Alvey Wash, UT

We left Escalante late on a Friday afternoon headed for Death Ridge and the back side of Canaan Mountain. We got a little past the mouth of Horse Canyon when we noticed a likely camping area and decided to look at it before going up the ridge. After crashing around through head-high sagebrush for a few minutes, we found a little sandy cove under a small dryfall and decided to stay there. The late afternoon sun was hot, and we wondered if we'd camped down too low. The heat quickly disapated, however, and the night became very cold. We were only barely warm enough and were thankful to see the sun again the next morning. We spent Saturday hiking around the area and napping in the warm afternoon. Later, we drove up on Death Ridge and looked at an old line cabin on the edge of the oil field. We drove half way down the road to Trap Canyon to look at a campsite we'd thought of for the weekend, but we soon decided that the road was too rough for our little camper and were happy with our decision to camp down in Alvey Wash. After a warmer night, fortified with extra sleeping bags, we cleaned up camp early and made it back to Escalante in time for church on Sunday morning.

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Harris Wash, UT

We didn't leave home until dinner time on Saturday evening. We stopped where Harris Wash crosses Hole in the Rock Road, but the road into the wash was too narrow for our camper. So, we continued to Harris Wash Road itself. Once again we had to back out when we found that the road to the trailhead was too sandy and narrow. We backed the camper to the corral and stayed there. The evening was beautiful--warm and soft, with great light. During the night, Ellen heard some coyotes and started to cry. She asked to come and sleep on our bunk. In the morning, we took turns hiking upstream and climbed the rock behind our camp. After a nap in the warm afternoon sun, we cleaned up and returned to Escalante in time for Sunday dinner.

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