Parowan Gap, UT Highway 12 and Boondocking near Hells Backbone Road.

Oct 19

Saturday.

After saying goodbye to Martha as she boarded a Lyft ride into Las Vegas, I made my way out of the city via CR 215 to I-15.

Heading NE, I drove to a BLM site near Parowan Gap, about 19 miles off of I-15 from the town of Parowan. 

Nice little site, had it all to myself.

Next I went to check out the petroglyphs at Parowan Gap:

Crossing the "gap", I found a small dry lake bed next to a road named Little Salt Lake Rd.

Retracing my route to catch the sunset, I paused to catch the warm colors of the rocks before the gap:

I found a nice spot for the sunset on a dirt/sand road off of Gap Road and posed Scarlett accordingly:

 Greetings

Quite windy and cool but nice where the sun shone.....

Oct 20

Woke up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit and quickly had some breakfast and broke camp, glad to have run the heater last night!

I decided to check out the stretch of highway on UT 12 between the towns of Boulder and Escalante and told the GPS to take me to a BLM site close to Boulder along the Hells Backbone Road.  A road named like that, it had to be checked out!

Turns out, I've been on this stretch of UT 12 at least once, coming in from the south as I did today, probably from when I rode to Bryce Canyon years ago.  The curvy portion isn't much, to one's eye, if one is coming in from the south.  Sure, there's curves and grades but nothing remarkable.

Its much more visually appealing when one drives the same portion coming from the North!

I found the BLM occupied by someone who appeared to be packing up.  So I killed some time seeking another spot, instead coming across an old run down dirt air strip labeled Boulder Airport.  Pretty sure it's no longer in use except perhaps as an emergency landing field?

Turning Uma, the URRV around, I went back the way I came and found the desired camping spot empty!  It was a tight squeeze but I got Uma backed in there without having to unhook the trailer.

I rode Scarlett to Hell's Backbone Road, what used to be the mule train mail trail between Escalante and Boulder I dimly recall reading somewhere.  I didn't get very far, the trail quickly became something one should not ride alone!

I then went to check out the curvy portion of UT12 called the Hogback and found it more visually appealing when coming in from the North.

Tried but couldn't replicate the shot I'd seen before, oh well.

Skyline Drive's Hogback Road is still the better road IMHO

Next I rode west on UT 12 all the way to the top of the road where one can see the whole Escalante canyon valley.

Some views as I stopped wherever possible:

 Fall Colors were peaking within the canyon

I detoured into the Calf Creek Campground, very small sites, and there's a warning re RVs over 25 ft long.

Continuing west, one eventually twists and turns his way to the top of the canyon for a grand overview of Escalante Canyon:

The overlook where you can see the above rock formation is the

furthest west I went on Scarlett.

I retraced my route back to Hells Backbone Road and settled in the for night.  No sunset pictures, no clouds and lots of trees.

A Day of Cancellations for Martha

As we sipped our coffee in the pre-dawn hours, in preparation for a ride to Page, AZ's airport.  Martha got a text from the airline she was taking to Las Vegas at 8:30.  Flight cancelled, mechanical issues!

She was a bit upset but calmed down when we agreed that I'd drive the URRV to Las Vegas and drop her off at her hotel there near the Vegas Strip.

We then went off to catch the sunrise, on the wind-swept hill that is the Wahweap Overlook.  Some tour groups showed up but didn't last long and except for one (who moved when asked) didn't interfere with the shots:

We left the overlook and on the way back to the campsite found this nice spot:

We broke camp, said our goodbyes to the Gullicksons and the Machidas and headed West as they headed East and South respectively. 

Five hours or so later, we were fighting traffic near the Las Vegas Strip trying to find a way to Martha's Hotel: The Westin.  We lucked out and found an overnight parking spot behind the Ballys-Paris Casinos that allowed RVs but you weren't supposed to sleep in them.

As we made our way to the Westin, we were feeling pretty pumped as I would get to spend one more night with my loving wife.  

Nope.  Her reservation had been canceled by Westin due to blackout dates and the third party vendor, an outfit called hotelbeds had failed to notify us!  Martha called up Capital One Visa which she'd used to cash in miles for the hotel stay and lit into them.

Come to find out, Capital One had engaged the services of hotelbeds, an outfit which has a BBB rating of F and basically we were out of luck though we did get her points refunded.  So beware folks, check directly with your hotel, don't trust the travel service you use, especially Capital One; whose credit card we will be cancelling forthwith!

We jumped into the snarled mess that is Friday afternoon rush hour in Las Vegas and slowly made our way north to the Clark County Shooting Complex, scoring the next to last available RV spot.  Turns out there's a big shoot this weekend there and lots of folks were coming in for the event!

Tomorrow, Martha takes Lyft to her timeshare location which she'll be sharing with members of the neighborhood "coven".  They're all gathering to hear Lady GaGa perform Saturday night.  Hopefully, she won't be cancelled too!

I will be meandering my way towards the east, hoping to find a BLM spot to spend the weekend, then head home from there before the weather turns on Wednesday on this coming week.

Glamping at Lake Powell, a Sunset and a walk through Lower Antelope Canyon

Wednesday, OCT 17

Views of the colorful rock formation bordering Lake Powell, across from the campground we glamped at tonight:

From the top of the crowded Wahweap Overlook, two miles from the campground:

The overlook was swarming with selfie-taking tourists

Thursday, OCT 17

We toured the Lower Antelope Canyon, a pretty famous slot canyon near Page, AZ.  It was a bit crowded for me but endurable given the absolutely beautiful views of the water-formed rock formations within the canyon!

We used the Dixie Lower Antelope Canyon Tours outfit and they did a very good job of crowd control and keeping things moving.  Kudos.

 

 Bridget and Renee

 Renee and Martha

 The hiking gang

RichardM, Bridget, CC, Martha and Renee

 The Shark

 Using Martha to give you a sense of scale

for the slot canyon

 The Eagle

 The Lady in the Wind

 The Buffalo

 Group pics taken by Daniel, our tour guide

After Lower Antelope Canyon, it was a short drive over to Horseshoe Bend Overlook.  1.5 miles roundtrip amidts large numbers of tourists, to view the below bend in the Colorado River:

I think I like the one at Gooseneck State Park in Utah better, you can drive to the edge (no walking) and you can camp there!

I hope you enjoyed the views of the interior of Lower Antelope Canyon, I took way more pictures but managed to condense them to the 21 above.