Utah's National Parks 2011

In September 2011 we spent two weeks exploring Utah’s National Parks and Monuments.

Focusing on the southern half of the state , we visited Zion NP, Canyonlands NP, Mesa Verde NP(actually in sw Colorado), Arches NP, Capital Reef NP and Bryce Canyon NP. In between we also visited several National Monuments, Forest and Recreation Areas including Glen Canyon, Monument Valley, Rainbow Bridge, Natural Bridges and Cedar Breaks and the Escalante Canyon.
What makes this area so interesting and unique is the diverseness of the landscape each park has to offer, ranging from towering mountains and dense forests; to dramatic canyons and gorges; to extraordinary sandstone formations of buttes, arches, mesas, natural bridges and hoodoos created by the erosive forces of water and wind.

Such diverse geology is a photographer’s dreamscape. A few of our favorite photos from this trip follows!

Zion NP                      http://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm

Angel Landing Hike, #1 on our favorite hike list

Location: The Grotto - Zion Canyon
Difficulty: Strenuous; steep with exposure to long drop-offs
Length: 5 miles (round trip), 4-5 hours
Elevation change: 1,488 feet
brief description of the hike which requires you to cling to chains and be on the edge of rock with potential 1,500 drops.  http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/zion/angels_landing.htm. 

The Wave     http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/arolrsmain/paria/coyote_buttes.html

The Wave is a sandstone rock formation located in the United States of America near the Arizona and Utah border on the slopes of the Coyote Buttes, in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, on the Colorado Plateau.   This formation is actually sand dunes calcified in vertical and horizontal layers, and the fascinating color bands are iron oxides, hematite, and goethite and is estimated to be 190 million years old. Due to the delicate nature of this formation, access is limited to 20 hikers a day, which are selected by lottery.  We were very fortunate to get permits for the one day we had available to hike there. 

Lake Powell Thunderstorm, Page AZ

Upper Antelope Canyon, Page, AZ      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope_Canyon

Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest.  Canyon is created from flash flooding and erosion through the Navajo sandstone rock formations. 

Mesa Verde NP in Colorado         http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm

Canyonlands NP, Utah

http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/canyonlands/visitor-center.htm

Arches NP,  Moab, Utah   

http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/arches/hike_arches.htm

Natural Bridge NM, Utah    http://www.nps.gov/nabr/index.htm

Natural Bridges is the World's First 'Dark Sky Park' in Southeastern Utah.
http://connect.sierraclub.org/post/OnTrack/worlds_first_dark_sky_park.html?cons_id=&ts=1342930097&signature=9aba85b50ee7e15d38c4488fd7cb8966

Bryce Canyon NP,  Utah       http://wikitravel.org/en/Bryce_Canyon_National_Park

Bryce Canyon is also a 'Dark Skies Park'.  http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/lightscape.htm

Monument Valley NP      http://wikitravel.org/en/Monument_Valley

Monument Valley is perhaps the most famous example of the classic American West landscape, located on the border of Arizona and Utah.