2014 Spring Trip - Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

How many of you have heard of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument?  Not very many I'm guessing.  I hadn't until just a few years ago.  It's mainly in Utah along the Utah - Arizona boarder.  I suspect it would be a national park if it wasn't for the fact the Utah already has five.  It has some pretty spectacular spots, one of which is called "The Wave".  It's a bit of a hike to get to.  The Wave requires a permit, 10 of which are available via a reservation/lottery system.  Another 10 are given out the day before the permit is valid, again using a lottery system.  I stopped at the Visitor's Center and asked about getting one of the daily permits and was told you have to be at the Visitor's Center by 8am and the drawing occurs at 8:30.   The ranger said that usually around 125 people show up hoping to get one of the 10 permits!  Needless to say, I didn't get one.  Still, there was lots to see, most of which requires hiking to get to.  This is my kind of place.

One of the things I've wanted to do is to take pictures in a slot canyon.  Antelope Canyon in Page Arizona is the most famous of these attracting thousands of tourists and photographers each year.  The Navajo Nation controls the area and offers many tours.  I've been told that the Monument has slot canyons that are equally, if not more, spectacular.  Since I haven't been to Antelope Canyon yet I can't say for sure.  But seeing the long lines of folks waiting to tour Antelope makes me think I made a good decision to spent my time in some of the others.

The picture above is Wire Pass Canyon.  I spent a day here and in Buckskin Canyon which it joins.  These canyons are some of the longest slot canyons in the world.

Buckskin Canyon is wider and deeper.  You are frequently cautioned never, ever go into one of these canyons if there is a threat of rain.  Imagine the force of the water to carve out these canyons.  I think it would be interesting to see if one could to it safely.

I had been wandering in the canyon for a few hours when I came to this little mud puddle.

A wide spot in the canyon.  If you are really adventurous, which I'm not in this case, you can hike the entire length of the canyon, about a 20 mile hike.

The monument also has several areas with Hoodoos.  I only went to one, called the Toad Stools.

Turn around 180 degrees from the picture above and this is what you see.  Hiking around this cliff to the left.....

and you come to this area.  The red formations off in the distance....

look like this up close.

I definitely am coming back and will spend more time in the area.  A 4-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle would allow me to reach more places.  While my motorcycle can handle most non-paved roads this is desert country which means sand, something motorcycles don't do well in.  At least mine doesn't.

On the way up to Moab I went through Monument Valley.  While the formations there are really something I found things a little disappointing from a photographic point of view.  This was about the only spot I found where I could get a picture without a house, car, or, some other structure in the photo.  Probably if I had spent more time there rather than just driving through I might feel differently.

This is an attempt by my motorhome to self-destruct.  It's the control module for the trailer lights.   I pulled into a gas station just as I was arriving at Bullhead City and started pumping gas.  Suddenly a man runs up and says my motorhome is on fire as there is smoke pouring up the back.  I dove under the back of the motorhome to find the trailer light converter module smoking and parts of it are glowing red hot.  I quickly got some wire cutters and started cutting the thing out.  It looked like it would burst into flames so I dunked it into the window wash solution.  Needless to say, it was pretty scary.  After I stopped at the campground I got the motorcycle out and started looking for a new module.  This isn't a standard one but one that is powered.  None of the auto parts in town had one.  By luck, I saw a car battery store that had some Uhaul trailers in the back.  Turns out, he had one and it was about half what the cost of one on the internet and much better made.  I spent the rest of the day installing it.  Before I plugged the trailer in I checked to make sure there wasn't a short in it.  It's was good.  I can only assume there was some catastrophic failure in the old module.   Why the fuse for the motorhome lights didn't blow is beyond me.  The new module now has a separate fuse of low amperage installed so this shouldn't happen again.

The next blog will be on the family adventures in Moab.