Andy Altman Photography

Notes from April, 2006 Trip to Central Arizona to Southern Utah

05/28/07

Side Trip to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument - Devil's Garden and Peek-a-boo / Spooky Canyons

For our "high adventure" day at Bryce, we headed over to Escalante, 45 miles to the north west.  Several sources had recommended some of the slot canyons near Escalante for their beauty, uniqueness and accessibility.  From a ranger slide show at Bryce, we decided to add a side trip to the Devil's Garden to make it a full day.  We stopped at the Bureau of Land Management office on the way into Escalante to confirm directions, conditions and for one last check that we weren't getting in over our heads.  The rangers provided directions and maps.  They recommended Peek-a-boo and Spooky Canyons and the upstream section of Coyote Gulch and warned us against going down Coyote Gulch past Spooky and XX canyon because of the possibility of getting into a spot that we may not be able to get out of.

Armed with maps and advice, we stopped at the Escalante grocery store to pick up lunch and headed out.  The Hole in the Rock Road quickly turns to dirt after leaving the highway.  It's in good shape, but dusty and washboarded.  It goes through wide open country with cows and jackrabbits frequently crossing.  After about xx miles, we reached the Devil's Garden, an interesting group of hoodoos, valleys, arches and other rock formations  sized for climbing, jumping and general exploration.  While Bryce is like a bowl with the hoodoos reaching from the bottom back up towards the rim, the formations here stick up above the surrounding land, the last hold outs to erosion.  Gray, tan and orange layers remind of Bryce, but the rocks have been worn smooth and the fine sand around the formations is talc like.  The whole area has a Dr. Seuss feel.

Nathan and Mark exploring the nooks, crannies and ledges of Devil's Garden

Balancing Formations, Devil's Garden

After a good hour of poking around and photography, we had lunch.  During a break in the chomping and crunching, we discovered that the area was soundless.  There was an occasional buzzing insect and a slight whoosh with the peak wind gusts, but the majority of the time was void of any perceivable sound - no cars, no planes, no crickets, no leaves rustling, no nothing.  Having one other family there during our stop was the only reminder of the larger world.

 Lunch Stop at Devil's Garden

After lunch, it was on to the slot canyons...