Things you see behind the steering wheel. The road home

What a great weekend I had up in Esclante with my brothers and my Dad. We went up for a bit of a work project to help get Dad settled into his house for the summer. I have not really felt the same connection to Esclante passed away the magic of the place went with them. This week was different. I arrived on Saturday night at 1:30 in the morning, knocked on the door to get Dad to open up for me. Looking through the small window on the front door brought back memories of doing the same to get Grandpa up to let me in. First you hear the noise from the bedroom, then the light comes on followed by the uneven morning wobble to the front door. When the door opens there is always a feeling that is hard to explain, when you walked into Grandma and Grandpas house there was always a calm and a sense that you were in a safe place that felt like home. After a short while I realized that I was not going to go to sleep anytime soon, so I threw on my running clothes and went for a jog. It is hard to explain how peaceful it is to go out into a small town at 2 am. The air was so clear, there was not a single sound of anything except a couple of birds. I decided to jog up main street with it's gradual climb. The street was free from cars with the exception of a couple of teenagers that were cruising. I thought it was so relaxing and don't even know how far I really went. When I was done I came home and fell right to sleep. In the morning we got up and started to work on the yard. It was just Dad and I and it was good to have some alone time with just me, him and the dog that never leaves his side.

Later we went to the Cafe up the street for breakfast, being a holiday weekend the place was packed, so we drove around town looking at the new houses that have popped up, as well as finding out who had built or lived in some of the older houses.

When we got back to the Cafe it had cleared up and we started for our seats. I was approached by a lady that I thought I recognized, but wasn't sure she would know me. I was a little caught off guard when she said "Hello Kim" It was my Dads cousin. I would assume that anybody that knew me from when I was a kid would have not recognized me as an adult. This was not the case this weekend. at the Grocery store, the clerk knew me, (I don't know him), walking to the school I was stopped by my Grandparents neighbor Dixie. She called me by name and we stopped and talked for a while. It was so interesting to see how friendly and nice everyone was. I would like to say that I would love to live there, but I don't think I could. I could not handle the pace or the distance from everything, but for the weekend, it was a perfect pace for me to be. There was a great sense of accomplishment to see the yard start to clean up and gain a semblance of it's old self. My cousins daughter had been living in the house, and you could tell that they had also spent time working on the lawn, but with them gone for a while it was in dire need of a tune up.

Raking the bushes in the planter it was nostalgic to realize that these are the same plants that Grandma had put in many years ago. There were planters made from old tires that Grandpa had cut out and painted. Their fingerprints were all over the house and they had accomplished to make there house a home that was filled with lots of memories of Grandkids, kids, and neighbors that would show up and spend hours visiting on the front porch, living room or somewhere in the yard.

Sunday, Brett, Luke and Darren showed up and the fun began. I talk with Darren several times a week, but I don't get to see Brett near as often. They came in bringing groceries, all of the important stuff. Peanut butter, bread, The worlds biggest bag of hot dogs, no buns, and small cartons of pie, and an ultra case of Pepsi. I won't tell the Pie story yet, Darren really needs to explain that one because it was hilarious.

We had so much fun working and being together. The boys weekend humor was brutal, but I have never laughed so hard in my life. In the end the yard was mostly done, the garden tiled and rows placed, and ready for planting. Dad seemed happy and I hope that this will give him an opportunity to get out a little bit more. On the way way home I drove home alone and couldn't help but to reminisce as I drove home about the hundreds of times that I have driven this road as a kid and an adult. I have even rode my bike from Panguitch to Esclante on several occasions. Enjoy the photos

This is just outside of Esclante. There are tall canyon walls on either side of the road and it is amazing to think of the forces that carved this valley.

This is in just before you get to Tropic. The road is windy and fairly steep. On a bike you can get up to 50 m.p. hr and actually pass cars. The Canyon is red from the iron content in the sandstone and is a very unique area

Here is the tunnel in Red Canyon. There are two of them and when you drive through it is tradition that you honk for good luck. We all honk no matter what time of the day we drive through.


On the Way over Bear Valley. You can't tell from the picture, but the drop on the other side is pretty steep. When I was a kid I was always afraid that I would fall of the edge. So far I have been lucky. We came close on a ski trip with Dale Swinn, when he hit a patch of ice and we did a 360 in the middle of the icy road.

Off of I-15 before Parowan I saw this dust devil that was pretty cool.

Finally, the gorge. It is a pretty ride, but this is the point that you realize that you are on your way back to the sweltering heat of Las Vegas.