Escalante River Adventure: Days 4 & 5

The cave where we camped was just a little ways past Death Hollow(a narrow slot canyon with cold, clear water flowing through it, into the Escalante), which marked the half way point of our trip. So we had hiked about 7 1/2 miles total, with about 7 to go. Thursday was a sunny warm day, and we covered some good distance, with a lot of hiking down the middle of the river. It was colder and deeper now, since joining the water from Death Hollow.


This picture is of Thursday evening. The kids had gathered all the firewood, and were waiting for Ryan to get the fire going. For dinner we had curried chicken and rice. We were still hungry, so we cooked one of our extra meals- fiesta chicken and rice. We got really full, and the dog got the leftovers which he was happy about! That night we all slept under the stars. It ended up being a cold night, and Dallin got to sleep with me in my sleeping bag...a tight fit, but we did it! He didn't sleep too soundly, along with the girls, who must have been a little cold. In the morning, his diaper wipes were frozen, and there was ice in our water bottles!

Friday was a pretty exciting, memorable day. Besides the anticipation of getting back to the car, along the trail we were looking to find a natural arch, natural bridge, and the ruins of an Anasazi cliff dwelling.

This is the natural arch, and under it laid the cliff dwellings. The guidebook suggested that the Indians built their home there because they thought there were magical powers in the arch.


We had our final snack break right under these ruins. It was pretty amazing to look up and imagine the people who lived there...the kids were especially intrigued with how they were able to get up the cliffs. Ladders?


A bridge made by nature.


The rest of the trail led us through pretty desert scenery. We didn't cross the river again until the very end. We were kind of sad when we saw the trailhead. Ryan and I looked back wistfully the way we had come, and knew we would always remember this trip!! There is something about being out in the wilderness as a family, having to work together and go through hard times and good times.

In the parking lot, there was a group of really nice people who piled us and our gear into their 2 cars, and gave us a ride back to our van. Oh the excitement to get back to our little old car. We packed up our stuff and drove into town all scruffy looking . We ate at Subway, had cold ice water, went to the bathroom without getting sand on our bums, and washed our hands with hot water and soap!! That night we drove half way home until midnight, then found a motel 6. You bet we took nice hot showers although it was 1 in the morning. We slept in as late as we could, then headed for home sweet home! We were extremely happy to find that all the snow had melted while we were gone!