The Faces of Bryce Canyon Country, a Series – Part 1

We’d like to take you on a journey through the Bryce Canyon Country area. A county filled with two national parks, three state parks, a national monument, and much more means we have a lot to talk about.

To get to know this beautiful area of Utah, filled with miles of breathtaking, mountainous desert landscape and hundreds of places to explore, we need to learn about the people who make this a thriving community.

This first post will kick off The Faces of Bryce Canyon Country blog series that will be posted every other month. We want all the visitors of Bryce Canyon Country to know the stories of the wonderful people who reside here. Each has a unique story to tell and a reason why they love living in this wide-open, picturesque landscape.

Each participant will answer some questions and, if you’re lucky, tell you their favorite hidden gem of Bryce Canyon Country. Many of these people own or work for small businesses and would love your support as well. Visit them on their website or social media.

Gayle Pollock

1. How long have you lived in Garfield County? What city do you live in? If you are not from Garfield County, what brought you there?

With an exception for church service, higher education, and graduate work, most of my life (45+ years). I reside in my hometown of Tropic, Utah.

2. If applicable, what is the name of your business or place of employment?

Bryce Canyon Natural History Association

3. What is your favorite thing about living in Garfield County?

The most sublime scenery and the greatest people on planet Earth.

4. What is one of your favorite places to explore in Garfield County?

I love exploring the Escalante Canyons section of Garfield County. It’s a place of discovery and inspiration, accessible to both the casual and intrepid hiker.

Although this area is getting more attention and use, it is still a place to experience solitude, unique geologic formations, and nature’s full palette of color.

5. What is your favorite local restaurant?

Bryce Canyon Pines (Ethel’s world-famous homemade pies are worth a stop on your travel itinerary)

6. Do you have a favorite hidden gem in Garfield County?

Twenty-Mile Wash Dinosaur Track Site (off the Hole-in-the-Rock Road)

7. Do you have any advice for people visiting Garfield County?

Be sure to plan on some additional time to travel along Scenic Byway 12 through pastoral communities brimming with history and surrounded by breathtaking scenery. With proper planning, take a side trip off Byway 12 to experience mountain lakes, incredible slot canyons or one of the several state and national parks that are located within Garfield County. Talk to a local resident and learn of their multi-generational, or perhaps, more recent connection to Garfield County. You will enrich your experience by doing so and take home some unforgettable memories.

Dave and Erin Treanor

1. How long have you lived in Garfield County? What city do you live in? If you’re not from Garfield County, what brought you there?

We moved to Escalante, Garfield County in 2004 to work for Turn-About Ranch from Southern California.

2. If applicable, what is the name of your business or place of employment?

4th West Pub

3. What is your favorite thing about living in Garfield County?

I love the closeness and love from my neighbors in our small town but I also love the opportunity to meet people all over the country and world. Many people have become close friends. I can’t imagine another microcosm that can happen in.

4. What is one of your favorite places to explore in Garfield County?

I love all the GSENM but my favorite, which I am afraid to share in fear it will be over visited, is Wide Hollow Reservoir or Petrified Forest State Park. I am usually out there daily during the summer.

5. What is your favorite local restaurant?

My favorite restaurant is obviously mine, hehe, but I love Escalante Outfitters, Kiva Koffeehouse, Burr Trail Grill, Hell’s Backbone Grill and Sweet Water Kitchen. I might be biased but I think East Garfield County has the best food!

7. Do you have a favorite hidden gem in Garfield County?

Yes, but I won’t tell.

7. Do you have any advice for people visiting Garfield County?

Do your research. Be patient with us. Go with the flow. Pick up after yourself! Not everything is available all of the time. We have the most amazing things to be experienced, unlike anywhere in the world. My husband Dave always says, “Escalante sand will never get out of your shoes,” meaning it will just become a part of your heart.

8. How can we follow your business or place of employment on social media?

Social media is @4thwestpub on Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, Tripadvisor and Google. Our Website is 4wpub.com.

Brandi Dickinson

1. How long have you lived in Garfield County? What city do you live in? If you’re not from Garfield County, what brought you there?

Since 1987 in Panguitch. My parents moved us here from Mesa, AZ.

2. If applicable, what is the name of your business or place of employment?

I work at the Bryce Canyon Visitor Center

3. What is your favorite thing about living in Garfield County?

All of the hiking and scenery. It’s beautiful.

4. What is one of your favorite places to explore in Garfield County?

The area between Escalante and Boulder. My mom grew up in Escalante as a kid. When I’m out hiking it feels like home.

5. What is your favorite local restaurant?

Big Fish and C Stop in Panguitch and Nemos in Escalante.

6. Do you have a favorite hidden gem in Garfield County?

Red Canyon, Calf Creek and Posey Lake

7. Do you have any advice for people visiting Garfield County?

Make sure you spend some time around Escalante and Boulder. It’s so beautiful. Spring and fall are the best times to visit.

Kristina Waggoner

1. How long have you lived in Garfield County? What city do you live in? If you’re not from Garfield County, what brought you there?

I’ve lived in Garfield County for 16 years.  I am originally from Idaho.  I came to Escalante because I was in love with the landscape, and it has stuck.

2. If applicable, what is the name of your business or place of employment? 

Escalante Outfitters

3. What is your favorite thing about living in Garfield County?

I love living in a small town, the closeness of the community and the safety I feel here. I love that I can get out and explore the surrounding public lands on a daily basis.

4. What is one of your favorite places to explore in Garfield County?

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

5. What is your favorite local restaurant?

Escalante Outfitters

6. Do you have a favorite hidden gem in Garfield County?

My hidden gem is that I can get out on a hike or horseback ride and always find somewhere that is quiet and there is no one else around.

7. Do you have any advice for people visiting Garfield County?

Be prepared, do research, and have the right vehicle to get you to where you want to go. Most of the routes are unmarked and a map is a good idea.

8. How can we follow your business or place of employment on social media?

Instagram: @escalante_outfitters

Tracy Wright

1. How long have you lived in Garfield County? What city do you live in? If you’re not from Garfield County, what brought you there?

I have been a resident of Garfield County for 22 years. My husband, Wade, and I have chosen Panguitch to raise our family so that we can take full advantage of the area that most of the world comes to vacation in. My parents had property that they would bring my brothers and I to every summer since I was a little girl. We fished at all the best places, Tropic Reservoir, Panguitch Lake, Pine Lake, the streams and many of the hidden fishing holes we have around here. We lived in the mountains and explored every dirt trail there was, on foot. That is when my love and appreciation for this area grew. I am still amazed every time my family and I are able to explore any of the areas around Garfield County.

2. If applicable, what is the name of your business or place of employment? 

Wrights Summer Cottage Airbnb

3. What is your favorite thing about living in Garfield County?

There is an opportunity for every level of outdoor enthusiast to enjoy from biking, trail running, kayaking, fishing, paddle boarding, bouldering, mountaineering, UTV trails, horseback riding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and so much more. It’s hard for me to choose one area to focus on since every season brings a different type of terrain to enjoy. I would say hiking is my all-time favorite though. There is something about being out in nature and knowing you have only yourself to depend on that is so freeing. The views change with every step and the scenery changes from season to season. We have done many of the popular and off-the-beaten-path hikes in our area and enjoy sharing them with our guests that stay at our tiny house on Airbnb, Wrights Summer Cottage.

4. What is one of your favorite places to explore in Garfield County?

My favorite area to hike right now is Red Canyon located on Highway 12. The trail I love to share with friends and family in this area is Golden Wall Trail. I have done this trail multiple times, and I will never tire of the awe I feel as I get up to the top or the giddiness the stairs bring me every time I see them. In the Red Canyon area, you have the availability to drive through and stop at viewpoints, camp, hike, Mountain Bike, or even take the paved bike path into Bryce Canyon as well as horseback rides. While I’m hiking I enjoy thinking about how to reward myself. Yes, that’s something that keeps me motivated through those long hikes.

5. What is your favorite local restaurant?

Whether it’s the Burgers from Big Fish, C-Stop Pizza, or coffee and sweets at Wanderlust Cowgirl Coffee, we try to support every local restaurant and business we can while we are out.

6. Do you have any advice for people visiting Garfield County?

My tips for others coming to visit this area, and what I do when I go into an area I’m unfamiliar with, is research. Subscribe to FB pages for the places you are interested in, watch videos, read blogs and ask questions. There is a huge community of people, like yourself, that want you to have a great experience and can assist with varying questions. Asking locals when you get to your destination is another great opportunity, going to the visitor centers for information pamphlets and maps. Paper maps are important to have when saving your phone battery for all those videos and pictures you’ll be taking. Never be afraid to do the unknown, it will open you up for so many opportunities.

We hope you’ve been able to learn a little more about The Faces of Bryce Canyon Country. The community knows the area best as most of them hike and explore on a daily basis. Take their advice, explore some lesser-known areas, try a new restaurant and talk to residents when you visit Bryce Canyon Country.

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