Thursday we had an early start: Up at 6 am, hotel breakfast at 7, departure at 7:30, briefly after sunrise. West we go again! Very cold and sunny, the car windows were covered with ice. The drive - 385 mi (620 km) in total - driven with just two or three short breaks in about 5,5 hours, was rather relaxing, especially in our big car with comfy seats. Drawback is that this Chevy is a gas-guzzler with a gas mileage of only 18.3 average (12 l/100 km), partly caused by the ski rack on the roof.
Lots of different landscapes on the drive: From GJ via Green River/CO crossing the Colorado Plateau to Salina, then on Hwy. 89 south to Kanab/UT, we followed the Severe (river) Valley to Panguitch. That's where the stepped rock formation of Grand Staircase Escalante comes up. Passing the Pink Cliffs where Bryce Canyon is situated and drove one level further down to Kanab, our final destination of the day.
Didn't originally plan this route through Kanab, but had met with the region's tourism rep at the conference in SLC and she invited us over to Kane County. And, anticipating, it was a terrific idea!
We were scheduled to meet with our tour guide from Grand Circle Tours at a trailhead north of Kanab at 2 pm. In a sturdy 4-wheel-drive (regular cars would get stuck here) we drove into the "wilderness", along a very sandy, rough track, towards the Red Canyon. The "Peek-a-Boo Canyon", as its called as well, is a slot canyon, about half a mile (0.8 km) of enclosed, curving passages up to 100 ft. deep, a section of narrows through red Navajo sandstone rocks. It is considered the lesser known equivalent to the famous Antelope Canyon. After having walked the canyon we drove on to an "underground lake" and to a native indian place with pictograms. What a fantastic landscape!
Entrance to the canyon and end of the canyon:
And, walking through the slot canyon:
,,, hoodoos, Indian relicts and an underground lake (in a cave):
The tour ended at about 5 pm and we drove into town for a short exploration of downtown before we checked in in the Canyons Hotel, a beautiful boutique hotel. In their restaurant "Sego" we had a fantastic dinner and talked to celebrity chef Shon Foster. Can't even remember all the courses we had, served on small plates for the table,,, Haven't had such a creative meal, prepared with "simple" ingredients for a long time. On the pic: mushroom toast with goat cheese, an asian duck dish and beef - just heavenly!
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