The Grand Staircase, Part One

April 21, 2021

The Grand Staircase, Part One

Step by step, getting back out there and back to normal.

Slotting a trip between snow/cold and wildfires/hot usually involves a narrow window even without the complications of a pandemic. But I've nailed it...a seven day, counterclockwise loop through Utah and The Grand Staircase. Temps between 40 and 90, with zero rain expected. Let's ride!

Day 1 - Tucson to Winslow, AZ

Every trip must have a signature hotel and restaurant. Something memorable, unusual, unexpected and just effing great. La Posada, in Winslow, is this trip's cornerstone, and it just happens to fall on the first night. The Turquoise Room, inside the hotel, was rated one of the top three American restaurants by Conde Nast in 2009. The hotel itself was originally completed in 1930, adjacent to the Santa Fe Railway station; it remains an active Amtrak station to this day. It was closed in 1957, turned into offices, and later abandoned. In 1997, it was bought and restored. La Posada was one of the last hotel-depot complexes built across the Southwestern United States, a collaboration between Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe Railway. It is an iconic landmark, on an iconic road: Route 66.

Character oozes out of every well-worn crevice and hides around every corner.

But first, the ride there. There are only a few ways "out" of Tucson, especially if you want to avoid the highway and the Phoenix metro. North through the Salt River Canyon is today's choice.

That squiggly part of the line is the fun bit. 😎

El Capitan pass

Once you get to Winslow, you HAVE to find THE corner:

La Posada is literally right down the street.

Ginger gets exclusive parking.

And tucked in for the night.

I'm in the Douglas Fairbanks room

First things first, it's time for a cocktail. I'm thinking gin and tonic, but not just any gin and tonic. Stroll up to the bar:

"Do you have Hendricks?"

"Yes."

"Schweppes?"

"Yes."

"Cucumber?"

"Yes."

"Pepper?"

"Um, yes."

"Ok, all over ice, the pepper on top, last. Two cucumbers."

Bond, James Bond.

I call it a Siena, an homage to where we were introduced to this exceptional twist.

Let's drink around the grounds, shall we?

The entrance to the Amtrak station

The waiting room

The interior is just as funky

Dinner at the Turquoise Room lived up to the expectations. Spring salad, grilled filet mignon in a port black pepper sauce with caramelized onions, red skinned mashed potatoes, and a vegetable medley, paired with a bold Lodi, California Cabernet. Followed by this:

This was a good start...

Day 2 - Winslow to Cortez, CO

Arizona, the Navajo Nation, New Mexico, the Ute Mountain Reservation and Colorado. Sounds more exotic than it was, mostly straight roads and, unfortunately, Canyon de Chelly was closed to visitors.

Many apparitions in the distance, perhaps the most famous of which is Shiprock

Elevation Dude knows that the peak is 7,177 feet above sea level. And now you do too.

Right after this photo, it got windy AF all the way to Cortez. I'm staying at a Holiday Inn Express tonight, so whatever you need tomorrow, brain surgery, nuclear bomb assembly, getting people vaccinated, whatever, I'm your guy...

I will say, this is pretty welcoming.

Snow on the peaks

But tonight's happy hour is juuussst a bit different than last night's.

The route north

Day 3 - Cortez to Escalante, Utah

Letting the big ball of fire in the sky do its magic for just a little bit gave me the time to finish up a last minute heart and lung transplant, and check out of the Holiday Inn Express. Hang a right at the airport for Road G, heading west through the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. A fun road in mostly good shape

But it really starts to get fun when you turn north onto 95, confronted with a sign declaring "No services for 125 miles." Ok, I'll fill up here...and those 125 miles to Hanksville are just stunning.

Hanksville...gas and food. I don't know what it is about the rural West and Sinclair gas stations; never see them anywhere else. Dinocare Lives!

Then it's west on 24 through Capital Reef National Park.

Then south on 12, climbing into the Dixie National Forest, with a summit of 9600 feet. Snow on the side of the road and a brisk 42 degrees! It was a balmy 65 in Hanksville.

Check that rear view mirror!

The worst thing about this road are the tar snakes...everywhere, lateral, longitudinal, squiggly, straight, everywhere. And at 42 degrees, slick as ice. Not fun. Over the summit and into the Grand Staircase National Monument they disappear.