The Wheels on the Bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. : Escalante, Utah

Winky, the Harley riding German Shepard

Sandy and Winky travel around raising money for the SPCA

Driving along the Hogs back

14%

Pronounced Escalant by the locals

Originally know as Potato Valley

Shooting Star RV park and Air Stream Hotel

Shooting Star Movie theater

We saw The World's Fastest Indian and Blazing Saddles

Escalante is some of the most rugged yet beautiful country in the state.

Depending on where you stand, Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument has been quietly doing its thing for between 50 million and 275 million years. But it’s relatively new to us humans: It was the last part of the lower 48 United States to be explored and mapped.

Dance Hall Rock is a historical marker along the pioneer trail, as well as a geological wonder to explore. The large sandstone mound's face resembles that of a natural amphitheater, which was used as a marker and recreation stop by early Mormon pioneers as they made their way into what is now Lake Powell via the famous "Hole in the Rock." Beyond the historical significance, Dance Hall Rock offers incredible scenery, and unique photography opportunities.

The 62 mile drive, each way follows the general route of of the original Hole-in-the-Rock Expedition.

Most who see the Hole-in-the-Rock firsthand are astonished that the pioneers traveled that route even once. Yet settlers continued to use the road for at least a year, driving both up and down through the hair-raising Hole.

Headed up 50 Mile Bench Road

Wait that's the way we just came from

Hole-in-the-Rock Heritage Center

Down through the Hole

To control the decent, the pioneers locked each wagon's rear wheels with chains, and men or animals pulled back on the wagons from behind. Most women and children walked down--no easy feat, as the sliding wagon wheels made the route slick and treacherous.

The Story of the Last Wagon

On January 26, 1880, Joseph Stanford Smith worked hard along the Hole-in-the-Wall trail, guiding wagons to the river. Toward days end, he received word that all 40 wagons from the encampment at the top of the Hole were safely down. But Smith couldn't find his own wagon among those gathered at the river. He climbed back up to the top, where he found his wagon and family waiting, seemingly overlooked. No other men remained on top to help brake the wagon's decent. Over Smith's objections, his wife, Belle, insisted that she and their horse, Nig, could restrain the wagon. She settled their three children--including a three year old and an infant--on a quilt and told them to stay put until their father returned. Together the young couple began driving the loaded wagon down the Hole. In the first steep cut, Nig fell, dragging behind the wagon. Belle soon fell as well, and was dragged 100 feet, deeply gashing her leg before the wagon came to a stop. After treating Belle's wound, Smith climbed back to the top. He found the children waiting just where Belle left them. The worst of the trail behind them, the family completed the rough decent together. They arrived at the river just as a group of men, noting their absence, were coming up to help them.

Over the next few days, the remaining 43 wagons, which had been camped several miles from the Hole, descended safely.

Posey Lake

A flock of turkeys

Built in 1933 with typical Yankee ingenuity, the CCC fell two tall, straight pines. After leveling them off topside they placed them across this backbone of rock and secured them in place. When the bulldozer and compressor were needed on the south side, a local man Lorrel "Sixty" McInelly, agreed to drive the bulldozer, pulling the compressor across the backbone on the two pine logs. With a safety rope tied around his mid-section, Sixty slowly inched the dozer out onto the logs and across the backbone while onlookers held their breath and silently prayed. The original bridge was used until the 1960's, when its decaying timber started to groan and squeak as vehicles crossed over it. The faithful old wooden bridge was replaced by a steel and concrete-reinforced structure. That bridge was replaced in 2005 by the present bridge which is wider and stronger than the two previous bridges.