47warlord
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Temple
This dramatic white building in the midst of a St. George, Utah neighborhood is the first Mormon Temple, erected in 1871. The grounds are beautifully maintained with flowers and palms
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Wall of Peaks
These peaks tower above a side valley along the road leading into Zion National Park. Everywhere you look in the park are views equal to this.
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Tunnel View
Driving back down into Zion’s Virgin River valley, we saw this view as we exited the mile-long tunnel headed back into the valley.
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Stripes
The slopes above Zion’s valley feature stripes and layers of different colors and directions and ages.
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Window on Zion
Driving out of Zion’s Virgin River canyon, we traversed a mile-long tunnel with occasional windows in the rock offering views like this of the mountains in the national park.
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Red, Green and Blue
Zion’s canyon has colorful, vertical scenes like this one of rich red, cool green, and bright blue.
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Wading In
At the end of the Riverside trail in Zion NP, many people proceed upstream wading in the Virgin River to reach the Narrows at the head of the valley. We watched them wade in but stayed on the dry trail ourselves.
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Virgin River
We walked the Riverside hike along the Virgin River to the end of the trail under massive cliffs in Zion NP. Hard to believe this little stream is responsible for this scenic canyon!
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Prickly Pear
The floor of Zion valley is dry enough for prickly pear cactus to grow on the slopes. A good reminder to stay on the trails.
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The Patriarchs
We needed warm shirts for a cool morning in Zion NP. Here we are below the peaks called the Patriarchs – from left are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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Zion Sunrise
The morning we visited Zion National Park, we caught views of the peaks lighting up with sunrise glows.
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Tall Grass
Between our campground and the mostly dry stream bed, you can walk past grasses that tower over head against the clear blue sky.
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The Edge of GS-E
Looking across this valley near Kodachrome Basin state park, you can see the pink and white cliffs that mark the edge of the Grand Staircase-Escalante national monument.
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Colors
Just another remarkable, colorful scene in Utah’s Kodachrome Basin SP.
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Thoreau
Walking along the nature trail at Kodachrome Basin, you pass several quotes about nature by famous figures of the past. After touring Utah’s national and state parks, I know that Henry David Thoreau had it exactly right.
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Statues
Kodachrome Basin SP is known for these pillars of white stone towering above the surrounding red rocks. This pillar reminds me of a pair of figures on a pedestal. Actually, geologists have three different explanations for how these formed, they don’t really know.
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Pink Giants
Walking through Kodachrome Basin state park, I happened upon this cliff face that looked like a crowd of pink giants.
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Entrada Formation
Kodachrome Basin’s red rocks are part of the Jurassic era deposits from the time of the dinosaurs. They are also visible around Moab and across southern Utah.
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Kodachrome
About 20 miles southeast of Bryce Canyon, we visited Kodachrome Basin State Park for several hikes through its vivid landscapes.
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The Grand Circle
This quilt in the Bryce Canyon lodge pretty well sums up this long-planned vacation. Except for Monument Valley and Grand Staircase-Escalante (which we only saw from a distance), we are spending time in each of these Grand Circle national parks.
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Grand Staircase
This display in the Bryce Canyon NP lodge, shows how many layers of sedimentary rock are on display from Bryce all the way to the Grand Canyon’s depths.
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Bryce Canyon
The bright spires of Bryce Canyon seem to go on forever. But this pink layer of rock is the top of the “Grand Staircase” of sedimentary rock layers that descend all the way to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
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Olympic Flame
This hoodoo near the Natural Bridge in Bryce Canyon looks like it could serve as a torch for the next Olympic Games.
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Natural Bridge
I celebrated my 65th birthday with Elaine by viewing Bryce Canyon’s spectacles, such as the Natural Bridge.
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Bryce Point
The iconic view of Bryce Canyon’s technicolor landscape is hoodoos like these viewed from Bryce Point.
Words Are Inadequate 