The Arizona Strip – III

Pictures taken at our camp site, White Rock CG. We would call it Chocolate Swirl CG.

One Of My Fav’s

Yellow Mountain

This has been on my bucket list for years. The first time I tried it, I could not even find the trail from the road through the Tamarisks. This time I was able to find the faint trail, mostly used by cows. After crossing the shallow Paria River and entering the drainage canyon, I found the trail. Can you see it? Steep and filled with scree. It was the challenging climbs I have attempted. Huffing and puffing, I thought twice about blowing it off. After resting for awhile and looking up, I was twice enticed to continue and twice fooled by false tops.

Somehow, I made it and this was the view. I would have liked to hiked over to it and walked around on it. But I was totally baked. So I contented myself shooting hand held with 600mm digital telephoto.

Looks like a wave to me  

Jaded

After the sights we have seen in the last month, we are now jaded. Nothing else, in the US, compares to Valley of Fire or the pockets of wonder found in and around Vermillion Cliffs. This is nirvana for us. Several years ago, I bought two books on photographing the south west. They have pointed us in directions we would have never known about. He provides details on the best time of day for photography and detailed access information. The day we were leaving Vermillion Cliffs I thought to look at them. Discovered I had left plenty on the table. I hope to live another year so can return and at least try to get some of the shots he did.

Indian Country

When you drive east from Page, AZ you enter Indian Country. Most of AZ, NM and southern UT is Indian Country. We elected to take this route to Moab simply to stay in the boonies. On a whim, we decided to see what the Navajo Monument was all about. Well, it’s like Mesa Verde, without all the people. The only person in the VC was a Indian woman running the book store. She was most forthcoming in answering our questions about Indian culture. The campground is delightful. We were the only ones here all afternoon. After 6, two tenters showed up. And it’s free.

The more remote Keet Seel site is accessed from here in the warmer months. It’s supposed to be the best preserved site in the SW. We will not be seeing it as it is a 17 mile hike.

You decide from the pictures, if it’s worth your time.

Any and every canyon out here has ruins