the first half

Daren has always been an avid reader, (I don't have to look far to know where Ben gets his love of reading from!), and the latest book he has been reading, The Undaunted, by Gerald Lund, prompted him to take us on a journey we won't soon forget.

In November 1879 a group of Mormon settlers in Cedar City (Southern Utah) were called to journey 200 miles east to settle what is now the Four Corners region. Though many routes were scouted out, this group of people, known as the San Juan Expedition, decided to take a more direct route that would be hundreds of miles shorter. We followed the first half of the San Juan Expedition on our trip, to the famous Hole-in-the-Rock trail.

In trying to stay true to history, we followed their journey from the starting place of Parowan, just off of I-15. The pioneers probably started from this old historic rock church built in 1867. We went north to Paragonah (pronounced Pa-ra-goon-ah by locals, I found out) and then on to Little Creek Canyon.

We continued on a familiar route on Highway 89 through Panguitch (where we stayed last August when we went to Bryce Canyon), and then on to scenic Highway 12. Because of all the rain we have received this spring, everything was still so green and beautiful. The boys love riding on the dirt roads because seat belts are only a suggestion, not mandatory. Jake's feet were frequently seen hanging out the window, and Will was like a puppy dog with his head always out the window to feel the wind blowing through his hair.

My navigation skills were a bit off that day, and I missed the turn to Escalante Canyon and overshot it by almost 20 miles...of winding, mountain roads. Oops! By the time we made it back to the canyon and drove to the top (beautiful drive!!), we were searching for a place to stop and camp since it was obvious we weren't going to get too much farther before it was going to be dark. We found the perfect camping spot, set up the tent and got some dinner going.

We seem to always find the most beautiful camping spots.

The boys had a great time exploring around the mountain while Daren was busy cooking breakfast in the Volcano. This is the first time we brought the Volcano along, and it was great to have some real food besides hot dogs for dinner and cereal for breakfast!! (And it was donut Friday--brought some of those along too)

I don't know if Jake is capable of holding a straight face for a picture...especially when it's Ben holding the camera and taking his picture!! He seriously looks a little crazy here, and it's just before his other front tooth came out.

It was a beautiful drive, including the burned trees, through the rest of the canyon on our way to Escalante. The sign in the picture below was a very common sight along the way, and for good reason...







Just before we reached Escalante we took a side trip to see the Petrified Wood Cove, and then had to stop at the Rock Shop where we bought a cool piece of petrified wood. At the visitor center (really a visitor room) by the Cove, there was a glass case filled with small pieces of petrified wood and letters from people returning those pieces because of the bad luck they had had in their lives since they had taken the wood from the park...interesting.

In Escalante we gassed up, ate lunch at an elementary school so the boys could get out and play, and then it was on to the Hole in the Rock Trail. It's a dirt trail the whole way once you get off the main road, and for the most part it's fairly flat and easy driving--it's only the last few miles you need a high-clearance 4WD. The trail is about 55 miles long, and follows the Fiftymile Mountains, seen at the right of the picture below.

Now this is a way to travel off-road in style. This truck? SUV? vehicle? is from Germany and Daren said costs somewhere around $500,000. Dang!
After you have been driving along the trail for about 40 miles, all of a sudden there is this huge rock formation to your left, known as Dance Hall Rock. The pioneers camped for a time a mile or so away at Forty-mile Spring, but they would come over to this large sandstone ampitheater to...dance. More on this place in a few...
We saw many of these wooden posts marking the trail, but what I didn't realize at first when I took this picture is that Hole in the Rock Canyon is right behind the wooden post--it's the notch in the mountains.

When we first pulled in, there were at least 15 trucks and SUV's in the "parking lot," with a bunch of kids messing around--found out it was a youth group from Payson, probably there for a youth conference. I'm sure there will be many of those this year with Gerald Lund's book out now. Fortunately for us they were just leaving, so we had the trail all to ourselves.
When the pioneers got to this point, their "shortcut" led them to a 1,200 foot cliff. It was winter and they couldn't turn back, so they blasted and chisled their way through the rock to make enough of a trail down to fit over 200 men, women and children, 80 covered wagons, 200 horses and over 1,000 heads of cattle. It took them about 6 weeks to get it ready, and on 26 January 1880, the first wagons started down the chute.
As we all know, pictures almost never do justice, and here there is no way you can tell what a trek this really is. It's a 45-50% grade, and it you have to hike it to believe it. Below is a picture looking up from near the bottom.

It was a long, hot hike...

With Ben on one side and Will on the other, this picture shows how narrow it was in some parts!! The photo below shows some of the pick marks still left behind.

It wasn't until we were almost back up at the top that it hit me what troopers the boys were. They hiked all the way down and all the way up with barely a complaint, and that was only from the eldest child. Jake was so excited to hike that he was on Daren's heels the entire way. The picture above is just about the only time Will needed any help.

The entire hike was an incredible experience. I had heard about this place for a long time, but never knew the details of the story. They were a dedicated and persistent group. This is where our part of the trail ends for now, but in the fall we have plans to go with some friends to travel the other half of the trail on the other side of Powell. I hope we can see Hole in the Rock from there.
We barely made it back to Dance Hall Rock before dark and a storm rolled in. This is where we camped for the night.

Like I said before, we find the best spots for camping!!

While the boys were messing around that morning, a group riding four-wheelers came by to see Dance Hall Rock. They were led by an older guy, I would say in his 70's or 80's, whose grandfather was one of the pioneers in the Hole in the Rock group. Pretty amazing.
Daren worked his magic with the Volcano--grilled chicken the night before for dinner, and German Pancakes in the dutch oven with bacon cooking in the pan on top of it for breakfast--yum!!

We packed up and almost made it out before the storm arrived. They move in quickly there! Daren and I (mostly Daren) got soaked trying to get the last few things in the car. It was a muddy ride back on the trail, only to get stopped, for the third time, by meandering cattle. Some of them had the biggest horns I have seen.


These last two photos show you how much fun we had. It was a great trip and we are all looking forward to the second half in the fall. To be continued...