Slickrock and Shadow

Chimney Rock of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument Chimney Rock is an intriguing sandstone formation can be seen for several miles near the towns of Big Water and Church Wells, Utah.  Although it is easy to see, it is difficult to reach.  There are no roads that go directly to this monument.  Instead it is surrounded by sand, cacti, bottlebrush and very dry air. During my visit, I wandered across the sand to reach this monument and felt that this was a very typical view of southern Utah on a typical day:  fluffy intermittent clouds, beautiful blue sky, classic red rock surrounded by a dry environment.  This was not the golden hour when the light changes color.  This Utah in its' full, hot, desert glory! I took several pictures of this monument.  Ultimately I felt that the closer, wide-angle shot was the best.  I corrected some wide-angle distortion in Photoshop in order to accurately show this beauty.

Grey Mud Pool marks the end of Rainbow Slot Canyon in southwestern Utah. During the heat of the day, this spooky place stayed cool and quiet. Rainbow Canyon is a remote and seldom visited location in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  It is located near the Wahweap hoodoos and Sidestep Canyon.  Exploring the vast wilderness on foot involves climbing over, through or around the different pathways for water has made in the sandstone. As I was hiking up a sandstone canyon to see if it would lead to the higher ground, I found that the walls became more narrow the farther I progressed.  Eventually came to the very deep slot canyon which did not allow much light to pass through.  It was like a cave:  temperatures were at least 30° cooler.  After my eyes adjusted, I enjoyed exploring a little bit further in this slot canyon.  The farther I went, the more beautiful it became.  At the end of the canyon there was an abrupt cliff fa...

Green, brown and white stripes cover everything in Sidestep Canyon Sidestep Canyon is often overlooked because so many other world-class features are located between Page, Arizona and Kanab, Utah. However, taking time to explore this area is certainly rewarding. It's a fairly simple drive to the rim of Sidestep Canyon. Climbing down into the canyon is more of an adventure. There are no trails. Many of the rocks are rounded like the ones pictured above and jumping from one rock to another is not only the best way to travel but it is also quite fun. As you can see in the bigger picture above, Sidestep Canyon is quite deep and there is a lot to explore. Many impressive hoodoos are located on the north and south canyon walls. Within the canyon itself on are beautiful colored rocks, some with green, brown, red and white of course. On this particular day, the sun was out and beautiful to begin the day. At the end of the day the class came in and it was snowing lightly. It did not ...