Day 4 - Escalante

Around 4am, after tossing and turning and not feeling warm enough to sleep as the wind blew violently outside my tent, I layered back up and ran to the car w/ my sleeping bag. I spent the rest of the night at Bryce Canyon snuggled in the backseat of a cold car, but at least the wind wasn't as bad. By 6am, I turned the car on and saw the temperature at 25 degrees! Yeah, not my thing... I went into town to kill time before hitting the road to Escalante. Another gorgeous early morning drive!

I stopped at a Western-themed diner for a solid breakfast and hot coffee - much needed! My legit real meal since setting out on this trip, unless you consider my "banana almond butter taco" legit - almond butter slathered on a tortilla wrapped around a banana. (Don't worry, Mom, I did eat more substantial food items too.) To keep the western theme going, I'm staying in a place called the Cowboy Country Inn tonight... and it's exactly like I expected! The best part... a hot shower and comfy bed! 

Off-roading in my rental Rav4

Aside from discovering my fancy lodging for the night, I also discovered a random trail off the beaten path. I was looking for slot canyons, and that's what I found.. sort of. Because the trail wasn't well marked and I was alone with no phone service at all, I only hiked about 45 minutes in and then came back out. I still enjoyed the hike and the views... I needed an easy day, though, because my body is tired!

I think this is the trail... ?

And this is what I found!

I wore so many layers today while goofing off in the wilderness.