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1978. Mary, Dustin, & Andrea
Cliff dwelling, Canyonlands NP |
One of our favorite vacation areas is Red Rock Country - roughly the southern half of Utah and northern third of Arizona. Home to seven National Parks, numerous National Monuments and State Parks, vast Tribal and BLM Lands, this incredibly photogenic area of towering red cliffs and deep red canyons is dotted with centuries-old dwellings built by the earliest inhabitants of our country.
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| Red Rock Country - Home to seven National Parks
Here is a snapshot of the seven national parks in Red Rock Country, in roughly clockwise order:
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| 2011. Annie and Dustin. Delicate Arch. Arches National Park. |
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| 2011. Chesler Park backpacking trip. Karen, Andrea, Becca. Canyonlands National Park. Utah. |
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| May 8, 2018. Cliff Palace was closed for restoration work. Mesa Verde National Park. |
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| 1998. Andrea at Desert View Watch Tower, Grand Canyon National Park. |
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| 2017. Tunnel View, Zion National Park. |
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| 1989. Thor's Hammer, Bryce Canyon |
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| 2017. Scenic Drive, Capitol Reef National Park. |
Now for a more in depth look at Red Rock Country, with snapshots of the many parks and recreation areas we have visited, in roughly clockwise order.
Arches and Canyonlands Area
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| 1978;Mary, Dustin & Andrea 2011. Dustin. At the same Double O Arch, Arches National Park. |
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| 2011. Double Arch, Arches National Park/ |
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| 2017. Dead Horse Point State Park. |
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2017. Mesa Arch. Canyonlands National Park.
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| 2017. Green River Overlook, Canyonlands National Park. |
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2017. Needles District. Canyonlands National Park.
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The Northern section of Bears Ears National Monument lies east of Canyonlands National Park. While driving to Canyonlands Needles District, we visited the Newspaper Rock Archeological site in Bears Ears National Monument.
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From: https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/resources/bears-ears-national-monument-map/
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| 2017. Newspaper Rock, Bears Ears National Monument - east of Canyonlands NP Needles District. |
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| 2017. Closeup of Newspaper Rock, Bears Ears National Monument - east of Canyonlands NP Needles District. |
Cedar Mesa
Canyonlands National Park is bounded on the south by the Abajo Mountains, where the formidable Comb Ridge begins - it runs 80 miles south to the San Juan River. Comb Ridge is a narrow white stripe on maps; but on the ground it created a significant barrier to east-west travel until 1976, when Highway 95 was cut through Comb Ridge near Blanding. West of Comb Ridge, the Bears Ears Buttes in the north give way to Cedar Mesa, a land of beautiful canyons and countless ancient dwellings bounded on on the south by the San Juan River and on the west by Grand Gulch.
Cedar Mesa North
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| 2017 Five Kiva Pueblo near Blading |
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2017. Comb Ridge.
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| 2017. Owachomo Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument. |
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| 2017. Horse Collar Ruins, Natural Bridges National Monument. |
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| 2017. Bears Ears Buttes. Taken from the loop road in Natural Bridges National Monument. |
In 2017 we took a guided Jeep trip up Arch Canyon, over rocks and across streams to Cathedral Arch. We took a treacherous jeep trail and saw a lot of ancient dwellings along the way.
2017. Arch Canyon Jeep Ride
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| 2017. Ruins in Arch Canyon. |
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| 2017. Cathedral Arch at the end of Arch Canyon. |
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| 2017. Cathedral Arch closeup at the end of Arch Canyon. |
In 1993 We backpacked up Owl Creek Canyon and hiked to Nevill's Arch the next day.  |
| 1993. Nevill's Arch in Owl Creek Canyon. |
Cedar Mesa South
In 2023 we camped in the Valley of the Gods for a couple of nights. We had perfectly dark skies at night and drove up the Moki Dugway during the day.
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| 2023 Morning view from our campsite, Valley of the Gods. |
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| 2023. Milky Way, Valley of the Gods. |
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| 2023. Tom. Monument Valley and San Juan River from Muley Point East at the top of the Moki Dugway. |
2023. Moki Dugway.
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| 2017. Gooseneck State Park. The goosenecks are a favorite place for rafting on the San Juan River. |
Four Corners Area
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| 2017. Twin Towers, Hovenweep National Monument |
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| 2017. Eroded Boulder House, Hovenweep National Monument |
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| 2017. Hovenweep Castle, Hovenweep National Monument |
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| 2017. Square Tower, Hovenweep National Monument |
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| 2018. Far View House, Mesa Verde National Park. |
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| 2018. Spiral Petroglyph, Pipe Shrine House, Mesa Verde National Park. |
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| 2018. Balcony House, Mesa Verde National Park. |
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| 2017. Spider Rock (center), Canyon de Chelly National Monument. |
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| 2017. White House, Canyon de Chelly National Monument. |
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| 2017. Navajo National Monument. |
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| 2017. Betatakin Cliff Dwelling, Navajo National Monument. |
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| 2017. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. |
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| 2024. Left Mitten and Right Mitten, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. |
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| 2024. Merrick Bute, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. |
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| 2017. Sunrise, The View Campground. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. |
Page Area
In 2017, the Navajo Nation offered photography tours of Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon, as well as Rattlesnake Canyon near Page, Arizona. Tom went on all three tours.
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2017. Upper Antelope Canyon Tour.
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In 2008, we went on a river rafting trip down the Colorado River with Andrea's family. We started at the Glen Canyon Dam, stopped at Petroglyph Beach to rest and view petroglyphs, then ended the trip at Lee's Ferry.
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| 2008. Raft trip from Glen Canyon Dam to Lee's Ferry. |
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| 2008. Petroglyph Beach stop. Colorado River Trip. Brian, Karen, Becca. Andrea, Mary. |
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| 2017. Horseshoe Bend. See the rafts that are stopped below? |
In 2023 we went on a 3 day Jeep trip to White Pocket in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument with Dreamland Safari Tours. This was a photography workshop on night sky photography - timed, of course, when there was a new moon.
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2017. Vermillion Cliffs National Monument.
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| 2023. White Pocket. Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. |
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| 2023. White Pocket. Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. |
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| 2023. Milky Way. White Pocket. Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. |
