Last night I was miserable. The cold or whatever I've been wrestling with the last few weeks came at me with new vigor overnight. I was feeling a little tired/bored so I decided to go into the bedroom and read for a while. Well, in no time at all I couldn't keep my eyes open at all so I figured I'd just "rest" 'em for a while. Right. About an hour later I woke up and decided to call it a night. My sinuses were starting up, but I fell asleep soon enough. However, in the middle of the night I woke up drooling, dripping, coughing, running a slight fever, and, I think, a little delirious. I couldn't sleep or even lay down flat so I gathered a few pillows and headed for the sofa in the living room. That was better because I could keep my head up to keep the sinuses draining, but I sure wished it was longer. (I guess it's really a loveseat and not a sofa - a 2-seater.) I listlessly listened to the TV for a bit, but then I started getting a headache so I struggled up to find an aspirin and then stumbled back to the sofa where I "groaned" myself into a semi-torpid state. Eventually I felt a little better so I felt my way back to the bed where I, fortunately, crashed.

By the time I awake I feel substantially better, but though it's already 9:30 I hang out in bed resting - I 'm still feeling a little wiped out - and don't rise until after 11. By then the sunlight coming through the blinds is too brilliant to sleep through and I finally get up for the day; feeling much better though still a bit tired. I put myself together and then pack the truck for today's journey - to Egypt!

Driving out of the motel there are a few, very light snow flurries, and the temperature is 31°. There are low, dense clouds, mostly to the north; Powell Point is barely visible. But to the east, where I'm headed, it looks mostly clear so I have high hopes that the weather will be cooperative on today's journey. Dropping down into Bryce Valley, heading towards Tropic, I note the dusting of snow on the hoodoos - a pretty touch. I make my way uneventfully through the 3 Bryce Valley towns, stopping briefly to take a few pictures of good old Powell Point just below the Scenic View area (where I find a new vantage point to shoot from).

After gassing and sodaing up at the Canyon Country Amoco on the far side of Escalante, I head for Hole In the Rock Road just a few more miles down Rt. 12. By now the weather is superb, 50° and bright blue skies with only a few scattered clouds. A gorgeous day! What a difference from when I left the motel only an hour earlier. I turn southeast onto Hole In the Rock, my next turn about 16 miles down. Now the sign for Egypt is another one I've passed numerous times, wondering what's down that way. Well, today we're going to find out. With the Kaiparowitz Plateau running 50 miles southward on my right and the now snow-covered Henry Mountains protruding in the distance on my left I make good time, all the while enjoying the scenic run down Hole In the Rock Rd.

About 13 miles in I pass the turnoff to Devil's Garden on my right. Since I have been there, done that, I pass without slowing. Then a few more miles and the signed turnoff for, "Egypt   10 mi", appears on the left. I swerve onto it, now heading east towards the red- colored rocks I've been passing on my down. The road is dirt with a little bit of washboard; not too much though. The area is sage and scrub, good grazing land I suppose (I pass a few cows), dotted extensively with large junipers sporting full winter coats of plump purplish berries. Then in a few short miles I'm amidst the red rocks I had earlier seen from a distance. They're sort of a reddish terra-cotta color with bands and blobs of light gray and white. Initially, the area is composed of soft, highly erodable rocks, but after dropping down to cross a dry wash they "firm up" and I'm now in "canyon country". Most everywhere I look there are canyons and gullies spreading off in every direction; from mere feet deep to hundreds of feet deep. The road rises and falls with terrain - it's now mostly thinly-covered rock and quite rough at times (high clearance recommended, but regular ok).

I stop to check out one of the box canyons. It ends not more than 30 feet from the road and is probably 75' deep here. Cool! I take a couple of pictures of the truck "perched on the edge", overlooking the canyon. Then back on the road to Egypt. As I pass by I wave to a group of kids just hanging out - I can't blame them as it's a beautiful day and the scenery is great (and far removed from parents' eyes). It's very rough and rocky here and of course I try and act like I'm Mr. 4WD as I drive by (I'm sure they bought it).

Finally, 10 miles in, the Egypt parking lot. This is the Egypt Trailhead, on the Egypt Bench, and from here one can hike a few miles east to the Escalante River and some of the major canyons running into it. You're at the edge of the bench here and walking to the edge I see a wonderful expanse of red sandstone dropping down a few hundred feet and running towards the Escalante River, hidden from view by it's own canyon. On the other side are the backsides of the Circle Cliffs whose rocks are a mixture of whites, browns and reds, and the Escalante side canyons on the far side of the river. Off in the distance I have a great view of the Henry Mtns. now wearing a shawl of snow from the storm last night. Only yesterday there was barely a touch of snow at the summits; now the peaks are capped with a bright white mantle extending a third or more down their flanks.

I check the thermometer again - still 50°. The sun is absolutely shining clear and bright and I decide that my flannel shirt is the only outer wear I need as I gather my camera equipment together. As it's now after 2 in the afternoon I decide that I'll have to wait until next time to hike down and across to the Escalante, but next time I surely shall as it looks very inviting. Instead, I head for a good spot on the edge with the tripod to set up for a good photography session. And a hundred yards to the left is the perfect spot. I set up the tripod, level the head, mount the camera, and just admire the view before me before getting to "work".

From my vantage I have a 180° view looking east, north to south. In the background the higher, now snowed upon elevations - the Aquarius Plateau, Boulder Mtn, the Henry Mtns. - cool in grays and greens with white highlights. In the foreground, the highly eroded, stratified sandstones marching down to the Escalante River from either side - warm in reds and browns and creamy whites. Just to see this view is worth the drive here from Bryce. I continue to admire and reflect a while, then start taking a series of panoramas - this view begs to be "panoramorized"! Though I just paid $325 to get my camera fixed I diligently bracket my shots to make sure that I get an acceptable amount of "good" shots. I don't want a repeat of the "Volcano Tour" (even now it pains me to think about it).

After exhausting the photo ops up top I grab the camera and start hiking along just below the rim. I note that there are quite a few pockets of red-brown sand that have, I suppose, blown over the edge and collected in the many protected areas just below, making for interesting pictures with the tiny ripples from the wind evident in the deposits. I shoot a few. There are so many of them, untrammeled by man or animal that I find myself trying to disturb them as little as possible; I almost feel like an interloper, a trespasser. Silly I suppose. With a slightly different perspective I also take a few hand-held shots towards the Escalante and then head up because without the sun on me I'm starting to feel a bit chilly (after all, I've been sick).

At the top, in the sun again, I plop on a big, flat rock slanted towards the east and check my cell phone to see if I can get a signal. And I do; a pretty strong one it looks like. So I decide to call Mom. I didn't get a chance to talk with her yesterday so I figure I'll make use of the opportunity now. You know how I like to call from the middle of nowhere. So I call Mom and we have a nice chat about Thanksgiving, how the trip's going, Xmas plans, etc. While we're chatting I grab the tripod and camera gear and head back to the truck, tossing everything inside when I get there. After talking for almost half an hour I say I have to go 'cause the air, though I'm still in the sun, has definitely cooled and I don't want a relapse. Mom wishes me well (of course) and a continued safe trip and admonishes me to call/email her when I make it back home. (You know how moms are - God bless 'em!) I hop in the truck and start the trip back out.

On the way out I stop where I saw the kids hanging out, and noticing an interesting canyon overhang I go over to check it out. Wow! It's well over a hundred feet deep here and though wide and open at the top it looks like it narrows down to a slot canyon at the bottom. I wonder if you can get into it from the other end, which is somewhere off in the distance that I can't see to. Maybe next time. The rest of the way out is uneventful, though this time I pass a whole herd of cows (at least 7) just before getting back onto the Hole In the Rock Rd. Sixteen more miles and I'm back on Rt. 12 with the sun having set by now behind Smokey Mtn. I pass a couple of people heading in as I'm heading out - surprisingly - and we of course give each other the obligatory courtesy wave. This is a off-road/back roads tradition that one soon becomes aware of once one owns a 4WD or pickup and heads for the backcountry. Now I don't know where it comes from, just that I feel bad when I sometimes forget to wave and the guy passing me doesn't.

In another hour or so I'm safely back in the cozy little cottage where I immediately set about making a fire to ward of the chill of the now 25° outside air. What a change! But that's what's great about coming up here even this late in the year. Though it may be cold and crappy in one place, there's a good chance you can find suitable conditions not too far away. I'm not sure what the weather is supposed to be tomorrow; I know there's another storm coming in, just not when. Whatever. There's always something to do or see around here, but even if you're feeling lazy or shiftless (or sick), I can think of worse places to have to hole up in.

Later!