Parks and Trekreation Day 3

(Original post date- April 24, 2016)

Day 3 - March 26, 2016

Due to the time change confusion, we set our alarm clocks earlier than necessary so we wouldn’t accidentally miss our reservation for a tour of Antelope Canyon at 9:10am. But once I woke up I realized we were being too cautious and went back to sleep. And yes, it was a challenge fighting the gravity pulling us to the bottom of the tent all night long. At one point while I was stuck at the bottom, I thought it would be no big deal to just quit fighting and stay there, but as the pain in my legs was steadily mounting I just couldn’t sleep through it. But ultimately we survived our first camping night!

When we crawled out of the tent, I stumbled around in the cold sand like a baby deer learning to walk for what felt like way too long for an adult human. But once I managed to regain my balance, we packed up the tent and took pics of the sunrise. Then we drove back off the sand and toward Antelope Canyon which was not open when we arrived, which means our time change calculations were still vastly off. There was a line of cars pulled off to the side of the road, and not realizing it was a line of people waiting for the gate to open, I smoothly pulled up and parked at the front of the line. While my phone’s battery had been completely drained in the night, I decided to take this waiting time as an opportunity to recharge.

After watching many Navajo/Antelope Canyon tour guides arrive to work, they finally opened the gate to the public. Since we were there an hour earlier than our scheduled tour, we asked if we could join an earlier one. The answer was yes, but she did NOT have time for our bullshit. We were led by a guy named Gene into the canyon with a large group of Koreans close on our heels, but we managed to get some stunning pictures before they caught up to us.

Gene even helped us take some shots of things he called “Rocky Mountain Sunrise” and “The Wave.” (I might have made up that second one but it seems like it could be correct.) As we neared the end of the canyon, we were beckoned by sounds of Gene playing the flute or something. I don’t know what this tradition is or what it means, but it sounded lovely and was a sweet end to the tour.

To exit the canyon you have to climb up a steep flight of stairs that are bolted into the rock walls. Since it’s quite a bit darker inside the canyon than it is above ground, you are hit with a blinding amount of light as you emerge. Krista went first and said “I feel like Kimmy Schmitt.” I found this hilarious until it was my turn, and totally understood what she was saying.

The opening credits of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt. Watch this show. It’s a gem.

Even though we opted not to pay an extra $10 per day! for a second driver on the rental car, Krista took the wheel as we headed toward Escalante. We made a stop at where else but another fast food joint. Wendy’s. I ordered the Son of a Baconator, and Krista got some chicken nuggets or something. It was my turn to drive again and when we arrived at the Escalante Visitor’s Center 3.5 hours later, we found that it was closed even though the website said it would be open. Luckily, as we had zero cell service and couldn’t use our GPS, there was a map in the parking area that showed our campsite was just a straight shot down the road a few more miles. Those few more miles turned out to be some of the scariest and most beautiful I have ever driven. They were extremely high up and curvy with no guard rails, so you could easily just drive off the edge to your death like in an action movie scene. Thankfully that did not happen, but I did do a good amount of sweating.

Lower Calf Creek Recreation area was our destination, where we were hoping for an open campsite as reservations were not an option. We felt like we won the lottery when we found what we agreed was the most perfect site in the whole place. We deposited the fee into the designated slot and drove over (and through) a creek to campsite #10.

It reminded us of the gold rush area at Disneyland. It was simultaneously cute and beautiful and cozy and majestic. With a backdrop of towering rocks and earth and sky, our site was on a little plateau with steps leading up to a nice (flat) area that was well cared for and prepared for campers by the BLM. It included a picnic table and a fire pit. We felt like we were playing house.

We set up the tent in a flash. Perhaps the fight against wind and sand and gravity the night before gave us the skills and the confidence to become professional outdoorswomen. 

I think we deserve a nap. We quickly fell asleep for a short while after discussing how epic this trip has already been.

We also did some exploring behind our campsite but couldn’t go too far, then took a little stroll through the campgrounds and found a cleaner than expected toilet area stocked with toilet paper.

We also found a drinking water pump, where we were able to do some dishes and wash some underwear and fill up some water bottles.

For dinner we had dehydrated mac and cheese. Even though we followed the directions to a T, it was al dente to say the least.

Then we made mashed potatoes with cheese and baco (which is tofu that tastes like bacon). Upon reading these instructions we realized that for higher elevations you have to wait longer to rehydrate these kinds of foods. After the lengthy wait, the potatoes were delicious, but not mixed too well. It’s a learning process!

Once it started getting too cold, we bundled up and got back into the tent, but it was still too light at 7:36 to go to sleep. We failed to bring cards or any games with us, so we played road trip games for like 3 minutes, but we were not entertained so we just talked until it was reasonable to go to sleep.

I don’t think I’ve gone to bed before midnight in quite some time, much less before 8:00pm. But hiking all day and sleeping in a tent will do that to you.