May 5, Torrey to Escalante: 60 miles, 8 hours

Hard to leave Muley Twist – after 4 nights, and warm hospitality, it began to feel like it would be easy to put down roots. But we packed the Jeep and headed south over Boulder Mountain (9600 ft) to the very small "town" of Boulder. The first leg of the trip went smoothly: a couple of viewpoint stops, but then down into Boulder. Boulder held us for most of the day: the Anasazi State Park Museum (which features an Ancient Pueblo structure replica as well as partially unearthed ruins), lunch at the Burr Trail Grill (taking away pie for dinner: spicy cherry and ginger berry), coffee at the Trading Post, a stop to look at art (and buy) at Scotty Mitchell's studio. Scotty is an artist who does wonderful pastels, large and small, of the area. As our trip started with storm clouds, I was looking for a drawing that featured clouds. Below is a photo of Scotty with the drawing I chose. It features the tail end of Capital Reef with summer rain clouds. Like it, Erik?

Scottie with Kathi and Eriks new drawing

Boulder is a quirky place

Then, about 4:30, we hit the Burr Trail which heads west through some amazing rock and canyons. I told Barb she hadn't really seen rocks yet, but she didn't believe me. We romped on some blond Navajo sandstone, known locally as Sugar Loaf. Its smooth curves were so inviting, and its cross hatching so intriguing. Once we got close, we realized there were more than a few very healthy pines growing out of the cracks. The roadside sign told us that "the large scale cross-bedding pattern was caused by eolian, or wind blown, depositions of sand dunes that were repeatedly buried and exposed over millions of years. The jointing is the result of cracking related to slowing changing pressures in the rock." We are almost as slowly getting to know our rocks.

The rest of the westward drive was highlighted by spring green trees against red rocks, and a winding red rock canyon which ended in a fantastic panoramic view west, looking at tail end of Capital Reef. Like my new drawing.

Happy with the vista, we turned around, retraced our steps to Boulder, and headed (roughly) south to Escalante. Believe it or not, more sandstone canyons and jaw-dropping views. We pulled up in front of the Escalante Outfitters where our home for the next 2 nights will be. We each have a tight little, cozy log cabin, complete with queen bed, bedside light(s), horseshoe clothes hooks, heaters, towels and a front porch big enough for 2. We sat with our evening scotch and watched a thunderstorm go by on the horizon. The bathroom is separate, but we look forward to being up in the night, under the starry sky.

The Outfitters also has a store full of great books and hiking gear, plus a café with GREAT pizza, and looks like good breakfasts. So we are set. We are planning a couple local adventures tomorrow, but we are enjoying letting the days unfold organically, so who knows what tomorrow will bring.