Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
Upon leaving Bryce Canyon, we stopped at the Grand Staircase-Escalante visitor center in Cannonville, but it was not yet open for the season. So we continued along Route 12 until we found a promising pull-out, which turned out to be the Blues Overlook. The overlook looks out on Powell Point.
In 1871 this area of Utah was the last uncharted land in the continental US. The second Powell Expedition set out to put it on the map. From this point, you can see the topmost layer of the Colorado Plateau, the pink cliffs. This point is over 10,000 feet in elevation, with multi-hued layers from when the land was covered by an ocean 80 million years ago.
Grand Staircase Escalante posts:
- Grand Staircase Escalante Monument Overview
- Dixie National Forest: Red Canyon Tunnels
- Grand Staircase Escalante: Blues Overlook
- Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
- Fishlake National Forest: Larb Overlook
Location: Route 12, Grand Staircase-Escalante Kaiparowits Unit
Designation: National Monument (BLM)
Date designated or established: 9/18/1996
Date of my visit: 4/12/2017
fabulous photos keep them coming
Thanks 😊
Great hike. Nice view.
Thanks 😊
Is this overlook still part of the National Monument? Or has it been stripped of its protections thanks to the Trump Administration? It’s sad to me that area like this could soon be open to industrial development, depriving the world of this splendid natural beauty.
I believe it is still in the boundaries…the map I included came from the BLM website, which I assume is the current shape of the monument. Hopefully the administration’s plans to drill for oil are on pause due to the current glut. Sierra Club and other organizations are still challenging the stripping of the monument in court🤞
What beautiful photographs! My favorite is the one with the squirrel…..so adorable and perfectly captured!
Thanks 😊. That cute little chipmunk posed nicely for me🐿
Great photos. And isn’t that a wonderful drive through there. One of my all-time favorites. –Curt
Yes! We needed an extra day I think , to thoroughly appreciate the journey.