The
Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers drove their toad through part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante, a National Monument in Utah August 12, 2012 |
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The two RV Gypsies drove on UT-12, Journey Through the Byway to see fantastic scenery. |
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Below: The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument contains 1.9 million acres of land in southern Utah. There are three main regions: the Grand Staircase, the Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Canyons of the Escalante. President Bill Clinton designated the area as a U.S. National Monument in 1996 using his authority under the Antiquities Act. Grand Staircase-Escalante encompasses the largest land area of all U.S. National Monuments. |
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Grand Staircase is a geological formation spanning eons of time and is a territory of multicolored cliffs, plateaus, mesas, buttes, pinnacles, and canyons. This parcel of land dominates the rural southern section of the state of Utah, protecting as much as two-hundred-million years of history within its boundaries. |
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Below: Cows run freely in many areas of Utah. They have free range of the road. |
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Below: The topmost stair of the Grand Staircase - Powell Point |
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| While driving on the Grand Staircase-Escalante, the two RV Gypsies spotted a very unique campground. (They could not stay there though because they do not have an Airstream.) | |
The Shooting Star Drive-In, just west of Escalante in Utah, is an AIRSTREAM RESORT with a classic 1960s drive-in movie theater that made its debut on May 6th, 2011. Opt from eight custom-designed Airstreams, each of which resembles an old Hollywood Star’s dressing room where visitors can look through their star's personal shooting script or try on wardrobe pieces.Ann-Margaret’s cabana was styled after her trailer on VIVA Las Vegas with Elvis. There is also a version of Robert Redford’s digs when he was filming Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Think Western decor with Native American flair mixed with modern amenities like a flat screen HDTV and stellar barbecue out front.Every evening at sunset, guests can hop into a 64 Caddy, 61 Rambler or a 66 Olds 98 and put the top down to enjoy a drive-in movie with pizza, popcorn and shakes. |
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Below: The San Juan Expedition (also known as the San Juan Mission or the Hole-in-the-Rock Expedition) was a group of Mormon settlers intent on establishing a colony in what is now southeastern Utah. Their difficult passage through the deep canyons of the Colorado River represents the ingenuity and determination needed during the country's era of western exploration and settlement. |
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In 1868, when G. K. Warren created the map shown below, the landscape here remained uncharted territory - one of the few remaining blank spots on the map of the continental United States. And with good reason. A maze of sheer-walled canyons and rolling slickrock mesas defied any but the most intrepid of travelers. |
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Below: The rugged territory behind the Escalante Heritage Center Hole-In-The-Rock Welcome Center. |
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Below: Karen Duquette thinks that flowers and bees are always fun to photograph. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies took a dinner break |
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Below: Karen Duquette's appetizer: |
Below: Karen Duquette's chicken dinner |
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Continue
on for more great scenery on the other end of the Grand Staircase-Escalante
near Boulder, Utah on CR-1668 Burr Trail Road - with very different
scenery from the above scenery -