After finally buying a home after living in Vegas for 7 months, it was time for a much needed road trip. In mid June, I embarked on a quick overnight camping trip in Southern Utah.
Itinerary
Day 1: Depart Las Vegas - Fairlyland Loop in Bryce Canyon National Park - dinner at Tandoori Taqueria in Panguitch - overnight camping at Sunset Campground
Day 2: Hiking along Escalante River - Anasazi State Park - lunch at Kiva Koffeehouse - Escalante Petrified Forest State Park - back to Las Vegas
Day 1:
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| Tower Bridge |
After an approximately 4 hour drive, I arrived at Bryce Canyon's General Store parking lot to begin my descent into the
Fairyland Loop. The trail can be accessed by either Fairyland Point (before the park's main entrance) or near Sunrise Point. I opted for the latter since it was closer to my campsite. The 8 mile hike took me about 5 hours to complete. I tend to go slower than most people so this hike can easily be done in less than 4 hours.
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| Boat Mesa, as viewed from the Fairyland ridge |
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| Naan tacos at the Tandoori Taqueria |
After my hike, I set up camp at
Sunset Campground where I was able to reserve a campsite online 3 days before arriving. For dinner I drove 27 miles to
Panguitch (pronounced like penguin with an "itch" at the end) to the amazing
Tandoori Taqueria. While I was at the Tandoori Taqueria, I did some planning on what to do the next day.
Day 2:
I broke down camp and left the park around 7:30 am. I stopped by Sunrise Point hoping to get a photo of the sunrise (duh!). I was in desperate need for coffee 20 minutes into driving the scarcely caffeinated Scenic Byway 12. I didn't find a place that sold coffee until I got to the town of Escalante where I stopped by
Utah Canyon Outdoors. A latte cost me $4 and made by a helpful fellow who gave me some great hiking information. After inquiring about Lower Calf Creek, he suggested doing the Escalante River because of the shade in the hot weather.
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| Natural Bridge along Escalante River |
The trailhead sign for the
Escalante River is conspicuous. It's past Kiva Koffeehouse and before the Calf Creek sign. Three miles into the hike and some river crossing will take you to
Natural Bridge on your left and a few minutes later an arch with some ruins on your left as well.
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| Anasazi State Park |
After my in-and-out hike along the river, I drove to
Anasazi State Park. Nothing too interesting unless you're into archeology. The ruins are ruins. There's a replica of how the pueblo structures would have looked. Honestly I wouldn't have stopped here if it weren't for my annual pass to Utah's State Parks.
My last stop was the
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. My legs were sunburned at this point, so I did the short petrified log cove instead of the uphill hike where the bigger collection of petrified logs sat. I also opted to dip my feet into the reservoir.
The main attraction of this road trip was the pleasantly winding Scenic Byway 12 with several pull-outs.
I broke down camp and left the park around 7:30 am. I stopped by Sunrise Point hoping to get a photo of the sunrise (duh!). I was in desperate need for coffee 20 minutes into driving the scarcely caffeinated Scenic Byway 12. I didn't find a place that sold coffee until I got to the town of Escalante where I stopped by Utah Canyon Outdoors. A latte cost me $4 and made by a helpful fellow who gave me some great hiking information. After inquiring about Lower Calf Creek, he suggested doing the Escalante River because of the shade in the hot weather. 
My last stop was the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. My legs were sunburned at this point, so I did the short petrified log cove instead of the uphill hike where the bigger collection of petrified logs sat. I also opted to dip my feet into the reservoir.
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