Lower Calf Creek Falls-Grand Staircase-Escalante NM

Lower Calf Creek Falls is in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, about 47 miles south of where we were staying.  But the drive on Highway 12 was great.

I found this window to peek through at the start of the hike.  The hike was 3 miles one way, but it ended at a 126 ft waterfall.

There was lots of cactus blooming.  In the early morning the blooms were not completely open.

Calf Creek ran along the bottom of the canyon.  With the water there were lots of trees and grass.  At one time, people settled in this area and grew watermelons and kept their calves in the canyon.  Hence the name, calf creek.

Not the largest waterfall I've been to, but still very beautiful.  And the water was cold.  Too cold for me to get wet.

The mist from the waterfall keeps the surrounding canyon walls wet, allowing the ferns to grow, seemingly, right out of the canyon walls.

The hikers.

On the way back the cactus had opened its blooms.

We spotted several beaver dams like this one, but never caught sight of the beavers.

These are pictographs, not petroglyphs.  The difference is pictographs are painted images on the rocks, while petroglyphs are etched into the stone.  They say these are from the Fremont Indian duration, thousands of years ago.

Between Capitol Reef and Grand Staircase-Escalante is the Dixie National Forest.  The way some of the trees stick up higher makes me think of the African Savannah.

I always love forests, but I think the contrast of the forest and the surrounding rock canyons made me appreciate the forest even more.

Heading south on Hwy 12 we saw signs for 14% grades, and coming back the highest was 10%.  Regardless, I don't plan on taking my RV on that stretch of highway.