Cedar Wash Arch - Grand Staircase Escalante

(AllTrails app screen capture)

I’ve been to the Grand Staircase Escalante a number of times an I thought I’ve seen everything close to Escalante and Hole-In-The-Rock Road, but I was surprised to find a few places lightly advertised as a site to see.

Cedar Wash Arch is one such place.  I found it on the AllTrails App and not the handout from the BLM about The Grand Staircase Escalante.  

The road getting there is best with a high clearance 4x4 although 2 wheel drive when the road is dry is possible.  

There is also only parking for a couple vehicles at the trailhead and why it’s probably not advertised by the BLM

There are no signs or directions on how to find Cedar Wash Arch.  I followed, or should I say, I tried following g the trail on AllTrails, but after awhile the trail was gone, I suspect from erosion.  

Heading back to the beginning of the trail the arch is visible looking southeast along the canyon rim.

Walking the rim towards the arch and then past it, I was able to get the photo above.

My AllTrails hike is above.  

The trail listed on AllTrails takes you down into the canyon, but that isn’t necessary, and not really possible as trail is gone..  The arch is in the area where I colored the map orange.

Looking at the map above look to the right.  This is the best viewing point and only a short distance down the cart road shown by from where I parked (black dot) following the dotted line.  All that other walking was a waste of time and energy.

It was a nice visit but bring your 4x4 if the road is wet and also enjoy the canyon view from the rim.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com

Milk From Powder

Way back when I first started stocking up groceries in preparation for pandemic isolation, I anticipated not being able to get milk or running out while secluded in the desert.

I bought dried milk, way back then.  Well, my anticipation of a problem came true in small town shopping in Utah.  I went to the store to buy supplies and there was no milk.  I came back to camp and made my first quart of milk, as seen in the picture above.

I used my graduated Nalgene bottle, filling it with water and added the milk powder.

After mixing the powered milk in the Nalgene bottle I transferred it to the repurposed quart milk bottle, that was now empty.  

I use milk primarily for my morning cereal and I was good for the next few days, and the taste was fine.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com

Grosvenor Arch - Cottonwood Canyon Road

I’ve mentioned how much dryer it is this year, leaving the roads more passable to explore where I wasn’t able to go in prior years.  One such road is Cottonwood Canyon Road  in Staircase Escalante in souther Utah.  

Last year we tried heading north on Cottonwood Canyon Road and the road was so wet slippery / muddy that we had to turn around.  This year we headed in from the north and had no problem at all with the dry road.  In fact my Prius could have driven this road, although a bit slower.

One of our stoops off the road was Grosvenor Arch, shown above.

It is a short road off Cottonwood Canyon Road to the trailhead, and the walk of a football field to the base of the arch.

Off to the left of Grosvenor Arch are other rock formations that are just as fun to check out as was the arch.

If you do get yo see the beautiful Cottonwood Canyon Road, stop to see Grosvenor Arch.

Now go back to the top picture and you may have missed that Grosvenor Arch is a double arch.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com

Sautéed Shrimp With Noodles And Green Beans

This was a 2 pot dinner.  I made noodles and put the drained canned green beans in after the noodles were almost done.  I then drained the combination and set it off to the side.  

I then cooked the sautéed shrimp with some Mrs. Dash onion salt and graded parmesan cheese on top.  

For our group dinner I try to keep many dinners down to a simple bowel if possible.  I served the combined noodles and green beans and placed the shrimp on top.

It was very tasty and easy to cook on a one burner stove.

Each night I cook for us group of 3 all on a one burner stove.  

Happy one burner cooking.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com

Cornbread - Done Right This Time

I made cornbread on my one burner stove once before but I burnt the bottom.  I cooked it in my 8” frying pan with lid.

I recently decided to try baking cornbread again the same way and as you can see above it came out just about right.  The picture shows what it looked like after I flipped it over.  So, you are seeing the bottom.

What did I learn?  Flame height!

It’s all about the flame.  The anodized aluminum frying pan worked fine this time. It was just that I had the flame too high.

So, there is no reason if you like cornbread once in awhile that you can’t make it without an oven.

Happy baking.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com

To Mask Or Not To Mask

I’ve been living away from people other than my two friends who also practice isolation the way I do.  This way we protect each other by our efforts. 

I go into town every few days for water, gas and or food.  I go early to the small market and get in and out quickly.  Everything I touch or buy becomes contaminated.  I pay for everything with credit card bringing my own pen.  I believe my process is very effective except for airborne pathogens.  The risk is low but as time has passed it has increased.  

News that a homemade mask can reduce risk by 50-70% would up my keeping safe game.  The sole woman sales clerk is very nice and she is wiping things as best she can.  She cleans her hands with sanitizer but she or a random customer could be a hole in my logic.

I feel that at some point after all the health workers have enough masks they may be required and or become more socially acceptable.  Laredo, TX just made it a requirement to wear a mask in town.

Today being cloudy and cold I got a mask pattern suggestion from my wife and one of my friends and I set out to design and make a mask prototype we can have for each of us.  

First we needed to find some material from what I have available.  I was carrying a new cotton towel that we decided we ours use for the inside filtering.  The outside would be made from an older black polyester tee shirt.  

We used the size information from the referenced information my wife sent and went about with measuring, cutting, and me sewing a prototype (first picture, above)

I pulled out my plywood incline board I use when reclining in bench bed.  I had a sewing set.  My friend Susan started measuring and cutting the pieces.  We didn’t have elastic for around the ears so I found I had some bungee cord o could use for going around the ears and I started sewing.

I didn’t do much for finishing touches as I was sewing by hand and wanted the prototype tested to prove out the design.

I know it’s not glamorous but it is functional and can be washed each eve and dry for the next day.  We would not use them each day but if we do we will put in a zip loc plastic bag until it can be cleaned.  If at some point wearing a mask in the public I will also have something to wear.

Well, that’s what I did on a cold blustery day with snow showers.  

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com

Escalante Heritage Center

Located about half way between the town of Escalante, UT east to Hole-In-The-Rock Road is the Escalante Heritage Center.  It consists of an outdoor interpretative center showing and describing the Mormon efforts to reach the San Juan area of southeast Utah.

This post relates to my trip this year to Hole-In-The-Rock.  Check it out if you haven read it.  http://macaloney.blogspot.com/2020/03/i-made-it-to-hole-in-rock.html?m=1

Look at how narrow the wagon was for the Mormon travelers headed down and through Hole-In-The-Rock.

Above is a phone of the panel at the Escalante Heritage Center.

Zoom in if you don’t have a big screen to view it on.  Everyone out of the wagon.  Children sit watching from a safe distance as the father leads the draft horses from the wagon and the mother has a riding horse holding back on the wagon as it heads down the steep Hole-In-The-Rock.

Above is a phone of the panel at the Escalante Heritage Center.

This next picture shows the strain in the draft horse faces as they do their best to hold back the wagon as it slips and slides down the opening to the Colorado River.

Above is a phone of the panel at the Escalante Heritage Center.

This picture shows the two other ways to get to the San Juan area and the red line is the shorter route crossing the Colorado River at the base of Hole-In-The-Rock.  

Not much room in there!

The pictures I took in my other blog post does not do the steepness of the trail justice.  I hope these pictures puts the trail at this point into perspective.

Happy Trails.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com