Mary and Dia

 

Getting down

 

Cave with "varnish" on the stone

 

Kodachrome Basin State Park, Utah

After we left Zion National Park, we drove north to Cedar City and then traveled east, bypassing Bryce NP. We have been there before so we decided to continue on through this gorgeous red rock country on Utah #12 to Kodachrome Basin State Park. A National Geographic survey team arrived here in 1949 and the members were so impressed with the red rock spires and pinnacles that they gave it this name - and I am sure that many, many Kodachrome pictures were taken over the years. We are grateful for digital images - I can take as many as I want and edit them later. The pinnacles are solidified geysers - hardened rock that over the years was covered with softer red rock - a lot like clay. This wears away with rain and wind and exposes the spires all over the park. Absolutely fascinating to see. The campground is right in the midst of all these spires. When we arrived, the wind was blowing at about 60mph - red sand stinging as it blew against us. By 5pm the snow started - it lasted about 2 hours so there was not too much accumulation but it got very cold that night - we are thankful that we have a good furnace and a generator. Vastly different weather from the Phoenix area!!

Snowstorm

 

Pinnacles are old solidified geysers

 

Grandstaircase- Escalante National Monument

Vast areas of southern Utah and parts of northern Arizona are known as the GrandStairCase. The Colorado River has made a deep canyon as it has carved it's course through various layers of rock. Through eons of time, vast plateaus have been upraised is a series of "steps" as these land masses have been shifted. Today, you can see hugh vistas and long ridges as they "march" one after the other. Near Capital Reef NP, a long ridge known as the Waterpocket Fold, extends over 100 miles and has numerous holes in it(much like that foam candy).
We camped for 2 days in Escalante and spent time driving the Jetta with Gerry and Dia TerHaar. The first day we drove the Hole-in-the-rock Road to Devil's Garden. This road got it's name from Mormon settlers in 1870 who were immigrating west and came to one of these long high ridges and spent 2 months blasting and digging a hole in the cliff, then used ropes and muscle power to lift the wagons over the obstacle. Devil's Garden is a small pocket area with interesting rock shapes - hoodoos and other strange formations.
The next day. we drove north to Boulder, Utah and explored the Burr Trail, driving along the red rocks of Long Canyon. We hiked up a short but high walled slot canyon and marveled at the endlessly fascinating environment. All four of us are curious people and we love to take pictures and crawl and climb on rocks as we explore. Our God is an awesome Creator and we are very priviledged to explore this part of His world.