Settling into our spot and sightseeing in the Escalante National Monument

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May 25.



This morning we were abruptly woke up by the loud sound of four-wheelers going through the parking lot. It sounded like an entire herd of them. The dogs were barking at all the noise so there was no chance of sleeping in. Check out time was 11am so we assumed it would be around that time when we would be able to move down to our new spot. David ran the dogs over to the pet fenced in pet area to do their business. I stayed and fixed us some coffee and some breakfast. Red was pretty anxious this morning with all the people and car activity around us. Just as we were finishing our breakfast Red had a bout of diarrhea all over the hall rug! OMG!!! So not much could be done other than get him outside. David got Red outside and I proceeded to get the floor and hall rug cleaned up. As David got back I told him I was taking the hall rug down to the laundromat. I have a washer and dryer in the trailer but it is small capacity. The rug takes a big machine. So I grabbed some change put the rug in a garbage bag and headed down the hill to the laundry. I was thinking the whole time, “ this I don’t need today”! It seems just when you think you can’t handle more, because you didn’t sleep and you’ve had the privacy of a parking lot full of people around you for the last 24 hours, something else happens. By gosh I’ll check my reservations more closely next time!!



I arrived at the laundry to find a friendly man cleaning the restrooms and doing laundry. I found a big machine and as I stuffed in the poop stain rug and threw the laundry pod in I noticed, FOUR DOLLARS! It was 3.50 for a regular machine! Wow the last time I saw these kind of prices was in Homer Alaska. Thankfully, I had exactly 4 dollars in quarters. With the rug washing, I returned back to the camper to also find our RV site was now open and the owner was wanting us to move in because she had someone else wanting our overflow spot. At $35 dollars a night that overflow spot was looking quite lucrative.



We closed up the trailer and within 15 minutes we were parked in our new spot and David was plugging in the electricity and water. I hurriedly walked back to the laundromat to find the rug clean. $2 dollars more for the drier for 20 minutes. Wow $6.00 for a poopy rug to be cleaned and dried, well maybe it was worth it! David finished up with the trailer and he Red and Dottie all walked back to the laundromat with me. The rug wasn’t quite dry but I’d made up my mind I wasn’t giving them another $2 dollars. So we all walked back home and I hung up the rug to dry. We all took a long walk up the old dirt road and we all had a grand time. Red continued to need out on occasion the rest of the day but we didn’t have any more accidents.



We were so tired after the sleepless night and all the noise we decided to stay put today. The back of the park where we were was pretty quite and we all took a little nap. I worked on the blog some too. The hardest part of the blog is getting David’s pictures downloaded and reviewed and then uploaded to our blog. Without WiFi it is impossible to get the picture and stories loaded so we are limited in what we can post.



We enjoyed seeing all David’s beautiful pictures and selecting the best to post. We headed to bed early and definitely had a more restful nights sleep.





May 26.

This morning we woke finally refreshed from a good nights sleep. Red was still having some stomach issues so we are watching his diet carefully to make sure he isn’t eating plants, grass etc that is upsetting him. Silly dog eats anything, and couple of days ago he ate a cloth ear off a dog toy. We don’t know what is causing his distress but he is hungry and seems fine otherwise.



We packed our cooler with a snack lunch, drinks and water and loaded up in the truck for a day of sightseeing. First stop was just across the highway to the visitor center. I bought a magnet and got details of a great trip for us today from a park ranger. Today we would be continuing on highway 12 east about 30 miles to the town of Boulder. From there we’d take the Burr Trail road to slot Canyon. The ride to Boulder was slow going, down steep winding roads and then up again. Just as before the scenery was breathtaking but stark in its desolation. I worried that I’d becoming back this way tomorrow with that trailer. The road was good it would just be a slow trip through.



We made it to the turnoff for Burr Trail and turned right. Our destination was 11 miles back in on a gravel road. The road was good and the weather was warm and sunny. We reached the beginning of the slot Canyon. The next 8 miles was a winding drive through the canyon with tall red sandstone cliffs on both sides. Just an amazing drive allowing us to see all the formations. At the end of the Canyon was a viewpoint which sat high on the plateau overlooking miles and miles of wild country below. You could see Lake Powell’s Snowy Navajo Peak in the distance. Lake Powell’s ferry lay some 40 miles on down the road to the south.



At this point, after a few pictures, we turned and headed back. After we got back through the canyon we found a side road where we could let the dogs out with just their e-collars on. They had a great time, especially Red who ran and ran. We all took cover as he would run by, especially Dottie who’d take cover under a bush or tree. After 30 minutes or so we loaded back up and headed home through the 30 miles of twisty road.



Once home the dogs seemed very tired. We got the trailer ready to leave in the morning. We’d take showers tonight after our dusty trip. We left to try a local restaurant. The barbecue was nothing like the past Idkbarbecue. That was great, this restaurant had mediocre and stringy meat. The dogs enjoyed our left overs. David and I got our showers and we headed to bed after a beautiful day in Escalante National Monument.

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Photos

The view going east not far out of Escalante.
I’d be taking the trailer through this tomorrow!

Top of the plateau at the end of Slot Canyon
Snowy peak of Navajo Peak at Lake Powell. Approximately 40 miles away.

Formation above the lookout at the top of the plateau.
Looks like a sphinx!