation Area hoping to find a picnic table for lunch followed by a hike. No way. Despite encountering only a few cars on the byway, this rec area was packed with cars and people, so much so, that we couldn’t find a place to park. We exited the main parking area and parked above in an overflow parking lot. We ate lunch in our car there in a relatively private spot with a view of the area’s rock formations.

—— Calf Creek Recreation Area ——

After lunch, we continued on to Boulder, stopping and enjoying the ever changing and unusual landscapes we were driving through. There was not much in Boulder so we turned around and drove the 75-mile return trip non-stop back to the campground. As we passed back through the amazing formations of this area, I couldn’t help but think that we barely scratched the surface of all that this area has to offer… “so much to see, so little time”.

—— Scenic Byway 12 – Calf Creek to Boulder  —–

—— Scenic Byway 12 – Return Leg —–

We rested awhile after returning to our motorhome and then headed back out. Today is my 68th birthday so we ate dinner out at the nearby Bryce Canyon Pines Restaurant. To celebrate, I ordered a Polygamy porter, “the one with naked people on the can”, according to our waitress. For dinner, we both had rainbow trout with potatoes and broccoli. 

We then headed back into Bryce Canyon National Park to catch the sunset at Sunset Point. Nobody monitors the park entrance after 8:00 pm, so we rolled right through it. At the Sunset Point parking area, the crowd was smaller and more subdued than when we had visited during daylight. The point actually looks east so that we never really saw the sun but enjoyed its orange light being cast over the fantastical pinnacles of Bryce Amphitheater.

After sunset, I wanted to revisit Inspiration Point to again see what I think is the best of the remarkable views at this park. We drove the short distance there. Jane stayed at the lower observation area but I was determined to huff and puff up to the highest observation area where I watched the dusk light turn to darkness in solitude. From that high point, I could also gaze west and see among dark clouds, orange and pink sky from the sunset.

——————— Sunset Point ——————— 

——————— Inspiration Point ———————

After descending Inspiration Point, we solemnly drove the four miles back to the campground sadly realizing that we would be leaving this magnificent park behind tomorrow. Because we hadn’t had time for dessert at the restaurant, we indulged in some birthday ice cream in the motorhome before wearily heading to bed.