I was so looking forward to this trip, and it didn't disappoint. I'd never been to Grand Staircase and I had heard from multiple people how great it was--plus some good advice. We drove down on Easter so we could have an early start on the fun Monday morning.
Our first day was an absolutely amazing hike called Lower Calf Creek Falls. It was easy, but long. Six miles around trip!
Arthur got a lot of shoulder rides, Laszlo got a few piggy backs from me, but we all made it!
The trail led through this beautiful canyons alongside Calf Creek. It made for an unusual setting: red rock desert and a riparian corridor right down the middle.
While we didn't see any beavers, we could see all their construction projects along the creek.
This land was once home to the Fremont and then Paiute and Mormon pioneers. In the modern day, the monument is a cherished resource for paleontologists, archeologist, biologists and the Paiute tribe.
The weather was cool or warm, depending on how much sunshine we were getting. It was perfect for hiking and too early for bugs, thank goodness.
On a hot day, you'd want to jump right into the chilly weather and cool off. The boys took their shoes off to wade and immediately put their shoes back on. It was absolutely freezing.
The boys were so, so tired (read as "bored") on the way back, but the scenery was so beautiful, I can't understand why. But this was my accidental genius: make them do the longest hike first. Then they never complain because everything else is shorter.
After a little picnic at the trailhead, we drive back towards the town of Escalante and got this amazing view:
And then we stopped in at the visitors center to pick up junior ranger books and get some good information on road and weather conditions for the week.
We stayed at the excellent Entrada Escalante Lodge. It was so beautiful, comfortable, had a nice little kitchenette, and--most importantly--an EV charger! It was so convenient to be able to plug in the car in the evenings.
The kids liked running around outside, playing board games, and they kept trying to find TV stations they liked, though they never found a single cartoon. And I don't feel bad about it at all. But I'm afraid I've got too many pictures, so this will require multiple posts. And a little teaser, the next was the (near) universal favorite hike.
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