Fri, May 27, 2011

Friday, May 27, 2011

For a road trip addict there is no better score than a day spent entirely on dirt roads. – Donna Downey

Since our motel didn’t have a continental breakfast, we filled up our coffee thermos and headed toward Tropic a small town just a few miles down the road from Bryce.  No matter how many times you see the beautiful red rocks around Bryce it is hard to drive by without stopping. As soon as we spotted the Mossy Creek Trail area we knew we couldn’t go on without a short walk and maybe a photo or two. 

After several days in cool weather today was like a gift from above.  The skies were blue, the temperature quite moderate and the breezes were warm… no need for a jacket today!

We stopped in Tropic and had a great breakfast at Clark’s restaurant where we have eaten several times.  We had picked our route for the day so headed on to Escalante where our dirt road escapade would begin.  Since we found ourselves in a very busy area on Memorial Day weekend we decided to go ahead and try to find a room.  We checked several places in Escalante and found out the town was booked completely.  So we pulled out a card we picked up for a motel in Tropic, called and were very lucky to find a room. 

With a “room in hand” we were ready to hit the back roads. Our first dirt road would be Hell’s Backbone.  As many times as we have been to this area we have never taken this well-known road.  Maybe we hesitated because of the name and because the road travels a narrow ridge with sheer drop offs on both sides with a one-lane bridge that spans the crevasse at the top and goes thru the Box Death Wilderness Area. Never did sound too inviting. It ended up being a beautiful drive and not nearly as scary as it has been made to sound.  Before we exited the 44 mile road we had played by Hungry Creek, ridden the ridge, stopped at every opportunity to enjoy the expansive vistas and enjoy a picnic by Lake Creek. 

With the perfect weather all around us and full bellies from our picnic we decided to tackle the 120 mile round trip drive to Hole in the Rock. We made this drive many years ago with Charles’ mom and dad and have always wanted to make it again.  The road takes you to the famous point where the Mormans basically dropped off a cliff to the Colorado river bank below.  It follows the general route they took on their way to establish a settlement in the San Juan Valley. 

From the Park Service info:  “Construction of this passageway was very difficult. The workers were plagued by lack of wood, forage for cattle, bitter cold, and diminishing food supplies. Blasting powder and picks were used to widen and/or fill various sections of the crevice. At the lower part of the Hole, a road was constructed on the side of a sheer cliff wall. Although a three-foot shelf had already existed, an extension to the shelf was formed by driving two-foot stakes into the rock and piling vegetation and rocks on top. This portion of the trail was nicknamed "Uncle Ben's Dugway" in honor of its engineer, Benjamin Perkins. After six weeks of picking, chiseling, drilling, blasting, and digging, the Hole-in-the-Rock road had been completed.” 

The dirt road drive is a beautiful drive and not a bad road at all until about the last five miles which gets pretty rough and bouncy and takes a while compared to the previous 55 miles.  But when you reach the end and standing at the top of the “passageway” it is worth every mile.  It is also almost impossible to imagine driving a wagon thru that hole and basically sliding down to the bottom!  You have to appreciate their ingenuity and their tenacity in following their calling.

Well add that 120 mile drive to the 50 mile drive and we drove at least 170 miles on dirt roads today and we love dirt roads.  There are several reasons we so much enjoy a good dirt road.  There is no traffic on them so you can cruise along as slowly as you like and make frequent stops to soak in the surroundings.  There is no way you can do this on a normal paved road traveling from 55 to 70 miles per hour. 

We made it back to Tropic and are worn out and dusty.  There is not a crevice on any of us or the Jeep that is not full of dust.  But that’s what they make showers and car washes for and the pups can take a bath in the nearest creek tomorrow. 

We are very well tonight and hope that y’all are too.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger