These shots are from a hike we did in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It’s BLM land and much less developed than the national parks. This hike was to two slot canyons, Peekaboo and Spooky. First we drove 26 miles down a gravel road, then turned off for another mile and a half of a very rutted road. On the way out we almost landed in a ditch trying to avoid the potholes. I was afraid we were going to roll the car.

Once we found the parking lot we followed  cairns of stones down into a dry wash. It was all very beautiful and I was glad we were there in Spring.  It looks like it would be blazing hot in July and August.

the family heading down into the wash

inside Peekaboo Canyon

Peekaboo Canyon was amazing to explore but challenging, too. We had to scramble up a sheer rock face to get up into it (!) and there was one spot where it was so narrow we had to take off our packs to squeeze through. It was exhilirating to be in such a remote environment of  natural beauty. The national parks are so processed and served up to you. The down side of the undeveloped land is that it’s harder to get around and find things. We never did find Spooky, the other slot canyon, even though we wandered around quite a bit. We finally decided to head in for the day. It gives us a reason to go back and explore some more.

peekaboo!

eroded stone in the canyon

rock formations we spotted while wandering around looking for Spooky

detail of the stone

goodbye to Escalante