Coyote Gulch

I spent four days last week hiking with some of my siblings in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  Tuesday morning we hiked into Coyote Gulch.  We were graced with cloud cover which made the hike so much more enjoyable.

I'm wearing my backpack which hasn't seen any action since the early 90's.

Ruth, Joy and James are modeling the latest fashions in backcountry wear.

Clair, our intrepid guide, leads the way.

After about three miles marching through sand and then over slick rock, we reach our destination.  Yes, we were up very high.

You want me to hike down where?

Seriously, are you nuts?!  Go down there?!  Do you want me to die?! Where's the elevator?

This is a view of what we climbed down.  Yes it was completely insane.  At the end James climbed back up and retrieved my pack for the final descent and I used a rope on the way down. Thanks again, James.  Aren't little brothers great?  It reminds me of how "I didn't apologize for when I was eight and I made my younger brother have to be my personal slave."

 We had a really sweet camping spot, right underneath Jacob Hamblin's Arch.  There was also a natural spring with cool clean water just a 100 feet away.

This is the other side of the arch.

This is one of the natural amphitheaters that was carved out by the river.

Notice the people the bottom?  The sandstone walls were massive.  It reminded me of walking between the skyscrapers in Chicago, shaded almost all day.

It was breathtakingly beautiful down there.  This is a popular destination, but we went at an unpopular time and were rewarded with complete solitude.

Scenes from Spring City

I just got back from a four day backpacking trip at Coyote Gulch with four of my siblings.  On our way there we passed through our old hometown of Spring City.  My family moved here in 1983.

This the view of Horseshoe Mountain from where we used to live.  We weren't actually in Spring City proper, but a mile or so out of town.

Our friends, the Sopers, renovated this beautiful house.  I think they're trying to sell it now.

They've been working on renovating this old school for years.  I remember we once had a Halloween activity where we sat in the foyer of the school and watched the original Night of the Living Dead.  Very creepy in that building with the peeling walls and eerie shadows.

I always loved this painted billboard.

Right next to the gas station is this monument where you can actually drink the spring water.

Here's the old Bishop's Storehouse.

I didn't appreciate how cool this chapel was while I attended there.  It's over a century old.

Here's one of the many restored homes.  Every may they have a historic home tour where you can go and see inside.

This is Joe Bennion's pottery shop.  They made a documentary about him and his life creating pottery for a living in the early 90's.

Forbes recently listed Spring City as one of the nation's prettiest towns.  I sure didn't think so growing up there as a teenager in the 80's, but driving through there I would agree, it is beautiful.

Noisy Toddlers

Nigel and his cousin Elliot were having some type of competition involving breakfast cereal. What could they be thinking? What goes on in their little minds?