Grand Staircase-Escalante N M - Sept. 11, 2004 (Re-run)

 This national monument came into being in 1996 by presidential proclamation, starting life as a political football and so it has remained.  It is by far the largest national monument at 1.9 million acres, almost as large as Yellowstone National Park and actually larger than the state of Delaware.  The Park Service, which normally oversees national monuments, didn't want responsibility for it since there was no funding.  It was assigned to the Bureau of Land Management, which is accustomed to "managing" large tracts of land without funds for the purpose.  Accordingly, BLM usually does little or nothing to improve the lands in their care.

GS-ENM is a widespread collection of geological features, rather than a single feature or small group of closely related features.  From what I can see, BLM has done nothing to enhance recreational use of the park other than open four offices to supply information.  On the other hand, BLM has closed numerous 4WD roads for unspecified reasons. 

Setting aside the politics, GS-ENM has a vast array of recreational opportunities.  The plateaus, canyons, formations and waterways provide countless places for hiking, biking, camping, canyoneering, off-roading and similar activities in an extremely remote environment.  This hasn't changed and hopefully never will.

Lots of dinosaur fossils are being found in the park, but those areas are off-limits to the public.  Still, anyone is capable of finding petrified wood, a different type of fossil.

Utah Highway 12 cuts through the rugged country of colorful sandstone, making it one of the most scenic roads in the U.S.

 

 One popular hike is along the Escalante River, where natural bridges, arches and archeological ruins may be found among the tall, colorful cliffs.

A favorite stopping point along Hole-In-The-Rock Road is Devil's Garden, a particularly interesting group of sculptured sandstone.  Many of the figures there resemble human-like statues that remind me of Smurfs.

Another popular hike, about six miles round trip, leads to the Lower Calf Creek Falls.  This 120 foot waterfall is an oasis in the desert, a place of serenity and rare beauty.  The hike through the canyon is beautiful, as well, and gives one a glimpse of some large pictographs on the opposite canyon wall.

Bryce Canyon N P - Sept. 10, 2004 (Re-run)

 Smaller than other Utah national parks (less than 36,000 acres) and with fewer visitors (2.7 million per year), Bryce is nonetheless one of the more spectacular places you might find anywhere.  It's not really a canyon, but a series of amphitheaters formed by erosion of several types of sandstone, each a different color.  Situated high on a plateau, the park ranges up to 9100 feet above sea level, making it much cooler than most other parks.  An eighteen mile scenic road leads to thirteen overlooks that have similar, yet different shapes and colors.  Eight trails offer access below the rim for a walk among the hoodoos, majestic rock formations sculpted by wind and water over millions of years.

Native Americans lived in the area for thousands of years, but the first exploration by Europeans was led by John Wesley Powell, shortly after exploring the Green and Colorado Rivers through the Grand Canyon.  Mormons attempted to settle the area, and one of them named Ebeneezer Bryce built a cabin at the bottom of one of the amphitheaters.  Bryce ran cattle in the lowlands and reportedly called it "a helluva place to lose a cow".  Failing to provide needed irrigation, the Mormons moved on to greener pastures, but left the name "Bryce's canyon".

I have visited Bryce Canyon five or six times, Summer and Winter, but have never gotten the perfect conditions for photography.  On this particular visit, I took more than 200 photos.  Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with all of them.