Miles and miles of outstretched barrenland
pierced only by the Escalante river and massive geologic folds
and cliffs, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is
the ultimate experience in solitude. Where in other national
parks, hikes and scenic sights are located off of a main scenic
drive, attractions in the Grand Staircase-Escalante NM are few
and far between, separated usually by miles and miles of dirt
road. Aside from the scattered towns with their minimal
services, the region contains scenic jewels for the independent
traveler. In the words of geologist Clarence E. Dutton, who
surveyed the region with explorer John
Wesley
Powell in 1880: is a maze of cliffs and terraces lined off with
stratification, of crumbling buttes, red and white domes, rock
platforms gashed with profound canyons, burning plains barren
even of sage--all glowing with bright color and flooded with
blazing sunlight." And possibly the most rugged and desolate
place on earth.
Wesley
Powell in 1880: is a maze of cliffs and terraces lined off with
stratification, of crumbling buttes, red and white domes, rock
platforms gashed with profound canyons, burning plains barren
even of sage--all glowing with bright color and flooded with
blazing sunlight." And possibly the most rugged and desolate
place on earth.