Late Fall Southwest Trip - Part 2

[Viejo]

Part 2:

We left Las Vegas on Wed, Oct 30 and headed up I15 thru St George and into Zion NP. We stopped for a break and walked around the visitor center in the lower section of the park.



We spotted this nice vintage SMB in the campground. Anybody know it?


We pressed on toward Escalante - our target was to drive down the Hole-in-the-Rock road.
We started running out of daylight around Hatch on Hwy 89. All the public land - Forest Service - was several miles off the hwy up snowy, muddy roads. We stuck to the hwy and ended up an hour or so after dark at Brice Canyon NP.

That was a cold night. 14F. The Suburban furnace saved the day. Next morning we went out and took in the viewpoints before hitting the hwy.


We got to Escalante about noon so we stopped at the Hole-in-the-Rock turnoff for lunch and to air down the tires.

The first scenic point along the road is Devils Garden. (37.585577,-111.414628)


Easy walking and great hoodoos and rock formations.


They've got goblins here that make Goblin Valley look like a cheap road-side attraction.

I call these 3 the TeleTubbies.


Sherri in front of a small arch we walked through.


Yet another arch.


After a short walk we continued down the road to the trail head into Dry Coyote Gulch. It was too late to hike in and there was no camping at the trail head, so we drove about a mile away on a spur and found a turn out with a good view. Sherri wandered off for some bird watching - she didn't know I was watching her. (37.465669,-111.206594)


Entrance to the Dry Coyote Gulch slot canyon. (37.481567,-111.217732)


This is in Spooky Gulch - a side canyon about 1/2 mi downstream. Not for the claustrophobic. For about 60yds, I had to crab sideways with my gut sucked in and the walls pressing me front and back. (37.481363,-111.209064)


Pausing to catch or breath on the way back up to the van.




Keeping the dogs hydrated.


The next stop down Hole-in-the-Rock Rd was Dance Hall Rock. The Hole-in-the-Rock expedition camped here for about 6 weeks in Nov, Dec 1879 while they constructed wagon trail out ahead to the Colorado River. (37.356669,-111.101481)


The main amphitheater / dance floor.


Up on the dome of slick rock behind the dance hall we found a huge pot hole. 30' deep with a couple of trees and small pond inside.


That night we camped just off the road at Sooner Rocks. (37.776557,-110.941832)


After a tough day of hiking and travel.


I'll continue with part 3 soon...

[blupaddler]

Curious... Are your dog's Bouvier's?

[Viejo]

Portuguese Water Dogs.

[Ocsmb]

Great trip report. Will be headed to Zion late spring.

[oldbernie]

We had to go to Vegas for a conference on Nov. Unfortunately we didn't have time for an extended SMB trip so we took the roller slate. We did however manage to drive up through central Colorado stopping at The Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Beautiful drive, lot's to see and do. Anyhow, we ended up at Zion for 2 days hiking every available trail except that last one where you have to actually walk in the river for a couple of miles. We're saving that for a warmer return trip. Awesome place, well worth the drive. Btw I live in the Dallas area so when I feel that it was worth the drive(1000 miles) I must have really liked the place. We'll be going back in the early spring for an extended SMB trip.

[oldbernie]

Forgot to ask but is Hole in the Wall strictly 4 x 4? We're not afraid of slow, bumpy dirt roads but I have a Chevy 3500 EB so there are limits.

[86Scotty]

Great pics, thanks for sharing. We love Hoodoos and the Bryce/Zion area. I'll have to check out Devil's Garden!

[dick]

Originally Posted by oldbernie

Forgot to ask but is Hole in the Wall strictly 4 x 4? We're not afraid of slow, bumpy dirt roads but I have a Chevy 3500 EB so there are limits.

The Hole in the Rock road is a very worth while destination in a 2wd!

The first 30 or so miles are dirt/gravel and doable in a 2wd - you can access all the places that Viejo visited easily. If you want to go to the "Hole in the Rock" where the pioneers carved an amazing trail down through the cliffs to cross the colorado (now buried by Lake Powell) 4wd is required. We use the road often and have not felt the urge to drive the very rough last 20-30 miles in a *very* long time.

With the copious fall rains this year, many of the southern Utah roads had extensive damage. I backed off a few drives that I have done before. The county road crews are pretty good at getting them back in shape quickly, but asking the local BLM office might be advised.

[Pschitt]

Thanks for this nice second part. Just for you to know, the second arch shown in Devil's Garden is called "Matate Arch". Looking forward to see part 3. :-)