Southern Utah

Despite many trips to lower Utah, there were still a few southern spots that I had yet to visit:

• Smoky Mountain Road down from Escalante – The only paved route south from Escalante is a long drive west and then south to Kanab. There are 2 rough, unpaved, more direct routes to the south: Cottonwood Canyon and Smoky Mountain roads. I had driven Cottonwood at least a couple of times, but never Smoky Mountain, and it was time to rectify that. So, after taking the magnificent Burr Trail road from Factory Butte to Escalante (with a detour through the Wolverine area), I headed south on Smoky Mountain Road. While fun and, at times, picturesque, the road was in extremely bad shape and it took most of a day to drive those 50-some miles.

• Lake Powell's Alstrom Point – I've seen some fabulous images of this Lake Powell overlook and have long wanted to see it for myself. It is reached by an extremely rough, primitive road (high clearance, 4x4 required) that Starr handled with aplomb. Although the lake is less than half full (down over 200'), it was still an amazing sight. I also had thought that I'd spend significant time revisiting the nearby area between Smoky Mountain and Highway 89. But that area didn't prove to be as interesting as previously imagined.

• Studhorse Point south of Lake Powell – Although I've driven the nearby stretch of Highway 89 countless times, I've never detoured the 10 round-trip backroad miles to this viewpoint. It has a small number of hoodoos which frame a nice view of distant Lake Powell.

• The Great Chamber outside Kanab – This impressive wind- and sand-carved alcove, with a central sand dune, sits at the base of a large cliff face. It is reached via a 16 mile round-trip drive through extremely deep sand, which Starr handled with no problem. I was surprised by the number of rental 4x4 ATVs that visited, but by late afternoon they were all gone and I had the place to myself.

I also spent a night and half a day in Kanab – the many miles of very rough, dusty roads had taken its toll on Starr. Among other things, I spent the morning repairing the microwave's mounts so that it wouldn't again almost fall out of its alcove.

Panoramas – Tap/click on a pano's thumbnail to show an interactive, moving panorama; use the on-screen control bar or your finger/mouse to move around:

Alstrom Point Evening:

The Great Chamber:

Image Gallery – Tap to view an individual image, then swipe to advance; use the top-right controls for auto play & other options (e.g, tap the curved arrow to open sharing options):