Ever since Jason and I explored Escalante last year, we’ve been eager to hike through Coyote Gulch, which is located in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. I convinced a surprisingly-large share of my family to join us for a journey into that scenic gully this spring.

Coyote Gulch is a slim 25-mile canyon with walls up to 900 feet high that eventually unites with the Escalante River as it flows toward Lake Powell. Coyote Gulch’s verdant ribbon of cottonwoods and willows is hidden beneath scorched sandstone cliffs; the presence of desert pixies and imps feels almost certain amongst its secret streams and curious alcoves.

My family was spread out between Escalante’s limited hotels, cabins, yurts, and camping spots as we prepared for our trek. Jason and I stayed at Escalante Yurts again because we adore that place. Out of the sixteen family members that came to Escalante, fourteen convened early the morning of our hike ready, or not so ready, to commence our adventure.

There are multiple spots from which to enter Coyote Gulch. Since we were not camping overnight, we opted to start at Fortymile Ridge and take the Sneaker Route. The Sneaker Route dives over 100 feet into the canyon at about a 45-degree angle in a location close to Jacob Hamblin Arch and other notable features. Ropes are not essential for this class-5 drop, but they are essential for those that would prefer not to tumble down what is essentially a cliff. We used ropes.

Once inside Coyote Gulch, we wandered to both Jacob Hamblin Arch and Coyote Natural Bridge. Then, we split up, and some of us pursued ancient ruins while the rest of us searched for a pictograph panel, the Black Lagoon, and various waterfalls. Jason and I were among the three members of the latter group. We didn’t find any lagoons, black or otherwise, but we had a great time investigating.

After hiking ten miles, many of those through a few inches of water, the blisters on our feet were as inevitable as the boisterous retellings of our victory. Yet, all our trekkers had a splendid time, including the ten-year-old.

The next day, Jason and I hiked through Escalante Petrified Forest State Park with my sister’s family. The Trail of Sleeping Rainbows was just as cool and colorful as we remembered and fun to share with our enthusiastic nieces and nephews.

We departed ways with my sister after that and did two short hikes amidst lightening-streaked skies and cloudbursts. The first went past some ancient granaries and only required a little over half a mile of walking. The second, the 100 Hands Pictograph Trail, led to four petroglyph and pictograph sites, 100 Hands being the most well-known of these.

For those searching for the petroglyphs and pictographs sites along the 100 Hands Trail, the 100 Hands Panel can be found high on a sandstone wall just west of the Bighorn Panel. You should see it within a few minutes of passing Bighorn; it’s easy to miss. The Shaman and the Hunter Panel can be reached by taking the left spur when the trail hits a T. The right spur goes to an alcove where more petroglyphs can be seen; these ones, however, are fairly faint.

On the way home, we didn’t miss out on the chance to eat at Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder. If you are passing through Boulder, I highly recommend stopping at this joint. Don’t let the town’s scant 225 residents mislead you, Hell’s Backbone Grill is consistently rated one of the best restaurants in the state or THE best. Hello brisket and creamy habanero enchiladas! Yum!

Exploring Coyote Gulch would have been ample reason for us to amble down to Escalante. The petrified wood and pictographed stone we encountered were just ancient icing on the cake, but you don’t have to take my word for it.

My sister Kristen is a determined and strong woman. When she signed up for the Desert RATS 50K, a trail run, and asked if Jason and I wanted to join her, we thought about it for about two seconds. After two seconds, we decided to provide cheering services and participate in the 10K instead. I too am a determined woman, but I am determined not to be that determined. The race was in Fruita, Colorado, which gave us an excuse to take a long weekend getaway with a portion of my family. We had a great time hanging with kin and making a detour to Moab on the way home.

Kristen did her 50K on Saturday morning, which took over six hours. Then, after running 31 miles, that crazy girl wanted to do some hiking in Colorado National Monument. I did mention that we are of determined stock, didn’t I? We trekked a bit of the Coke Ovens Trail together until Kristen realized she couldn’t make her legs move anymore. Then, Jason and I traversed Otto’s Trail by ourselves.

The next day, Jason and I ran our first trail 10K. It was a gorgeous course with expansive views of the Colorado River. I can see why people like trail runs. Following our little jaunt, we ate lunch at a cute café and wandered around Fruita’s quaint streets. Fruita is small, but it’s got style. In the evening, we headed to Whitewater Hill Vineyard so the oenophiles in our group could sample some local libations. We spent our late hours that night, and throughout the weekend, playing games like Phase 10, Exploding Kittens, and Codenames around the kitchen table of our darling rented home.

Jason and I stopped in Moab for a day or so on our way home. My sister and her husband joined us for an afternoon of that day or so. We ate lunch at the Eklecticafe and hiked to Corona and Bowtie Arches. The Eklecticafe serves, as its name suggests, an eclectic menu; vegans and carnivores alike can find something to suit their palates among its varied options.

Jason and I went to Arches National Park after my sister and her hubby departed for home and hiked “The Spectacles” before it got dark. It was beyond windy in the park that evening. Gusts up to 55 MPH plagued us with sand and extra resistance. On a positive note, the breeze scared most of the tourists back to their windless dwellings, so we didn’t have many other visitors to contend with on the trail.

For years, Jason and I have talked about eating dinner at the Desert Bistro during our Moab visits, but we have always been too tired or dirty to follow through on this desire. This time, we finally ate a meal at this fantastic joint. Yum! The house salad with its mix of crunchy sesame seeds and pungent gorgonzola was incredible, and the beets layered with pesto goat cheese were tremendously tasty. Also, my bison tenderloin wrapped in bacon was amazing… so, pretty much everything was scrumptious! If you find yourself hungry in Moab, get your hungry self to this place… with a reservation.

The last day of our trip, we hiked the Alcove Spring Trail in Canyonlands National Park with some sidetracking down an intersecting canyon to check out Moses and Zeus, two iconic sandstone towers that share a conversation in a silent land. Moses, the taller of the two spires, protrudes 410 feet from its base of Moenkopi and Chinle bands. Although it was almost 80 degrees in Moab the day before, weather is capricious not consistent. It was in the low 40s in Canyonlands when we began our ramble, and the wind was zipping along at 25 MPH with gusts up to 40 MPH. We took three layers of jackets with us but, thankfully, only ended up using all of them collectively for the first half an hour.

Although Alcove Spring is a nearly 12-mile trek, I don’t believe that’s what keeps people from attempting it. Its path descends 1,300 feet down a cliff face into a canyon rather abruptly. Afterward, the trail compensates for its initial stimulation with a large heap of monotony as it wanders through a wash for most of the rest of its duration. This wash is relatively flat but is as full of bothersome sand as boredom.

Since Alcove’s 1,300-foot crag was tricky to navigate downward, the idea of going back up it was a little intimidating, but it ended up being fairly easy. (Jason may tell you something different if you care to ask him.) We ascended in just over half an hour, much better than we were expecting. The whole hike took us about six hours, putting us on the faster side of the estimated 6-7 hours. Slightly above mediocre = amazing, right?

Our impression of Alcove Spring? The scenery was pretty but not as gorgeous as other spots in Canyonlands. Moses and Zeus were cool though and didn’t require a long detour to reach. The best thing about the Alcove Spring hike was that we saw absolutely no one on it, not a single person the whole day. Yippee! I prefer my nature people-free.

Fruita was fun and Moab was predictably marvelous. We enjoyed spending some time with my family and some time in new and true parts of nature.