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Show Calf Greek Offers Beautiful Views, Recreational Spot 4-rif : i H It.- - . .... ..... , . ;i . . -, V''V' jr. v ft-" '-" '-" , -v ' I - " IHIIIllllll V - Jf - ' , ,- (B) Approximately 125 miles east of Escalante and 12 miles south of Boulder the Calf Creek Rereation Area, encompassing the entire drainage area of the tributary of the Escalante River, affords the visitor a chance to view beautiful Upper and Lower Calf Creek Falls. Although the falls are the major attraction of the area, the spectacular spec-tacular surrounding scenery along the entire eight-mile length of the Calf Creek drainage above the confluence of the Escalante River is what makes one want to stay. The campground area is often . filled, so visitors should plan to arrive early to find camping space. A swinging footbridge over Calf Creek is a campground attraction and the campground itself has 109 campsites and clean restrooms. There are individual picnic areas and a group picnic area which can accomodate 100 people. Other campgrounds near Escalante or on nearby Boulder Mountain can always afford camping cam-ping space for any disappointed would-be campers at Calf Creek. The lower falls are reached by a ' two and three-quarter miles long trail five and one-half miles round trip most of which is sandy, very strenous walking. It can be very exhausting, particularly in very warm weather, however, the falls area, once reached, is a delightfully cool, shady haven, well-worth the effort spent to reach it. The beautiful stream of water drops 126 feet. Along the trail to Lower Calf Creek Falls, the hiker notices only a short distance from camp, a miniature natural arch formed by the erosive action of wind and water. . The erosional process is very slow and even though the arch is small, it took many thousands of years for wind and water to carve through the sandstone. Prominent at Calf Creek and - found throughout Garfield County vacation area is the Utah juniper, commonly called "cedars". Used locally primarily for fence posts, their seeds or "berries" are eaten by wildlife and, dried, used by the Indians of the Southwest for making jewelry. Pinyon pines are also abundant in the area, a popular Christmas tree. Its edible nuts have long been used by Indians as one of their stapel foods and are also eaten by rodents and birds. Resin from these trees was used by Indians to waterproof baskets and to cement turquoise stones in jewelry. Continuing along the trail, just be'ow the rim and high on the cliffs east of the creek at a point about two miles from the falls, the hiker can see an ancient Indian structure. Built some 800 to 1,000 years ago, the structure was used by the Indians who farmed the canyon bottoms to store their produce. The high, dry, probably rodent-proof storage units were built either by Indians of the Anasazi or Fremont cultures, both of whom lived in the area at the same time. And old fence is a reminder of the settler's first use of Calf Creek and the source of its name. Weaner calves, just taken from their mothers, were turned into the . natural pasture created by the box canyon above the fence. At a point about one and one-half miles below the falls near the bottom bot-tom of a smooth cliff on the east wall of the canyon are four large figures painted in red. Typically Fremont in style and form, these thousand or so year-old pictographs could represent deities or culture heroes or maybe a ceremony or ecent may be depicted. Nearby ponds and marshy areas i below the trail were formed by beaver dams across Calf Creek. The dams hclpd control spring flooding, reduced siltation downstream, and provide habitat for mature fish. As the hiker pears the falls, the misty spray combined with the protection afforded by the canyon reduce the hot summer temperatures tem-peratures to the comfort range. Beautiful dogwood shrubs bloom in May, the lovely white blooms followed by opaque white berries. Hollygrape with its leaves like holly and its fruit like grapes is abundant also. Cheatgrass, rice grass and squawbush, sometimes called skunkbush because of its pungent . aroma grow profusely. Early in this century, a local farmer used the water of Calf Creek to raise what were reputed to be the "best melons west of Boulder" a wooden flume ' remains to testify of his agricultural adventure so many years ago. . Upper Calf Creek Falls, with its 87-foot drop, five and one-half miles upstream, can be reached only by a difficult one-mile hike over sandstone sand-stone sliprock from the Escalante -Boulder highway, Utah Highway, 12. Calf Creek lower falls are reached by a two and three quarter mile long trail. The falls once reached is a cool, shady haven well-worlh the cfforl to see the 126 ft. water drop. |