Sand Hollow State Park, Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, and Scenic Byway 12!

We went to Sand Hollow State Park one more time before leaving Hurricane, Utah.

 The water is so clear we saw a crawdad.

 This is a popular place for fishing, boating, and ATV's. 

Another beautiful sunny day for a hike around the reservoir.

The state parks were a nice option to get away from the crowds.

It was cloudy on Wednesday as we traveled to Escalante, Utah

 Scenic overlook on Byway 12.

This seems pretty drab compared to Bryce and Red Canyon.
But wait there is more. 

We stayed one night in Escalante. After parking the RV we

went for a hike in Escalante Petrified Forest State Park.

It is a one mile loop unless you want to add the 3/4 mile 

 trail which was recommended by the ranger. 

 Of course we took the Sleeping Rainbow Trail! 

Petrified trees were everywhere.

This is a great hike for kids too, but watch out for the cliffs.

 The varied colors of petrified wood are caused by the presence
of other minerals that enter the wood during the petrifying process.

Iron oxides produce orange, red, and yellow, while manganese
oxides create blues, blacks, and purples.

A view of the Million Dollar Highway from Escalante to 

Torrey.

Three reasons not to drive this road at night.

1. You will miss the beautiful views.

2. No guardrail - steep drops.

3. Cows on the road.

The drive along Scenic Byway 12 was amazing!

I found this video on YouTube if you would like to see more.

Hog Back Video 

We would highly recommend this scenic road. 

Fall colors and cooler temperatures. 46 degrees at approx. 9000 elevation.

Great view from our dinette - priceless!

"Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." John Muir

Big Hike, Big Birthday and Big Sky!

 Getting close to nature on the Emerald Pool Trail.

The deer reached out over our heads along the trail.

 Lower Emerald Trail

 View from the bottom.

View from the top.

Middle Emerald Pool

 Cairns - they just make you smile.

Top

Upper Emerald Pool

    Bottom

 Reflection

When you reach this pool you are in a canyon and it is about 20 degrees cooler, which you really appreciate after making this strenuous hike over boulders and rocks covered with sand.

 An amazing view from the top!

I zoomed in, from the middle of the picture above, so you can see the shuttle buses to get a better perspective on how high we hiked. Yeah, we had a long way to go.

Another great view as we were heading down the trail.

Virgin River through Zion National Park.

This was the hardest hike we did in Zion this year. 

Our family hiked Angel's Landing in Zion five years ago 

which is the longest and highest trail we have done. 

It is listed under the strenuous hikes, elevation change of 1488 ft, 5.4 miles, 4 hours round trip.

Scott's 65th birthday.

Just wanted to wish a little sunshine back into the heart 

of someone who gives it away all year long!

Happy Birthday Scott!

He ate all his favorite foods. 

 Friday night we went to the Star Party at Quail Creek State Park. Local amateur astronomers bring their telescopes, high powered binoculars and set them up for the public to use.

We saw Neptune, Saturn, Mars, Wild Duck Cluster M11, Globular Cluster M55, Nebula Clusters, Double Stars, Swan Nebula M17, Ring Nebula, and the International Space Station. It was a beautiful night with the temperatures around 74 degrees. 

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the Sun. Enjoy the trip!

Kolob Canyon, Bryce Canyon & Zion Canyon Music Festival

We would love to hear from you! Do you have a favorite place, a comment or a memory to share?

If you click on Team Guthrie you will see a blue background, scroll down to the bottom to add a comment and on the right side you have access to archived blogs. If you don't want your comment published please let me know and I will honor your request.

We are in some remote areas where there is no cell service, no voicemail service and sometimes Sirrus XM radio can't even find us. Be patient.

 In Kolob Canyons on the Timber Creek Overlook Trail we stepped aside so two couples could pass and they said, "That is a great background can we take your picture?".

 Scott enjoying the view.
Mike & Nancy the hat is perfect for hiking!

 Thanks Duane for sharing your memory when you took your family here!

 This is an easy hike with great views. My tip - use the bathroom at the Visitor Center before going up. Trust me on this one!

Interesting how they built up the trail with these five foot squares.

 We took a day trip to Bryce Canyon National Park and saw a mountain goat on the way.

About a half-hour down the trail it started to rain. 

It was only 54 degrees at approximately 8000 ft. elevation. Not my idea of fun. 

After leaving Bryce we took highway 14 west to Cedar City which we highly recommend this scenic road. 

You never know what you will find. 

This proves motor homes have been around for years. 

 Love the color but you know what comes next.

The Aspens just glow.

Beautiful views.

It rained on Wednesday, which means it is a great day to get laundry done, and Thursday's forecast wasn't any better. We decided to take a car ride on Kolob Terrace Road which is on the west side of Zion. 

Once you go to the main area in Zion, ride the shuttle, go on some of the famous hikes, I hope you have time to take some of the less populated roads. We saw about twenty-five cars in four hours and seven cows on the road! The temperature dropped 25 degrees as we climbed to approx. 8000 ft. elevation. 

At the end of the road is Kolob Reservoir.
The air was so fresh with the sent of pine.

We ventured off onto the muddy gravel road to Lava Point Overlook.

North Guardian Angel - 7395 ft.

At the lookout we saw the storm coming.

 On the way down we pulled off into a trail head to look around 

and we found this guy hiding in a tree stump.

We made it home just in time before the pouring rain and there were flash flood warnings which you need to take seriously around here.

Cool poster.
Hearing local musicians has always been something Scott & I love to do. When we saw the sign about the Zion Canyon Music Festival we had to be there.  We signed up to volunteer for two hours on Friday, which was a great opportunity to meet some locals.

 Beautiful venue for a concert. 

 Scott is up to his old tricks again. 

He does miss working security for CSC.

The local musicians were great and they brought in Eric McFadden, a famous guitarist, who really rocked the place.

If you have a chance, go out and support your local musicians.
Thanks Jeff for the CD! Keep writing, playing and sharing your talent. When we are back in the Des Moines area we will be in the audience.

"Music can change the world because it can change people." Bono