Today, we got up and headed East toward the Escalante Grand Staircase on Router 12, which is a scenic drive. We drove as far as Boulder and took in a lot of cool scenery along the way.
Our first stop was very shortly into our drive, at an area called Mossy Cave. The hike is about a mile round trip through a small valley with a brook, and there's a nice waterfall in one area and a cool, damp cave in another that is kept constantly wet by a spring. Obviously, as the name implies, the cave is full of moss.
Mossy Cave
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Next, we drove on to the Petrified Forest State Park in Utah. They have two sections of petrified forest. One is next to the parking area, the other requires a bit of a hike up to the top of a mesa. The one on top of the mesa had a geocache in it, so of course Nate had to hike it. The park is adjacent to a reservoir, so Mathea took the opporunity to get her feet wet.
Petrified Forest State Park Hike
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Our final formal stop was at the Anasazi Museum in Boulder, UT. It's an excavation of a pueblo and a small reconstruction of one. Very well-done and worth the visit.
Anasazi Museum
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Of course, we made many more stops along the way, both there and back. Route 12 is very scenic and has a lot of fantastic views.
Route 12
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That evening, we headed out to Inspiration Point to see the sunset. The canyon really gets beautiful shortly after the sun sets - the colors get much richer red.
Inspiration Point at Sunset
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Then it was back to the motor home for a late bedtime.