Day 6 - Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

On Friday we spent the day in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument area. With the hard downpour of the previous day there were again issues going to slot canyons and also issues with roads washed out. We started out the day with a trip to Long Slot Canyon. This is a very short slot canyon so it was safe to do. It’s located in the Burr Trail Road, a very scenic drive that I’d recommend to all. While this was a short hike, we enjoyed the opportunity to take it. After this hike, we headed over to the Escalante River and Lower Calf Creek Falls. Calf Creek is a smaller river that flows into the Escalante. This hike was up a wider canyon with stunning views that easily rivaled Zion Canyon. The waterfall at the end of the creek was beautiful with a 150 foot drop and wide pool that we enjoyed swimming in. Quite an oasis in the desert. We next started to head back west to Escalante and eventually the grand canyon. We made a quick stop at the Escalante Heritage Center. This was a good opportunity to learn about the early Mormon pioneers that first settled this area. We spend the next few hours driving south and west to Jacob Lake Arizona. This was our lodging for the Grand Canyon North Rim.