One gets quite everything needed at Escalante Outfitters: internet, coffee, beer, clothes, equipment and a guide, if there is a spot one doesnt dare to go alone or wants to go somewhere unknown. We meet Camille from California and Theresa from Illinois again, the two hikers from yesterday, and immediately receive invitations to their homes. We were thinking right about them: They run triathlon and have taken part in several iron man competitions. That both of them will be retired in a few years just instils more respect in us.
We leave Escalante and the park for the time being on hwy # 12 west to Bryce Canyon National Park, but will return to Escalante Park later. We are already now certain that Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument is one of North Americas most magnificent landscapes. The diversity, the inviolacy, and the non-development just add to the appeal for us. We could stay here for weeks. We will return in another season.
We meet Tembo on the way. This is the all-wheel-truck of a French family that travels Africa, Asia, and America for more than seven years. But their progress is slow since the two teenagers need to be home-schooled every day for half a day. The daughter shall absolve her baccalaureate in France next year and got to university then. We exchange tips, information, and addresses, then we continue.