The owner of the Broken Bow RV Park had mentioned something when I checked in that made me open up my GPS mapping software again. I had mentioned that we would leave Escalante in the morning and drive north on Hiway 12, then to Hiway 24 through Capitol Reef NP. He said something like "oh, that way". Huh? What do you mean "that way". "I hope you have good brakes in that thing".
No problem, right? I can handle these.... right? No worries - I will deal with them when I get there. I was on a mission.
[More:]
The drive out of Escalante was more of the incredible countryside we had been enjoying on our 2-lane adventure. A little ways from town, we hit our first big "obstacle" - an incredible descent into the depths of Perdition (well, almost). The descent was a couple of miles of 6ish percent grade, but was complicated by being behind a RENTAL RV!!
Climbing out of the bowl, and still behind the rental RV, we were treated to some amazing canyon views. It is really difficult to pilot 65 feet of 40k pounds of diesel-breathing beast while trying to take in some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen! However, once we reached the top of the climb, all of my attention was needed for one of the trippiest roads I have ever encountered - a true "ridge-top" road known as "The Hogback"!
I realize that the photos don't really capture the vibe on this road, but it is a little spooky snapping pictures while driving on this. There is a few inches of shoulder on each side of the road, followed immediately by sheer dropoffs to the canyon bottom below! The rental RV finally threw me a bone and pulled into a turnout.
Just down the road was a beautiful little town called Boulder, which was right in the middle of Anasazai Indian Village State Park. We parked just outside of town in a little turnout so that I could make a phone call, which turned out to be the rest needed for the next leg of the journey. The leg referred to by the statement "I hope you have good brakes in that thing".
The climb was gnarly. We went from about 6000 feet to just over 9500 feet pretty quickly. Well, not quickly as in driving quickly, because The Knight was bound and determined to take its time getting up there. I don't think I have ever pulled a hill at 25-30mph before! The summit was incredible, with breathtaking views down into the valley. And as they say, it was all downhill from there...
The downhill was a little stressful. We are running pretty heavy, and I worked my best magic with downshifting, exhaust brake, stabbing the air brakes only when needed. There was a cornucopia of 6, 8, and 10% downgrades. Ang missed all the downhill fun - she was crashed out through the whole edge-of-out-of-control adventure.
Once the downhill ended, we coasted through the town of Torrey, and went east on Hiway 24 - and right into Capitol Reef National Park. Another set of Wows gave me the courage to try something that I rarely am brave enough to do - try to wake Ang from a nap. It was worth it. The park was absolutely incredible.
We stopped at a nice parking area in the middle of the park. It was close to the river, so there were trees and plants and coolness. We took a walk around the wood platforms and saw some great "wall art" - ancient art/stories/communications by the native indians of the area. This, however, solidified my theory that aliens actually live in these towering mountains, and the natives recorded their oddness for eternity in their art.
Another nice treat in this parking area was access to the original fruit orchards that the Mormon pioneers planted in this area. I ate a green apple from one of the trees and it reminded me of doing the same as a kid at our cabin near Mt Shasta. Green apples picked out in the middle of nowhere seem to taste better than anything you can get in a store.
After leaving the park, we had a short drive to the town of Hanksville. We had another travel day planned, so we decided to go to the only campground in the area and rest up for the couple-hour drive to Moab the next day. We pulled in to the campground and should have taken heed of the sign out front -
heh - shady. I paid our $18 for the night, and Ang and I walked around the campground. We didn't find one spot we were comfortable pulling our rig in to. If bushes could have bed head, this is how we would describe them. We were able to find a place big enough for us to flip a U-turn and get back on the highway. I just hope they use my $18 to make their campground less "shady".
So, it was off to Moab. It was only two hours, and we arrived at our campground just before dark. We were happy to be "home" for the next couple of weeks.
--kev
