Slots Jackpot

I was fortunate to take a quick trip to southern Utah last week. While I was able to revisit some old favorites (Zion National Park and Red Canyon)......I also got a quick, albeit impressive introduction to the massive Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Spanning nearly 1.9 million acres (3% of the state of Utah), the monument is the second largest in the lower 48 states (Death Valley being the largest.)

The half day hike through Lower Calf Creek to the falls was just about everything you could ask for in a hike. Perfect weather, geological wonders, cool wildlife (red-tail hawks, many canyon-country unique lizards & insects), petroglyphs and a big payoff with thundering falls that you can hear for a bit but don't see until the end. But since this blog is about what I dream of doing, I would love to go back & do a hike through Escalante's famous slot canyons (lead photo above.) Because of the dangers of flash floods rolling through (sometimes resulting from storms many, many miles away), those who aren't familiar with the landscape should go with a local guide. With no more than eight people at a time, Utah Canyons seems like a good and reasonably priced choice.

About a six hour drive from Las Vegas, this slots jackpot brings a natural and far more rewarding cha-ching.


photo credits: photo 1 is americansouthwest.net, other two are wen360