2015  HIKING, CYCLING,

& RV TRAVEL ADVENTURES

Denali

 

   
 
Runtrails' Web Journal
 
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   MORE PHOTOS FROM THE SCENIC BURR TRAIL, p. 2

  SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11

 

Continued from the previous page.

The lighter sandstone crowning some of the red cliffs through Long Canyon is called Diadem:

 

The Visit Utah website notes that these canyons are so spectacular auto manufacturers often film their commercials here. I can see why!

 

 

 

 

 

 


Rabbitbrush and red Indian paintbrush

 

FANTASY WORLD

About 17 miles from Boulder there is an overlook that just took my breath away as much for the beautiful burgundy, purple, and gray colors of the rocks in the gulch right below us as for the grand tableau stretching for many miles in front of us:

 

 

We were awestruck, mesmerized by the fantasy of rock colors and the grandeur of the entire scene in our field of vision. We admired the labyrinthine canyons with a couple from Germany who, like us, was seeing all this for the first time and a man from Colorado who's been on this road several times.

I can see why he keeps coming back. You can't possibly see everything from this road the first time.

We dropped lower into the next canyon and I got these photos of the unbelievable rock colors as we drove out and back on this section of the road:

 

 

 

SINGING CANYON

On the way back through Long Canyon we saw some cars parked at the entrance to a short slot canyon.

We didn't even know about the slot before our day drive and we missed it going outbound because there is no sign or obvious path to the entrance. It is at a wide spot in the road near this ground-level striped alcove:

 

We went in just as half a dozen other folks were about to leave. A narrow path drops down to this wide, shady opening:

It was cool, literally and figuratively. We could go back only about 200 yards until it closed off.

 

 

That's the shortest slot canyon we've found, but interesting and just a few yards off the road.

FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT GSENM

What a fantastic day trip! We're sure glad someone told us about the Burr Trail so we "paid it forward" by letting other folks know about it while we were in the area. 

Although we didn't find a particular place within the national monument where we wanted to return this fall, we definitely want to explore more of this area in the future and visit Capitol Reef National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. (See the 2016 journal for photos from Capitol Reef.)

Now let's go west from our campground at Red Canyon and see what's in that direction.

Next entry:  photos from scenic UT 14 up and over the Markagunt Plateau to Cedar City

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, Cody the ultra Lab, and Casey-pup

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© 2015 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil

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