Utah 2009

Utah 2009

Over the holidays we did a big loop through the west. We visited Chris' sister Marg(and Dennis, Trevor & Tyler) in Durango for Christmas. Then we drove through National Park country in Southern Utah. Zion, Bryce, Escalante, and Captital Reef National Parks. Plus some sites in between.

In the heart of Zion canyon on a winter day.	At the end of the trail up the Virgin River where its time to get wet if you want to get further up canyon. Not on in this cold season!
The expanse of the mid-canyon. The walls are 2000 feet hight	We then drove up to Bryce Canyon National Park which has great cross country skiing this time of year.
After a couple cloudy and snowy days, we were treated to a spectacular site when the sun came out!
The contrast between red and pink formations and the waves of snow was rather striking.	We went for a hike down into the hoodoos. It turned out to be one of the best we'd ever been on.

Emerging from the depths.	We also checked out nearby Cedar Breaks National Monument which is way up at 10000feet. We skied in a couple miles to view the huge cliffs.
From there we drove over through Escalante / Grand Staircase NM and on to Capital Reef which is shown in this cool panarama.
We went on a couple hikes within the reef to see some interesting sights.	This is deep in the Grand Wash which is one of the few deep cuts through the reef. Water rushes through here during summer t-storms.