2 Three of us met in Salte Lake City to begin our adventure: Gary Thompson, Bob Roon and me.
3 Bob (left) is a professor at the University of Minnesota living in Washington and Gary (right) is a friend from Saint Paul. Bruce joined us later.
4 Our first stop was Arches National Park where the desert scenery proved as spectacular as the arches themselves.
5 The Delicate Arch, which actually is quite massive, has become a symbol of Utah.
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7 We hiked to an overlook at Dead Horse Point state park just as snow squalls moved through.
8 Canyonlands National Park was at least as spectacular. We found corkscrew trees throughout the trip.
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10 The clouds part to show mountains in the distance.
11 The young Colorado cuts through the rock strata.
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13 The formations at Natural Bridges National Monument are made by stream erosion, rather than wind and sand.
14 The other-wordly landscape at Goblin Valley State Park.
15 One of these figures resembles a duck.
16 Not all Utah towns have benefited from tourism.
17 Showing a little leg next to the road.
18 Our first glimpse of Bryce Canyon National Park was in a snow squall.
19 But the next day was spectacular!
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22 A bristlecone pine.
23 We hiked through Snow Canyon state park just as the cactus were blooming.
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25 Angels' Landing, a premier hike in Zion National Park. The trail threads over the ridge to the promontory beyond.
26 Chains provide some stability on this scramble but the drop-off still is disconcerting.
27 The "trail" over rocks on the knife edge.
28 My reward - the view from the top.
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30 Our radiator cracked on a very remote back road. Bob took an optimistic viewpoit.
31 After swapping vehicles (long story), we explored a smaller slot canyon nearby.
32 We entered the Navaho reservation to explore Antelope Canyon. The site is used for multiple purposes.
33 From inside beautiful Antelope Canyon.
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36 The "Happy shark" formation.
37 In an underground acoustic chamber, tourists beat their chests to hear the magnified reverberation. Bruce really gets into it and breaks up our Navaho guide and another visitor.
38 The traveling galoots.
39 Next stop on the reservation was Monument Valley, backdrop to many western movies. Local restaurants are lined with pictures of movie stars.
40 We explored a cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park. Borings from these balcony supports date the construction to the thirteenth century, when the area was heavily populated.
41 The Pueblo civilization suddenly collapsed in the late 1200's, probably because it outran supporting resources, such as vegetation and game. The people moved south and are the ancestors of the Hopi, Zuni, Taos and related communities.
42 Reaching the Balcony House cliff dwelling is a scramble.