Reno to Grand Staircase-Escalante Road Trip

By Scott

We headed out to visit the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This monument was recently opened for mining and reduced in size significantly by the Trump administration, so we wanted to get out there before it got too tore up or had access blocked. I had a job to photograph at the Vegas Speedway, so we used that as our excuse to set out. We planned to stop someplace really off the beaten path to explore for a few days on the way down and ended up camping on the Bonnie Claire dry lake bed. From there we took a long dirt road the back way into Gold Point, Nevada, a semi-ghost town with tons of character. One of the biggest surprises of our trip was the Hard Luck Mine Castle. We stopped in for a tour on our way back from Gold Point since we passed right by it, and were met by owner Randy Johnston, who built the quirky, off the grid dwelling over a decade with his son. For a small fee we got a tour of the place. It was everything you would expect, quirky and genius mixed together, but not until the end did we get the surprise of our lives. Randy built the place around his two giant restored pipe organs. Designed for optimum acoustics the sound blew us away when Randy fired up the generators and began to play. The house filled with sound and you could actually feel the deep notes of the organ travel through your body and vibrate in your lungs. I never saw that coming when we stopped in. The Castle is now up for sale for any of you looking for an amazing get away. Any images you see here and many more can be licensed by visiting my online photo archive.

The view into the Grapevine Mountains Wilderness Study Area from across the Bonnie Claire dry lake bed in southern Nevada, North America.

An old mining operation near Beatty, Nevada at sunset with the Mt. Charleston Wilderness area in the far background in the southern Nevada Desert, North America

Aerial view of camping on the Bonnie Claire Dry Lake Bed near Gold Point in southern nevada, USA.

Aerial view of camping on the Bonnie Claire Dry Lake Bed near Gold Point in southern nevada, USA. with the Grapevine Mountains Wilderness Study Area in the background.

Camping on the Bonnie Claire dry lake bed in southern Nevada, North America, with escape 17a fiberglass trailer in this moonlight exposure taken at night in the Nevada Desert.

Looking across Joshua trees at the Queer Mountain Wilderness Study Area in southern Nevada near Scotty’s Junction, Nevada, North America, USA.

The Hard Luck Mine Castle, an off the grid artistic fortress in the Nevada desert near the ghost town of Gold Point built by hand over 12 years by Randy Johnston. This unique dwelling sits on 40 acres and includes a gold mine and two completely restored antique pipe organs. It is currently up for sale.

The interior of the Hard Luck Mine Castle, an off the grid artistic fortress in the Nevada desert near the ghost town of Gold Point built by hand over 12 years by Randy Johnston. This unique dwelling sits on 40 acres and includes a gold mine and two completely restored antique pipe organs. It is currently up for sale.

Details of old rusted mining gear in Gold Point, Nevada, an old mining town in southern nevada that is a partial ghost town, with a few year-round residents still living there and a bar that opens on the weekends.

Esmeralda county fire truck in Gold Point, Nevada, an old mining town in southern nevada that is a partial ghost town, with a few year-round residents still living there and a bar that opens on the weekends.

Mitchell’s Mercantile in Gold Point, Nevada, an old mining town in southern nevada that is a partial ghost town, with a few year-round residents still living there and a bar that opens on the weekends.

While staying in Vegas to shoot my job at the Vegas Speedway, we camped out at the Valley of Fire state park about an hour outside of town. This small Nevada state park has some of the most amazing and colorful rock formations, though it can get a bit crowded.

Amazing and colorful sandstone formations in Nevada’s Valley of Fire state park, just an hour outside of Las Vegas, Nevada at sunset

Lone Bighorn sheep ram on top of amazing and colorful sandstone formations in Nevada’s Valley of Fire state park, just an hour outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Amazing and colorful sandstone formations in Nevada’s Valley of Fire state park, just an hour outside of Las Vegas, Nevada

image of valley of fire state park nevada

Amazing and colorful sandstone formations in Nevada’s Valley of Fire state park, just an hour outside of Las Vegas, Nevada

Smog and bad air obscure the downtown skyline of Las Vegas, Nevada, North America

Once we left Las Vegas, we made a beeline to Grand Staircase-Escalante. Since it is a National Monument, free-dispersed camping is allowed, just grab a permit at any of the BLM offices. We found an amazing spot just off Hole in the Rock road with views into a colorful valley and short drive times along the dirt road to the various slot canyons we had come to explore. First we went to one of the farther ones and also the most visually appealing, Zebra Canyon. This took some walking and it is extremely narrow in spots, but if you can shimmy up the walls and carry a camera and tripod, you will be rewarded with the goods at the farthest reaches of the slot canyon. This is very narrow and small and really can only fit a couple of people at a time in.

Monique squeezes through the narrow Spooky Gulch slot canyon in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, North America.

At one point I had to scale up the wall to allow someone to pass me underneath.

The colorful Zebra slot canyon in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, North America.

The colorful Zebra slot canyon in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, North America.

Textured walls of the Spooky Gulch slot canyon in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, North America.

photograph of full moon over devils garden

The amazing hoodoo and arch formations with a full moon in Devil’s Garden in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, North America.

A woman reaching towards the amazing hoodoo and arch formations with a full moon in Devil’s Garden in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, North America.

The amazing hoodoo and arch formations in Devil’s Garden in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, North America.

The Batty Caves in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, North America, were carved out of the stone as a living quarters by brothers Bill and Cliff Lichtenhahns in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

After having a successful visit to Zebra slot canyon, we spent the sunset at the Devils Garden, a small area of hoodoos just off the road. We also took a drive down a rugged dirt road to visit the Batty Pass caves where two brothers carved out living quarters and a workshop back in the 1950’s. The next day we went on our biggest hike of the trip, just over 9 miles across open desert to Neon Canyon to visit the Golden Cathedral.

The opening to the Neon Canyon hike in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a scenic 9 mile hike that leads to a stunning sandstone cathedral across the Escalante River. This is what you aim for as you hike across the mostly trail-less desert plateau.

Details of the canyon walls and rocks embedded in the sandstone of Neon Canyon near the Escalante River.

The Neon Canyon hike in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a scenic 8 mile hike that leads to a stunning sandstone cathedral across the Escalante River.

Looking out from the “Golden Cathedral” and beautiful sandstone room carved by the force of water pouring through Neon Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The final rappel of the Neon Slot Canyon route is through the large hole in the roof down into the pool of water below.

Me looking for the best angle. We went in fall and water was low and slimy. The hole in the cieling is the final rappel of the popular Neon Slot Canyon technical route. Unfortunately nobody came through while we were there.

Monique enjoys the “Golden Cathedral” and beautiful sandstone room carved by the force of water pouring through Neon Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The final rappel of the Neon Slot Canyon route is through the large hole in the roof down into the pool of water below.

Monique laughing in Peek-a-boo slot canyon in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, North America. This treasure of public lands is under attack by the Trump administration which wants to dramatically shrink its size and access in order to allow for mineral extraction.

photograph of woman in peek-a-boo slot canyon

Monique in Peek-a-boo slot canyon in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, North America. This treasure of public lands is under attack by the Trump administration which wants to dramatically shrink its size and access in order to allow for mineral extraction.

Peek-a-boo slot canyon in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, North America.

Monique in Brimstone slot canyon in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, North America. Brimstone is in the same area as Peek-a-boo, but much bigger and lesser known. Also, it requires about 4 more miles round trip hiking through deep sand.

Lower Calf Creek Falls trail in the Grand Staircase-Escalante national monument area is a 6-mile round trip hike that passes Navajo pictographs dated to AD 1200 and a stunning 88 foot waterfall with a deep swimming hole beneath in Utah, North America

After leaving GSENM, we headed to some BLM land in southern Utah that we had heard about and that was semi-close to our next destination on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It reminded me of a lesser White Pocket.

The amazing patterns in the sandstone that make up the Yant Flat Cliffs outside of St. George, Utah, USA, North America.

The amazing patterns in the sandstone that make up the Yant Flat Cliffs outside of St. George, Utah, USA, North America.

The amazing patterns in the sandstone that make up the Yant Flat Cliffs outside of St. George, Utah, USA, North America.

The amazing patterns in the sandstone that make up the Yant Flat Cliffs outside of St. George, Utah, USA, North America.

Silhouette of woman hiker jumping at sunset

After Yant Cliffs, we headed 60 miles down a dirt road to the Toroweap area of the north rim of the grand canyon. This area has a very small campground and usually requires reservations well in advance, but given the late season and midweek timing of our visit we decided to go for it anyhow. As luck would have it, only one other person was in the campground. An incoming storm made for an amazing sunset the next morning, but then the heavy rains moved in and water started cascading off the slick rock in our campground and we decided to get out ahead of the flash flooding that was sure to come. We barely made it!

Amazing view from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon at the remote Toroweap viewpoint and campground.

photograph of north rim of grand canyon at sunrise

Amazing view from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon at the remote Toroweap viewpoint and campground at sunrise with Lava Rapids, the largest rapids in the grand canyon, visible in the distance.

Scott photographing the grand canyon north rim at sunset

We made it back to pavement in the evening but we still needed a place to camp. I remembered mountain biking Gooseberry Mesa years ago and remembered it as a fairly flat drive only a few miles off the road with lots of public land for camping. We made it into a spot about 2 miles in and settled in for the night. It rained all night long. In the morning I hooked up the trailer and headed out, but there was a very short section of road that was slightly uphill and the slick clay surface of the road wouldn’t let me get the trailer over that section. After hours of moving a few feet at a time with my extraction boards, I had to leave the trailer in the road and drive into town (fortunately only 15 minutes) and bought some actual chains for all 4 tires. I went back and hooked up and pulled free with no further problems, other than the sticky clay mess that covered everything. We had originally planned to head to Bryce Canyon as snow was predicted and we thought that shooting the hoodoo’s in the snow would be amazing, but after the ordeal of getting out, then cleaning up we decided to head home and treat ourselves to a room at the beautiful Mizpah hotel, and most importantly a hot shower!

Stuck in clay mud with our escape 17a trailer near the Grand Canyon

A strong rainbow in the sagebrush desert just south of Tonopah, Nevada, North America.

The interior of the famous and rumored to be haunted Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada. This restored gold rush era Hotel in central nevada, also known as the jewel of the desert, was renovated in 2011.

The Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada. This restored gold rush era Hotel in central nevada, also known as the jewel of the desert, was renovated in 2011.

Reno to Grand Staircase-Escalante Road Trip

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