Slot Canyons

We discovered some slot canyons along Wahweep Creek.

The walls were between 10 and 30 feet high.

There were lots of prickly tumbleweeds, so we had to climb over them.

We knew we reached the end when it got too tight to go any further.

Wahweep Creek

We hiked along this creek in Escalante. It's usually a dry wash, but we were lucky to find it flowing.

The chocolate brown water was laden with silt, but that didn't stop Tahoe from drinking large gulps of it. He eventually threw it all up and then went back for more. Luckily, we brought in enough fresh water because it would have taken forever to filter it.

Good thing I wore my water shoes.

The trail led to the Wahweep Hoodoos (which are actually the same as toadstools but have a different name).

Guess who made these tracks?

Answers at bottom...

1. Tahoe

2. beetle

3. racoon

Looking down

Cottonwood Canyon

We backpacked along Hackberry Creek in Grand Staircase Escalante. The creek was lined with hundreds of cottonwood trees. Since Escalante is one of our newest national monuments, it is still very primitive. It doesn't have paved roads, restrooms, phones, or even trailheads on some of the trails - yet. This makes it unpopular with most tourists who seek such luxuries. However, that makes this place even more special. You can go into the backcountry and have it all to yourself. I'm sure this will change within the next decade, but for now, we can enjoy the solitude.

We set up camp in a small side canyon. That was our coldest night. Neither of us really got any sleep until the sun came up in the morning. Then, we accidentally slept until after noon.

Vermillion Cliffs

This is the view from Navajo Bridge, looking out over the Colorado River.

We found a great old ranch and corral. It contained interesting relics like a metal bed frame and bed springs. It still had the original window screens.

We hiked the steep and sandy Jacob's Pools Trail to the top of the Vermilliion Cliffs.

I often shout when I am in a canyon, mountaintop, anywhere there might be an echo. Traci and I were ecstatic to discover that the top of these cliffs has the best echo I've EVER heard. It went on and on. So, of course, we stood there for 10 minutes yelling stuff and giggling.

Rock the House

How would you like to live in a house made of rocks? In 1927 Blanche Russel was driving past the Vermillion Cliffs, and her car broke down. She thought the scenery was so beautiful that she decided to stay. She used two very large boulders as a basis for her house.

There are two separate rooms, complete with windows, painted doorway, fireplace, seating, an a covered patio.

It's kind of dilapidated now, but it looks like a very comfortable house. I particularly like all the secret cubbyholes in the boulders. I wonder what she kept in them.

Toadstool Trail

I have never seen sand toadstools before. These were once all hills, but the pink sandstone is softer and erodes faster than the top brown layer of stone, so the younger top stone actually protects the spire underneath it from wind and rain, therby creating these unusual formations.

It felt like we were walking on the moon.

There were dozens of toadstool in all sizes and shapes. The brown pieces are not actually connected to the pink spire, but they are generally so heavy, that they just stay there.

These are called teepees. It was really windy that evening, so we backpacked out to the folds of the teepees to seek shelter from the wind.

Nature's Playground

We explored many caves made of gray sandstone. They had beautiful patterns of "Indian paint" which is really minerals in the sand mixed with rain water.

We never found the trail we were looking for, but we had a lot of fun checking out all of the interesting sandstone formations. This one is called giant cow paddy.

We traversed a couple narrow slot canyons like this one. I just love the contours of the walls.

Lake Powell

El perro silvestre. This is land on the Navajo Nation. It's an endless sea of sandstone, sage, and brilliant colors.

The turquoise waters of Lake Powell were so alluring.

We hiked a trail which led to a hanging garden. Ther ferns are spring fed by waters seeping through the rock.

Traci makes a fashion statement on the trail. Although, I'm not sure what that statement is.

Horseshoe Bend

It's Spring Break, so we spent the week traveling around northern Arizona and southern Utah. This is Horseshoe Bend. It's actually part of the Grand Canyon, but we were able to access it with a short hike. It's so big that I couldn't fit it all in the picture, but you can see how it got its name. The little white dot near the bottom left is a boat, so that gives you some scale on the enormity of the canyon.

It was really a beautiful sight with the raging Colorado River and the pink canyon walls.

Tahoe gets nervous near the edge of cliffs, so he plops down and make himself flat.

Hiking with Leslie

Dutchman's Loop

We hiked a 16 mile loop in the Superstition Wilderness. Here are some balanced rocks along the Bluff Spring Trail.

The hillsides were dotted with yellow, purple, and orange wildflowers.

We hiked in about 3 miles on Friday afternoon and found a secluded spot in an open valley to camp.

I just love the colors in this scene. It looked even better in person.

Dutchman's

It was hot on Saturday, so I was pretty excited to find this great swimming hole. The water was freezing, but it felt so refreshing. We used our air mattresses as rafts. A sheriff's helicopter circled us five times. I guess they wanted to be really thorough in their search for lost people.

Tahoe likes to snuggle up next to me in our tent. Actually, I like it too since he keeps me warm.

We watched fiery sunsets and bright stars and listened to the frogs croak at night.

This is our swimming hole at dawn when it was still.