The Isakson Family

Just last week we went on an Isakson family trip to the Escalante/Highway 12 area, one of the most scenic places in Utah. This first picture is the early morning view off of Boulder Mountain looking down into the Escalante Canyons. Todd and I camped out the night before to get an early start on hiking and we saw dozens of deer, a few elk, and a number of cows grazing along and sometimes on the highway.

Todd and I did a really cool hike in Capitol Reef National Park called Upper Muley Twist Canyon. The hike was about 15 miles long and very beautiful. We saw about eight arches along the way including this one, apparently called the Trinity because it is a triple arch (the third one is a tiny hole on the middle right side).

This arch, called Saddle Arch, is probably the most famous and most striking on the hike. It hangs off the slick rock at a strange angle and is quite beautiful.

This is my favorite picture from this hike. These mounds stick out at a 45 degree angle and make for a fascinating formation. I have never seen anything quite like this.

Here's a picture of me on the hike. It was a fairly hot day, but the biggest challenge was the endless swarms of gnats. I ended up with probably twenty bites and couldn't even sit down to eat my lunch without being covered with gnats.

The hike has incredible views of the Waterpocket Fold, which is a 100 mile long wrinkle in the earth's crust that makes up most of the formations of Capitol Reef.

This is the first arch you see on the way in and the last one you see on the way out. I don't know the name, but it is very unique looking.

I would definitely recommend this hike. I think I didn't fully appreciate the scenery until I went back and looked at the pictures. If you enjoy looking at arches and seeing a variety of beautiful desert scenery and vistas, this would be a good hike for you.

One bonus of this hike is the beautiful drive to get to it. We took the Burr Trail Road from Boulder for about 18 miles to reach the trailhead. This was a particularly beautiful spot with a steep dropoff a few feet in front.

After we met up with everyone that evening at our awesome and spacious cabin Escalante, a number of us headed to Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. Unfortunately the reservoir had been drained, but the hike to see the petrified trees was worth it. Previously I had only seen small pieces of petrified wood, but to see an entire petrified tree is quite different. The variety of colors and the pretty sunset made this a nice time.

P.S. My pants are rolled up because it was surprisingly warm even in the evening.

Here is an adorable picture of our niece Sara that was taken by Candice. Isn't that hair just awesome?

On Sunday we headed down Hole in the Rock Road near Escalante. This is the famous old Mormon trail that leads to the Hole in the Rock that was widened by Mormon settlers to allow their wagons to pass through and descend a steep cliff to the Colorado River on their way to the San Juan River. The story of these settlers is the theme of the novel, "The Undaunted," by Gerald Lund. Because of poor road conditions and other factors we only made it part way down on this trip.

This picture was taken at the Metate Arch in Devils Garden, which is a cool section of hoodoos and rock formations that are similar to Goblin Valley. The area is smaller, but the individual formations are larger and more fun to climb. In spite of the heat we had a good time playing around here.

After some of the ladies headed back, the rest of us continued down the road until we reached the Dry Fork trailhead. We descended down in the canyons and after some wandering eventually found Peek-a-boo canyon. This is an awesome slot canyon with several arches and a narrow twisting path. I think it about killed my dad to get up into it, but it was very worth it.

On Monday, I planned what was supposed to be an "easy" hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls. It didn't end up being quite so easy with a newborn, a sick person, and a middle aged woman who was not properly dressed for the occasion. The hike is 5.5 miles round trip and ends at the beautiful waterfall shown here. Candice was a trooper to make it to the end and we were saved by dipping our shirts into the frigid water on the way out.

It's pretty incredible to find a beautiful waterfall and marshy area in the middle of the desert like this. The water was below 50 degrees and was very refreshing after the warm hike in. This was a fun hike with some cool things to see along the way such as Indian rock art and granaries. Give it a try if you're in the area.

The drive between Boulder and Escalante has to be the most incredible stretch of road I've ever driven on. The canyons on both sides are beautiful and I took a few pictures to try and capture that.

We ended our trip with a great short hike on the Mossy Cave Trail on Highway 12 just outside of Tropic. The hike lies just on the other side of Bryce Canyon and has the same type of formations and a stream with a waterfall all for free. This was a relaxing hike with beautiful scenery and easy access to water to stay cool. Another worthwhile hike if you don't want to pay $25 to get into Bryce Canyon (which I personally think is still definitely worth the money).

Another recommendation for anyone staying with a group of about 8-12 in the Escalante area: Red Rock Ranch Escalante. This was a huge 5 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath with a fully supplied modern kitchen and a very homey feeling. The owners are very good to work with and even provide a canoe to use at one of the local lakes or reservoirs. Check them out at Redrockranchescalante.com. Enjoy!