Even the approach to the park was jaw droppingly beautiful (my computer is telling me that's not a word, but it does describe it).
The layers of rock are different colors. The layers have exotic names like: kayenta mudstone, shinarump conglomerate, chinle formation (which is petrified wood) & Navajo sandstone.
The Virgin River runs through the park.
Everywhere we looked, there were amazing vistas & rock formations & colors. This post will be mostly pictures - it was hard to decide which ones!
Because there is quite a bit of water in the park via the river & little streams everywhere, there is a lot of wild life. We saw lots of little lizards - not one would sit still long enough for me to take its picture, though.
Now we know where our mallards spend the winter!
It's also hard to imagine how they built a road through here! There were two tunnels,
this one was a MILE long!
It even had "windows" in it.
More colors.
We saw these Desert Mountain Goats - they are supposed to be shy, but these were right out there.
I found the layers of rock so interesting.
This is called "Checkerboard Mesa". It is made of Navajo Sandstone which is formed from sand dunes that are compressed into rock! The wind, rain & ice have caused the "checkerboard" grooves to form.
There are lots of hiking trails, both long & short. Some are tough, but you can take your time.
This one had a stairway up the rock.
A lot of these pictures were taken as I was hanging out the window of the truck - sometimes I was even sitting on the window -
some of the turns were hairpin, and the drop over the edge was steep and long!
On the way back to Leeds, we passed through this area called "Coalwash". The rock was scattered around and was pitch black! It did look like coal.
Hope I didn't bore you with all of the pictures of rocks! I have plenty more. It was a wonderful place to see, and is another I highly recommend. More rocks to come.
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