I love southern Utah and I specifically love Highway 12 and all that it has to offer. I really feel one reason why I love this area is because few people travel there. It is not close to anything and it's not a through road, it's a loop. I was able to get the Hiltons to travel with us down there for some fun a few weekends ago. It was a good time.
Sorry for all the pictures!
We were lucky to make it to Calf Creek campground to get the last camping spot left. They only have about 12 or so spots, that typically go pretty fast. While you can camp out in the wilderness just about anywhere in the area, we had a pregnant woman and kids, so it's much easier and worth the money for a campground.
We spent the Saturday waiting for the pregnant woman to get out of bed. I recently learned that Saturday is "sleeping day" at their house. We first went into Escalante, picked up some firewood and talked to the visitor center about the Hole in the Rock Road, and it's condition. The old couple told us the road was bad and they were nervous for us. Seems like they always tells us that. The road was fine for a dirt road, actually pretty good for the most part.
We visited Devils Garden. It was HOT but the kids had a blast running around on the rocks. As we were walking around we overheard Marc telling K bug that "it's really not his garden, it's just called that"
We then headed over to Spooky and Peekaboo canyons. T and I visited the area before we had kids and remembered it to be fun and easy, other then walking in 120 degree sand in 100 degree weather. When we got down to the entrance of Peekaboo, it was a bit different then what we remembered, wish I had taken a picture of it. For some reason I remembered it being an easy 6 foot wall climb, ya, it was about 15 feet and not so easy with kids and a pregnant lady. But we figured a way to get the kids up into the canyon and even the pregnant lady, who hung out at the mouth of the canyon with J man while the rest of us went up into the canyon. The kids loved it, 'cept Cash got scared a few occasions, he's not real fond of heights.
Where they waited
A look into the Peekaboo
On the back down, he was whining here.
B took the picture of me! And a picture of all the kids in the canyon.
One of the arches you climb through. The pic of b is looking out the canyon, kinda gives you an idea of how high the mouth was.
After this, the pregnant lady, T and J man hung out in the mouth of another canyon while the rest of us walked down to Spooky, about a 1/2 -1/3 mile in a HOT ravine. T had the camera so I didn't get any pics, I think that Chad did, so I'll have to get those from him. The kids thought that it was going to be a "scary" canyon because it's called Spooky. It's supper skinny and there was no way the pregnant lady could have made it far at all, the kids love it.
On the way back out, all the kids were warn out but we still had to hike out of the ravine. As we were about half way out the wind started to pick up, blowing sand everywhere, poor J man, who was on my back, just started whimpering. I felt so bad. The girls would have to stop and cover their eyes every time the wind blew. I hurried back to the car as fast as I could, as I got over the ridge the wind was insane, thought I was going to get blown off! By this time J man was crying, I hurried and put him in the car and ran back to get the girls, who were also crying and got them into the car. T was with Cash and Chad was way back with his prego wife. We all got back into the cars safely.
It rained on us all night and took away our desert sunset, Dang the clouds (shaking my fist)!!
I recommend that you wait until your kids are just a little older and that you don't take pregant woman to hike these canyons.
