Hometown Roundup

After wrapping Portlandia this October, I kept telling myself I should stay in town and continue working.  Instead, I decided to go on a road trip with fellow Art Department friends Kat and Toby on a big loop around the west visiting our hometowns in Utah, Arizona, and Northern California.   We bought a lot of tapes, drove a lot of dirt roads, and drank a lot of capucchinos.  Here are some pictures of none of those things. 

Succor Creek in eastern Oregon near our first night's camp

Exploring Leslie Gulch

Timber Gulch

Bighorn Gang

Dropping down into Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

We rolled into the campground in Capitol Reef to find the last available spot was a patch of grass sitting in the middle of 50 RVs.  Toby got flustered and poured peanut butter oil all over his pants.  Fortunately we found a ranger at the visitor center who directed us to our own private campsite off a dirt road far away from the mob.  This brought Toby much delight even though his pants were ruined.  

Happy hour and this sunset from the bluff near camp also brought much delight.

Hoodoo stuff

Way down the fin in Capitol Reef

Climbing out of Capitol Reef and heading into Grand Escalante National Monument

Pit stop in a glorious red canyon in Grand Escalante 

Grand Escalante is big and beautiful.  You could spend years exploring the thousands of canyons and gulches in this area.  Big thanks to Bill Clinton for hooking it up.

While staying with Kat's family in the Salt Lake area, both her dad and her brother had suggested we go backpacking in Coyote Gulch south of Escalante, Utah.  So we did.  After turning off the highway outside Escalante we drove 50 miles of dirt roads before reaching the trailhead and a sea of slick rock.  It was an incredible hike in as the sun was going down.  

Hidden water in the vast desert

Sun dippin'

Dropping into Coyote Gulch

Wile E. Coyote country

In the guts

The first natural arch near the confluence with the Escalante River

Ferns and poison ivy

These pictographs were high up on a wall in an enormous amphitheater.  Atop the ledge that ran adjacent to them sat ruins, pottery shards, and old corn cobs. 

We camped here the second night and dubbed this spot Germilla Point because we talk like idiots and this rock looked like a gorilla.  One of the top three camp sites I have had the pleasure of posting up in.   

  

Around the corner

This meadow sat across the creek from our camp.  It was incredible how green it was.

The massive amphitheater wall

One last view of Coyote Gulch after scrambling out on a steep slick rock slope.  

Found this "cat pasture" on the way back to Escalante.  No cats to be found.

The rough roads eventually took their toll and the sidewall blew out of our back tire going 65 after we were back on the highway.  No problem for the CR-V and a full size spare.

Milky Way in the Kodachrome Basin

Sunrise, Kodachrome Basin

Going against the advice of the ranger in Kodachrome Basin we took another 50 mile dirt road "shortcut" without a spare enroute to the Grand Canyon.  Our reckless decision awarded us with this arch and more narrow canyons to explore.

Canyon light via the shortcut to Page, AZ

We stopped in Page to replace our spare tire and because of the delay we rolled into the Grand Canyon backcountry office ten minutes before they were closing for the day.  Unbelievably, they had just received a cancellation and we were able to score a permit for two nights in the bottom of the canyon, hiking in the next day.  My brother met us at Mather campground on the south rim with a 18 pack of beer and the celebrating commenced.

Grand Canyon GQ

Bright Angel Creek

Falls on Phantom Creek

More Phantom Canyon

This fox was a regular on the cliffs near camp

Sunset moonrise

Sun going down on the Colorado

Post cantina Tecates

Hiking out along the Colorado

I dropped my camera down a cliff the first time I tried to take this photo.  Luckily it didn't fall too far and apparently it still works.  

We did a bunch of other stuff in Arizona that I didn't take any pictures of.  Next up, Death Valley.

Death Valley

Death Valley again

...

The Sierra Nevadas are insane.  Next on my list of places to further explore.

We were now in Toby's neck of the woods and he took us to this killer hot spring outside Mammoth Lakes.  It was a really cold night and as soon as it was light out, we were running back down to the tub.

Cold

Gratuitous Mono Lake picture

Lake Tahoe sunset picnic

This was the second cutty spot Toby took us to on the middle fork of the Yuba River.  Beautiful country.

Gold Country

Sand Lake, Sierra Buttes

Kat won the treat yourself challenge when she bought a sheepskin rug and felted wool hat in Grass Valley, CA.  Here she is utilizing both.

Burney Creek and our last night on the road

Burney Falls

Squishy Snake.  Our spirit animal, found in the southwestern desert.  God bless him.