W. Lloyd Williams

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a space for all the aspects of my life...

Grand Staircase Escalante & Hwy 12

August 5-9, 2009 If you're reading in sequence, this is what awaited us after scaling Muley Twist:

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... Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument: part painted-desert, part bold plateaus, part layer cake of time. Grand Staircase Escalante is so named on account of the multihued layers of sedimentary rock in white, pinks, oranges, purples, blues, etc. Lloyd posted a gallery with better photos.

An interesting fact (maybe?): "The Monument was declared in September 1996 at the height of the 1996 presidential election campaign by President Bill Clinton and was controversial from the moment of creation. The declaration ceremony was held at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and not in the state of Utah. The Utah congressional delegation and state governor were notified only 24 hours in advance. This was seen by many as a transparent political ploy to gain votes in the contested state of Arizona. That November, Clinton won Arizona by a margin of 2.2%, and lost Utah to Republican Bob Dole by 21.1%."

From Torrey through Boulder en route to Escalante, Highway 12 is a stunning drive...

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... if a little bit scary in a big bus when there are no lines, no shoulders, no guard rails, but so many sheer views down, ...

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... followed by a lot of up.

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-P