Grand Canyon Area
In 2018 we visited national monuments south of the Grand Canyon. Walnut Canyon is east of Flagstaff; Wapatki National Monument is halfway from there to the east side of Grand Canyon National Park.
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| 2018. Dwellings sheltered under large oval rock outcropping. Walnut Canyon National Monument. |
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2018. Pueblo at Wapatki National Monument
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The drive along I15 from Las Vegas, Nevada to St. George, Utah includes a 4 mile section along the Virgin River which is considered one of the most scenic (and most expensive) stretches of Interstate highway in the country. Near this section is one of Nevada's hidden gems - Valley of Fire State Park.
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| 2018. Elephant Rock. Valley of Fire State Park. |
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2018. Valley of Fire State Park.
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In 2018, with a day to spare in Kanab, we took a trip with Dreamland Safari Tours to Toroweap Overlook, a difficult drive through Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument to a remote section of Grand Canyon National Park.
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| 2023. Toroweap Overlook. Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park. |
In 1989 we went on some aggressive hikes, including one that took us 5 miles down the North Kaibab Trail form the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to Roaring Springs. Then we had to retrace our steps back UP to our car. It was a long day!
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| 1989. View from the North Kaibab Trail to Roaring Springs. North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park. |
We photographed the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park at sunrise several times.
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| 1998. South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park. |
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| 2008. South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park. |
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| 2023. South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park. |
Zion Area |
| Zion Area. Red Arrow points to Peekaboo Mystical Slot Canyon. |
Snow Canyon State Park and Red Cliffs National Recreation Area are easy-to-miss gems east of Zion National Park. We visited them in 1998 when we had a free weekend while attending a conference in Las Vegas. Our impressive slides of these parks were mis-labeled, so 20 years later we set out to find them again. We camped at Red Cliffs campground and discovered that the Red Reefs Trail which started right near our campsite brought us to the beautiful waterfall area we remembered.
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| 2018. Tom at our campsite in Red Cliffs Campground. The shade from the shelter was welcome! |
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1998. Mary turned around at the waterfalls on Red Reef Trail. Red Cliffs National Recreation Area.
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2018. Climbers passing the waterfalls on Red Reef Trail. Red Cliffs National Recreation Area.
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With good internet access at our campsite, we researched the location of a mislabeled picture from 20 years earlier. Much to our delight, we discovered that it was taken at Snow Canyon State Park - not 20 miles away! So we went there and rediscovered another beautiful park.
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| 1998. Mary on White Rocks Trail, Snow Canyon State Park. |
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| 2018. Mary on White Rocks Trail, Snow Canyon State Park. |
In 1993 we decided to take the hike to Observation Point that Henning and Martha had taken in 1975 while we watched their son Johnathan. (See "Growing Up Backpacking - Part 1.) When we got to the top we looked down on the Angel's Landing hike (lit by sunlight) that we took in 1975 while our friends watched Andrea and Dustin.
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| 1993. Trail to Angel's Landing highlighted in sunlight. From Observation Point. Zion National Park. |
Another target in 1993 was to explore the Kolob Canyons district of Zion National Park. Our overnight backpacking trip involved fording a fast-running stream (both ways) and a day hike to Kolob Arch.
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| 1993. Backpacking in the Kolob district of Zion National Park. |
In 2019 we arrived in Zion National Park just in time for a rare snowstorm. The snow closed the eastern section of the park, so we photographed Zion Canyon. After an overnight stay at Zion Lodge, we were able to drive through and photograph the eastern section.
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| 2019. Zion Canyon in Zion National Park after a rare snow. |
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1998. Mary on Zion Overlook Trail. East entrance road, Zion National Park.
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| 2008. Mountain goats at Zion National Park. |
Not far east of Zion National Park, the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is a must-stop for anyone traveling with youngsters.
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| 2008. Karen and Becca (protecting her cast) enjoy Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. |
Just north of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is Peekaboo Mystical Slot Canyon (see red arrow on map of Zion Area). This canyon is at the end of a sandy 4-wheel drive road - we traveled there on a jeep trip with Dreamland Safari Tours.
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| 2017. Peekaboo Mystical Slot Canyon (aka Red Slot Canyon). ~12 miles North of Kanab, Utah. |
Another scenic park in the Zion area that is easy to miss is Cedar Breaks National Monument. When the weather is cool enough to enjoy the lower elevations around Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, the snow has yet to melt in Cedar Breaks National Monument, so the roads were usually closed when we were in the area. In 2024 we finally visited Cedar Breaks National Monument in the summer time - over the July 4th holiday. This was the first new moon after the roads opened and we reserved a site at Point Supreme Campground - a prime location for dark skies. We enjoyed perfectly clear, warm weather and photographed the Milky Way right from our tent.
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2025. Cedar Breaks National Monument.
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| 2025. The Milky Way lights up our tent. Cedar Breaks National Monument. |
Bryce Canyon Area
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| Bryce Canyon Area. Scenic Byway 12 begins at Highway 89 and runs east along the top of the map. Blue lines are routes we took. Red arrow is Willis Creek Slot Canyon. Purple Arrow is Paria Townsite. |
A second Dreamland Safari Tours jeep tour in 2017 brought us to Willis Creek Slot Canyon (red arrow), Kodachrome Basin State Park, Grosvenor Arch, Cottonwood Canyon Road and Praia Townsite (purple arrow).
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| 2017. Mary in Willis Slot Canyon. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument |
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| 2023. Kodachrome Basin State Park. |
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| 2023. Grosvenor Arch. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. (Photo taken with a drone.) |
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| 2017. Cottonwood Canyon Road. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. |
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2017. Paria Townsite. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
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Bryce Canyon National Park is typically approached from the east on Scenic Byway 12 - which begins at Highway 89, travels east through the scenic Red Canyon, past the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park, and goes on to Escalante, Boulder, and Capitol Reef National Park. Bryce Canyon Road runs north to south for 18 miles, passing numerous viewpoints along the way.
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| 2017. Red Canyon near the east end of Scenic Byway 12. |
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| 2023. Bryce Canyon National Park. Natural Bridge. |
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| 1993. Bryce Point, Bryce Canyon National Park. |
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| 2023. Milky Way from Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park. |
Escalante Area
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Escalante Area. Blue lines are routes we took. Purple arrow points to Head of the Rocks Overlook.
Red arrows -> Hole in the Rock Road. Blue arrow -> Hells Backbone Road.
Yellow Arrows -> Smoky Mountain Road. Green Arrow -> Spencer Flat Road. |
In 1989 as we drove east of Escalante on Scenic Byway 12 we were surprised by a breathtaking view. Starting at Head of the Rocks Overlook, the highway winds its way down into incredibly beautiful slickrock country.
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| 2017. Head of the Rocks Overlook |
The highlight of our 1989 trip was a backpacking trip through Coyote Gulch. We started the trip with a stay at the only campsite in the area - Calf Creek Campground, six miles north of the spectacular overlook. Today it would be impossible to get a site in this very popular campground, but back then we arrived on a weekday afternoon and found some empty sites. Since it was early, we headed out on a hike to Calf Creek Falls three miles further north. This beautiful hike ended at an amazing falls lit by the western sun.
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| 1989. Mary at Calf Creek Falls. |
After a night at Calf Creek Campground we backtracked 11 miles to Hole in the Rock Road, then headed south for almost 40 miles to our trailhead at Hurricane Wash.
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| 1989. Hole in the Rock Road. |
Our Coyote Gulch trip started as a relatively easy walk up Hurricane Wash wash to Coyote Gulch. After that we were hiking next to - and often in - the river running through the gulch. The first night we camped at Jacob Hamilton Arch. We were joined later in the evening by a party that enhanced our experience with music that echoed off the canyon walls. The next day we moved our camp to the intersection of Coyote Canyon and the Escalante River, which was flooded by Lake Powell at the time. We followed The Escalante River upstream on a day hike to photograph
Stevens Arch. The following day we hiked all the way back to the car, taking a shortcut on the mesa. |
| 1989. Coyote Gulch. |
In 2023 we had a local resident take us on a couple of jeep trips in the Escalante area. He choose Spencer Flat Road and Smoky Mountain road - both very beautiful drives.
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| 2023. Rock formation on Spencer Flat Road near Escalante. |
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| 2023. A different kind of natural rock formation on Spencer Flat Road near Escalante. |
The city of Bolder, Utah was one of the most inaccessible towns in the US in the early 20th century. Food and mail were delivered from Escalante over cattle trails until 1933, when the CCC completed a road through the mountains between the two towns. The steep, winding gravel road climbs to an elevation of 9000 feet, where it crosses a narrow stretch with drop-offs of 1500 feet on each side - thus the road was named Hell's Backbone Road. The route is not suitable for large vehicles and is closed in winter; in fact it was not yet opened when we tried to drive it in mid-May, 2023. In 1940 an all-weather, all-vehicle road between the two towns was finally completed; today Scenic Byway 12 from Head of the Rocks Overlook to Bolder is one of the most beautiful in the country.
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| 2023. Hells Backbone Road. Escalante to Bolder. |
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2023. Scenic Byway 12 - Escalante to Bolder.
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Capitol Reef Area
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Capitol Reef Area. Blue lines are routes we took. Red arrows -> Burr Trail ending at switchbacks.
Yellow Arrows -> Notom Road along Waterpocket Fold, ending at Burr Trail Switchbacks.
Blue arrow->paved Capitol Reef Scenic Drive. Green Arrows -> 4WD Cathedral Valley Loop.
Purple arrow -> Little Egypt on Bicentennial Highway 95 |
Scenic Byway 12 goes north from Bolder through the Bolder Mountains to Torrey and the main area of Capitol Reef National Park. But if you make a sharp right just as you enter Bolder, you will find the Burr Trail, a paved road that winds through incredibly scenic territory until it reaches the southern extension of Capitol Reef National Park. Here it turns into a gravel road and the Burr Trail switchbacks wind down to the bottom of Waterpocket Fold.
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| 2017. Singing Canyon on the Burr Trail. |
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| 2017. Burr Trail. |
In 2023, we drove on Scenic Byway 12 to Torrey and then took a photography jeep tour (yellow arrows) down Notom Road and along Waterpocket Fold, ending at the top of the Burr Trail Switchbacks.
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2023. Sunset in Waterpocket Fold, Capitol Reef National Park.
Taken from the top of the Burr Trail switchbacks near Upper Muley Twist Canyon Trailhead.
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Capitol Reef has towering scenery, much of which is accessible only by four wheel drive. But there is a lot so see in a sedan or minivan driving along Highway 24 and the park's paved Scenic Drive south of Fruita.
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| 2018.Goosenecks Overlook. Capitol Reef National Park. |
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2017. Highway 24, Capitol Reef National Park..
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In 2023 we arranged a jeep trip through Cathedral Valley, starting at our campground in Goblin Valley State Park (more below). We drove west past Temple Mountain to Cathedral Valley Road, which we took to the Temples of the Sun and Moon and then to the Walls of Jericho (see picture in "Red Rock Country - Part 1"). There we turned onto Hartnet Cathedral Valley Road and climbed up to a mesa with a great view of Cathedral Valley below. We went on to the Bentonite Hills and then across a rather dicey ford at the Fremont River and back to camp.
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2023. Temple Mountain. West of Goblin Valley State Park Campground.
On the way to Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park.
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2023. Glass Mountain with Temples of the Sun and Moon. Cathedral Valley Loop.
Capitol Reef National Park. (Circle #1 on map.) |
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| 2023. Walls of Jericho. Cathedral Valley Loop. Capitol Reef National Park. (Circle #2 on map.) |
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2023. Needle Mountain from the top of the mesa.
Capitol Reef National Park. (Circle #3 on map.)
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