Escalante

Last week we took a trip to Escalante, Ut. They have an annual Plein Air Art Competition. We try to do this every year. Jared usually sells a painting and wins a prize which more than pays for the trip. Escalante is a beautiful place with lots of hikes and Indian ruins to explore. This year we decided to take both the kids. We left before the sun was up early Monday morning. We wanted to do most of the travelling while the kids slept in the car and we also wanted to get there early enough for Jared to scout out some places to paint. They stamp his canvas' as soon as he gets there so they know he painted them on location. Then he has four days to paint. We drove over the mountain to get there. The leaves had started to change and it was a beautiful drive. When Kendi woke up she was really excited to be in the mountains. Then she noticed the "Bird Lines." I asked her what bird lines were and she told me, "Bird Lines are for birds to sit on. They're like this...straight. Birds need somewhere to sit when their eggs hatch."


Aydri woke up and was hungry just as we were getting into Escalante. Jared immediately started looking for somewhere to paint. We couldn't check in to the hotel yet so we went with him. Jared found something to paint right off the road about five miles out of town. We parked by a sand hill that was as big as our house. Kendi played for four hours straight. She didn't want to leave when it was time to go. Aydri was bit cranky. She wouldn't eat much and had a hard time falling asleep. Looking back I think she may have been sick with possibly a sore throat. Not very fun when your stuck in a car. Once she finally fell asleep she stayed asleep for a while.


The weather was really nice. One of those cool autumn days where the sun is shining, but there's a nice breeze. I had to keep Aydri warm in the car and Kendi from getting sunburned outside. Jared got burned to a crisp. I got nothing and Kendi got very tan. We all have very different skin. Aydri was able to sit in her bouncer that has a canopy on it that finally came in handy. I realize that I should have taken more pictures. Anyone else hate packing a camera around and then get home and kick yourself for not taking more pictures?



Here is Jared's first painting. He scouted the hills for about an hour. While he was gone, a three point buck came trotting down the highway like it was on its way somewhere. It ran right past Kendi and I. It was the strangest thing. When Jared got back he was disappointed to have not found anything to paint. I pointed out this rock structure right by the road and he decided to paint it. Unfortunately, it became his least favorite painting of the trip. He won't even show it to anyone. Good thing he wasn't very fond of it because just as he finished and came over to eat lunch, he set it down by the cooler to look at it and Kendi stepped on it. There is currently a little footprint with sand smashed into the side of it.

Jared painted five paintings during the trip. This one he did in the Devil's Garden is my favorite. He painted it early with the morning sun shining on the rock structures. It reminds me of early morning sunrises at Lake Powell when the wind and the water are really calm. To see and read about the other paintings go to his art blog HERE.

The kids and I hung out at the hotel whenever Jared went out to paint. He would paint small paintings in the morning and then work on one large painting for the competition every evening. Our hotel room was small, but we had packed enough food and activities to keep us from going crazy. Kendi thought that we had moved and we were going to live in the mountains now. She was quite excited about it at first.



Somehow we had cell phone reception at the hotel and she was able to call my mom. The conversation went something like this: Kendi: Grandma, can you come get me? Grandma: I don't think so sweetheart. Kendi: You just go around a turn and go a long, long way and then you come to number 17. Grandma: I'm afraid your too far away it would take me all day. Kendi: That's okay.



I couldn't convince Kendi that we didn't really live in Escalante and we were going home in a few days. She kept asking, "Is this our home?" "Is this our bed, our TV?" She was really funny about it. One night I laid down by her before she went to sleep and I was asking her if she missed our home. She said, "I miss my bear, my dolls and grandma Jackie." It was sweet.



There wasn't anywhere to go with the kids near the hotel so we would take walks in the neighborhoods and look at the old houses. There is something charming about really small towns, especially old ones. There was the sweetest lady at the local grocery store. We went in there almost everyday. This lady would come right up to us and take Aydri. She would show her to all the other customers in the store while we shopped. Aydri smiled at everyone. It was fun to get to know some local people. Everyone we talked to knew someone that we knew.

There was an elementary school that we would visit every night after Jared was done painting. We met some really nice people there. There were not a lot of kids in town. The young couple we met said that there was only one other couple there age. Crazy. We told them to move to Cedar and live by us. They said they were considering it.



One night we went to eat at Georgie's Corner. Someone suggested it to us. I probably wouldn't have considered eating there if they hadn't. They were a little eager to decorate for Halloween already. They had excellent Mexican Food. I would eat there again. It was in one of the oldest houses in town. I love 19th century houses.

There was a fire pit at the hotel where we roasted marshmallows every night. Since I'm the most experienced marshmallow roaster, I did all the roasting while everyone else did all the eating. Kendi got to where she would just eat the mallows out of bag.

We got to meet most of the other artists and the Artists' Reception Wednesday night. We realized that we were the only ones with kids. I was surprised at how many artists came to this competition. Most of them were friendly.



Jared had to finish and turn in a painting on Thursday night. Somehow we forgot to bring frame for the painting. We ran around in a panic trying to find a generous artist with an extra frame. You'll have to ask Jared about a creepy and extremely strange house someone took him to to find a frame. It was so weird that I don't dare write about it. They left the house before they could find a frame because it was so weird. Thankfully, local artist, Lynn Griffin had an extra frame at his house. He is probably one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Of coarse everyone we met in Escalante was especially nice.



We had to go home Thursday night so we didn't get to stay for the awards. It was probably a good thing because of what won. Frankly we were disappointed with the pieces. They were abstract. What does abstract have to do with Plein Air? Enough about that. We also missed out on the Chautauqua they were having on Friday. They brought in relatives and experts to discuss the Everett Ruess case. If you've never heard of Everett Ruess click HERE. It is fascinating and tragic. The art festival has always been in conjunction and a tribute to Everett Ruess Days. I used to think it was silly until they claimed to have solved the mystery and I dug a little deeper about it. I have a copy of his wilderness journals that I started to read a few years ago when I came with Jared by myself, but I never finished it. I might go dig that out.



As we started to pull out of town, Kendi asked where we were going. When we told her we were going home she said that we were going the wrong way. She even started crying when we insisted that we were really going home. She truly thought that the hotel was our new home. If you ask her about our trip, she will tell you about "when we lived in the mountains."



We had tons of fun. Even though it was a strange sort of vacation. Kendi and I had lots of one on one time exploring and playing. Aydri was really good except for that first morning. I even learned how to knit while we hung out at the hotel. I show you what I made as soon as its done. It was worth the trip even though the competition was a disappointment. Jared has some really nice paintings.



Kendi took some pictures. I should let her do all the photography. They are way more fun to look at.

Now go read Jared's Blog.