We left Moab, Utah around 11 am on our way to Escalante, Utah. Our first stop was just outside of town at Mohab Giants to take a few more dinosaur photos for our grandson, Caleb.
We continued on I-70 towards our destination. I didn’t do such a good job at looking at the timing for the drive. Our reservation was the second of the only two reservations that I made. I should have left a day in between so we wouldn’t have to drive so long. We stopped at a scenic viewpoint to learn about the San Rafael Reef. It is a very interesting story.
A little further up the road, we stopped and found out about the San Rafael Swell.
Six minutes later, we stopped again to learn about Black Dragon Canyon.
Twenty minutes later, I stopped at another scenic viewpoint and I really liked the view.
Other than restroom breaks and charging in Richfield, Utah, we did not stop for pictures for 3-1/2 hours. It was now about 6:15pm and we were on Utah 12, one of the most scenic roads that there is.
We had a couple of odd moments on Highway 12. The first was seeing two cattle grazing on the side of a steep incline. I could not have climbed up to them if I had been paid a great deal of money to do it. I believe that one of the cows knocked a very large rock (8” x 8” x 8”) down the slope where it lay in the middle of the road. I pushed it off the road as it would have done some serious damage to any vehicle that hit it.
As we drove along, eagle-eyed Ronnie spotted three deer on the side of the road about ten feet above us. I stopped for a photo but scared them away. We have seen many wild animals thus far on our trip so it was a nice encounter.
Our next odd situation came when I had to stop the car to let a cow cross the road. The cow could care less that I was driving towards it. We had seen many signs in Utah about “caution cows on roads” or something like that. I took the cow’s photo and he gave me this weird look.
The terrain was much different than what we had seen in Utah. It was now mountainous with many more trees.
There were stands and stands of white birch. They were thriving due to the cold temperatures high in the mountains. Highway 12 climbs to an elevation of 9,200 feet over the east side of Boulder Mountain, which sits atop the Aquarius Plateau, before its long descent into the town of Torrey.
We arrived at Escalante Yurts around 6:50 pm and were checked in. It is a very laid-back organization. The yurt was open with a key hanging by the doorway. Breakfast for the next day was in the refrigerator. There were muffins in a basket and tea and coffee pods for the Keurig. Ronnie quickly donned one of the bathrobes available for both of us. It is a very beautiful place. We unloaded the car, had a glass of wine and made sandwiches with supplies from a local grocery store.
This was the place that I was waiting for. I wanted to take star trail photos, but I couldn’t risk leaving my camera and tripod outside a hotel for a few hours in the dark. The stars here are spectacular. There is no light pollution. I set up outside our yurt wearing my headlamp (which I used to illuminate the yurt in the photos that follow).
We decided that after all the time driving, that today would be a laid-back day. We are going to wash the car and just chill out at the yurt. Tomorrow, we head for Bryce Canyon National Park and an overnight stay at Bryce Country Cabins in Springdale, Utah.
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