Moments in Dirt and Ink

Kaibab National Forest There are a few places to try to take in the Grand Staircase of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It is, in a word, massive. One might even go so far as to say Grand. A few of the steps get a bit lost in the distance. It is all staircase as far as the eye can see. Trying to recover the steps from the distance. Red (vermilion), then white, then pink for the major ones. ©2015 Valerie Norton Posted 8 Nov 2016

Traveling with a couple people who are set on filling their National Park passport is that you end up stopping at even the smallest attraction. Passing within fourteen miles of Pipe Spring, we had to stop and see it. Although small, people do seem to enjoy it for an hour or two. We found some instant joy upon arrival simply because the cactus was in bloom. A few of the cactus blooms. Enter and flash and "American the Beautiful" card (or pay the fee) and take a look around. The center is the usual with a few souvenirs one could buy and a movie that is not quite ready to play right now, so we head out the back door into the yard, which is far more interesting. It is full of items from the era when the area was settled by Mormons. Poke around them a little and you notice something odd, they seem to actually be in good working order. A couple carts in the yard.

Zion National Park Getting off the shuttle at The Grotto, there are quite a few trails to choose from. Across the street and the bridge, there is a trail heading up to Angel's Landing and one to some shallow pools. The one I really want to do is on the right to climb the cliffs, but the time barely allows for the one on the left. I turn onto the Kayenta Trail, apparently named for the rock formation it travels along, toward the Emerald Pools. Various pieces of park literature point out that these are named for the algae growing in them giving them a green tint, which sounds downright mundane to me. Much more interestingly, these are hanging pools. Looking down the canyon in the late day. One of the trail choices from The Grotto follows next to the river. The Great White Thrown right across the valley.

Zion National Park Zion in the late Spring is crazy, but here we are. Attempts at parking extend well into Springdale, lining every street with cars that only want to be near there, not actually there. We manage a spot by the Visitor Center, but only after foolishly looking for something "closer" to the Floor of the Valley Road where private cars are not allowed. The Visitor Center parking is large while everything else is not. Once walking access to the shuttle buses is had, things go smoothly if a little claustrophobic. The bus goes along as long as the canyon is wide enough to hold a road. When it is no longer so wide, we start off on the trail. Looking down the canyon to the Great White Throne, where things are sufficiently wide for a road. Looking up the canyon, things get very narrow.

Zion National Park Kolob Canyons looks like it would be a stunning place to be hiking, but I only dipped into for a close up view of what had been far across the interstate while recently backpacking. The short road wraps around to a high point for a view into the canyons, but the best view is actually a little lower than the end. Panorama of the canyons. Trails proceed much deeper into the canyons. Wondering why this bee was so still, I found the spider. ©2015 Valerie Norton Posted 23 July 2015

Bryce Canyon National Park Parking near the general store and trailhead is hard to find, but we manage after a few minutes. My dad and stepmom are off on short things and viewpoints, but I am off to get down among the hoodoos. After a leisurely breakfast and a long drive, it is not the least bit early for a hike that can get quite hot. An extravagance of carved layer rocks lay ahead of me. (Click to embiggen.) There are several trails that leave from this area and once I am to the right starting point, it is well marked. This marking includes a sign about the "I hiked the Hoodoos!" program where you can get a pin for hiking at least three miles along a trail marked with a "benchmark" and taking a rubbing of it. Tower Bridge is one of the benchmarked trails and at 1.5 miles (1.7 according to the sign), is the only one that completes the requirement by itself. I start down the trail and there are instant hoodoos. Hoodoos near and far, singly and...

Dixie National Forest First and Second Left Hand Canyon have a few of the hoodoos and other rock structures found in nearby Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce National Park, but held in a cozy little canyon. The first one is paved and therefore much more accessible and both have a few trails. This is a short one up to some of the rock formations known as the Vermillion Castle. The first half is a steep warm up while the second half rolls along the views. A simple sign only showing the trail designations marks the trailhead. The afternoon is a bit warm and feels even warmer as I climb the western slope of a tributary to get up to the level of the rock formation. The trail has a few little erosion problems, but it pretty easy to climb. A band of hard composite rocks seems out of place among all the much softer and highly colored rocks. It makes a good lookout point where much of the traffic seems to stop for a bit and possibly even finish. A couple towers of...

Dixie National Forest Camping along the road to Oak Grove is limited to designated camping sites and down beside campsite 3 is a small loop trail signed for hiking. It follows decaying road beds which join and continue on, after many miles, to the Cottonwood Forest Wilderness. Just past the opening in the fence for the trail are signs declaring "closed area" with very large letters in order to run people off, but the smaller letters below add "to motor vehicles". I head up and to the right to loop around the small, deeply red canyon. Following the old road up the canyon.