For My Birthday, I Took a Little Drive on a Two Lane Road

From Bryce Canyon to Torrey, this Utah road is the best there is.

Along Highway 12, one of the most scenic roads in the world. All photos by the author.

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Taking a road trip through the Escalante is becoming a birthday tradition, although next year I will spend my birthday in Wyoming.

Because as much as I love Arizona and Utah, I may love Wyoming just a tiny bit more.

Just a little bit… but then, if you have ever walked on the ridges of Beartooth Pass, you may understand that little edge.

But this isn’t about Beartooth Pass.

This is the Escalante, baby. The Grand Staircase.

Nearly 3000 square miles of pure awesomeness.

We started the morning at Cedar Breaks, our home away from home, for a quick hour of photography. I could not, in good faith, pass on those extraordinary clouds.

No where else comes close.

That’s my opinion. Sue me.

One of the very last places to get motorized postal service was Boulder, UT, smack dab in the middle of the Escalante. OK, maybe not the true middle, more on the edge, but the only place with a damn road.

Until 1930, Boulder got its mail by mule-train.

The paved road, Highway 12, was not completed until 1971.

This is rugged country, folks.

Ancient, filled with astounding wonder, and not just a little danger.

Near Cannonville there are some tamed areas of this incredibly rugged area. In the distance is Powell Point, a fixture for much of the skyline in this region.

This is the land of Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Waterpocket Fold, and so many places I have loved through books my whole life.

In college, I picked up a book titled Slick Rock by photographer Philip Hyde.

It was a staple in my life for decades before it got water damaged in a tragic hot water heater assault one fine Autumn day.

I replaced it as fast as possible although it was out of print. I searched for it at bookstores all along the West Coast and finally found a copy in a little bookstore in Laguna Beach.

He would not send me the copy (this was before the internet… weird, I know), so I drove over to Laguna to purchase it.

This part of the road was carved out of rock. As you can see, it is a particularly large rock. The entire road is an engineering marvel.

In it are large format photos of places with unreal names; The Maze, Waterpocket Fold, and Calf Creek Falls.

The places I would visit in my dreams.

And, for whatever reason that I cannot explain, places I did not visit until I was over 65 years old.

Don’t ask - I have no answer other than ‘shit happens’ and life moves along as we make other plans.

So I make up for that blunder by visiting every chance I get.

Hell, I would move there if I could.

And maybe I will some day.

Sunflowers in the town of Escalante. I always like to walk the streets of small towns in Western America. Rugged and individualistic, they rarely disappoint whatever camera I am hauling around.

We made our first stop at the town of Escalante where we grabbed a couple of Ham sandwiches for the road.

(NOTE to the traveler: If you do purchase a ham sandwich for the road, open up that bad boy and see if the ham is still pink and not tinged green. Green is not good. Lesson learned - check first.)

From Escalante, we begin to climb up to the higher elevations.

Highway 12 is 112 miles from Bryce Canyon City to Torrey Utah. It takes a little over two hours by car.

It took us 8 hours.

Yeah, we kinda stop a lot to take in the incredible vistas, details of rock formations, and the possibility of making a photograph.

Powell Point in the distance. These vistas are just the beginning of the trip.

We generally stop at Calf Creek, but the bridge had apparently washed out and there was a crew working hard on getting it finished.

While we were up there the first part of August, there were multiple flash floods from the monsoon rains. I am not sure if this is what happened, but we could see flood damage along the side of the creek.

Calf Creek from the Hogsback, a narrow strip of pavement straddling the ridge between two canyons. It took my wife three visits to get over the anxiety. OK, most over it. You can see a thunderstorm happening in the direction of Panguitch to the west.

The Hogback is one of my favorite spots along the road. I currently have less than 350 favorite spots, but my list grows every time I visit.

Maybe I should just walk the 112 miles some day.

(… makes notes…)

You can find more photos of my love affair with the Hogback on Medium.

I do not know the name of this rock, but it was certainly proud against that blue sky.

As you climb in elevation, you will eventually get to Boulder, UT. Stop for lunch at either Burr Trail Grill, or Hell’s Backbone Grill and Farm. I’ve eaten at both and they are terrific.

I tell my wife we need to go back for some BBQ, but she sees through that charade as just another attempt to ride that road.

Again.

We are planning on lunch at one of them in February.

If there is anything more beautiful than Bryce and the Escalante, it is Bryce and the Escalante in winter.

Snow gives contrast and texture.

Unfettered wilderness surrounds you wherever you are. This view was taken from a little dirt road we ventured upon. The storm was heading our way, so we had to bail and head back to pavement.

It was cool on Boulder Mountain. We had to put some light sweatshirts off to keep the chill away. We come to these places to escape the heat of the valley.

My wife checked the weather app. At this moment it was 113 in Phoenix.

It was 58 degrees on the side of this hill looking south toward a storm.

We smiled, then hightailed it down to pavement just in time for a 20-minute deluge.

As the storm closed in, I captured a ridge of Aspen trees above us. I cannot wait to get back this fall for some colorful leaves. Mostly yellow, but colorful nonetheless.

We saw deer. We saw elk. Antelope, skunks, huge birds of prey, squirrels, and assorted domestic animals as well.

The mountains in this area are filled with a mixture of pines and Aspens.

I have never seen this area in fall, but I will be up there this October for a few days to capture color along Calf Creek Canyon and Boulder Mountain.

If you haven’t picked up on this yet, if you go, you want to bring your camera.

I mean, you really do.

We spent the night in Torrey, and this was our view. Right on Highway 24, the little BnB was a perfect night after a long day on the road.

Torrey, Utah is a great place to visit and spend the night. Two amazing burger places, lots of places to stay, and a super quiet place to unwind.

To the east a few miles is Capitol Reef.

Best experience between October and June, Capitol Reef is one of those captivating places that begs exploration.

It can be very hot in the summer, so proceed with caution.

We headed east toward Koosharem.

The goal; visit one of the oldest and likely the heaviest living things on earth.

Seemed fitting for my birthday, my wife said casually.

I am still trying to figure that out… hmmm.

The Pando is a single Aspen tree thought to be between 80,000 and one million years old. A single clonal organism that has become a massive forest.

The Pando covers over 106 acres, and is simply astounding to see.

A glimpse of the Pando. Located at Fish Lake, UT, it is incredible to see.

They have been worried that the tree is unhealthy so they have fenced most of it in to keep animals and parasites out. That results in a nearly primeval forest floor. Planning a trip for next year so I can spend a few days shooting in and around this magnificent stand of trees.

Easy to get to form 24. The road is absolutely gorgeous, and they have just repaved it to perfection.

All in all we had the time of our lives on this little road trip. My wife is not a fan of being in the car for long hours, but even she is up for doing this again and again.

Today is Labor Day, the traditional end of summer, although we in the desert southwest laugh heartily at that idea.

Enjoy your picnics and whatnot.

I am cleaning my office up and preparing for a hell of a September.

They were here yesterday with preparation to start building our casita.

Fingers crossed.

Talk to y’all soon.

(All photos taken on an iPhone 13 Max)

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