Towards that later part of the day we arrived at the Petrified Forest National Park. We had to rush through the park as we arrived at 4pm. and the park closes at 5pm. All visitors must be out by 5pm. — there is a large problem with folks stealing petrified wood. The Petrified Forest is…
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Leaving the south rim of the Grand Canyon, we planned a long drive to Gallup, New Mexico. Along the way we stopped in at the Wupatki National Monument. This is a old Anasazi site with several ruins set amongst some recent volcanic activity — indeed, it was the volcanic enrichment of the soil that made…
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The trip from the North Rim to the South is about 6 hours. We crossed the Colorado River at Marble Canyon, headed south and then entered the Park again from the east entrance. The South Rim is very developed and the crowds are large. However there are some spectacular views!
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From Zion, we dropped down into Arizona to see Grand Canyon National Park from both rims. The North Rim is less popular than the South Rim — this is a good thing! Though there are less developed viewing areas on the North Rim, the crowds are smaller! Also the North Rim has a more alpine character…
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The Cedar Breaks are another erosional feature similar to Bryce in appearance. The single amphitheatre is more than 2,000 feet deep and more than 3 miles in diameter. The Markagunt plateau in which it is carved is quite high at about 10,000 ft elevation.
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Hail and snow drove us from Bryce earlier than we wished, but as we travelled south and west to Zion National Park the weather cleared. We camped in the South Campground at Zion and while using this as a home base we travelled up the Zion Canyon, north to the finger canyons of the Kolob…
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We arrived at Bryce Canyon in the late evening, so we camped outside the park at Ruby’s Inn. The following morning we were up early to forage for a site in the park. We were extremely lucky and found a wonderful campsite right at the edge of the canyon with great access to the trail…
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After proceeding through Natural Bridges and Glen Canyon, we travelled through some interesting geology around Caineville and then reached the Capitol Reef National Park. The Capitol Reef is part of the Waterpocket Fold. The rock is layered at a steep angle descending to the east. The ‘reef’ is the sharply eroded western edge of the…
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Leaving Monticello, we planned to visit Natural Bridges, proceed over the Colorado River at the top of the Glen Canyon area and stop at Capitol Reef. As it turned out we did this and then also headed off to Bryce Canyon — all in the same day. This was too much travelling for one day,…
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After our visit to Mesa Verde, we engaged in a day trip from Cortez to Moniticello. This trip took us past, in the distance, Shiprock, and the thoroughly uninteresting Four Corners Monument. The target of the day was the Monument Valley Tribal Park. The scenery around Monument Valley is familiar to anyone who has seen…
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