August 18, 2020
With more than 2,000 arches within its 76,000 acres, Arches National Park is a huge tourist draw. And given the accessibility and relatively short hikes about their most iconic arches, I knew I couldn’t pass it up during the daytime hours… and during the night time hours. Which meant two Read more…
August 16, 2020
In yet another fascinating display of what time and the elements can do to the land, it would be a hunt for whimsical Jurassic-era sandstone creatures of all shapes and sizes within Goblin Valley State Park. Used in the film Galaxy Quest, the otherworldly landforms span three free-roamable square miles Read more…
August 15, 2020
After my strenuous dip into Utah’s national parks, starting at Zion, Bryce Canyon National Park was very “user friendly.” You can drive and park to all of the gorgeous viewpoints–offering the best perspective in which to view its prominent features: 14 amphitheaters of hoodoo action, layers of time-worn rock–some gracing Read more…
August 14, 2020
Like all of this land, indigenous peoples got to know it prior to European-American settlers’ arrival and established names based on its distinguishing features. The Southern Paiute called Cedar Breaks National Monument “u-map-wich”, which translated to “the place where the rocks are sliding down all the time..” The Southern Paiute’s Read more…
August 13, 2020
Before Zion National Park was declared a national park, it was a national monument–Mukuntuweap National Monument, established in 1909. The words of Mormon bigwig Isaac Behunin appealed to decision makers when it received national park designation. He said, “A man can worship God among these great cathedrals as well as Read more…
Look at a topographical map of the United States and find the big mass of crinkled brown. That will be my home for the next 14 days. The extreme landforms of this part of the country are otherworldly, beautifully impractical. Lack of easy access to water and its canyons, cliffs, Read more…