I Love Rocks

It’s true. Give me a pick and a fire opal or trilobite or geode digging site and I can wack away at the ground happily for hours on end. Canyonlands has lots of rocks.

This day is about day hiking further south along Salt Creek from our chosen campsite. As we walk surrounded by cliffs banded with reds, pinks, purples, oranges and yellows we notice the bands erode and decay at different rates and in different manners. The trail tells us there are red and purple layers of chert up there. Other layers erode to resemble brickwork which helps to disguise ancient built brick structures very well. The trail bed contains small bits of petrified wood as well.

With lighter packs and an easier trail we travel maybe five miles further south. We spot treasures along the way: an ancient grainery silently watching all who pass from it’s lofty ledge; our buzzing toads coupled and producing long streams of eggs; and of course, more beautiful rock. We pass Crescent Arch. It looks small nestled amid such a grand landscape. We search the cliffs for other graineries and rock art, but deep shadows hide them from view. It’s along this innocuous trail I succeed in finding something to trip over. The sun is brilliant and deciding to turn back toward camp is disappointing as the trail beckons with its never ending series of corners enticing you to go just a little further to see what’s around the bend.

It’s a pleasant, relaxed evening at camp and a curious hover bee joins us for a few hours…darting and staring. When Jason leaves to explore some rock ledges near our campsite, the bee dutifully follows him.Jason calls me up to join him looking east from a boulder along the cliff. There, about a mile away, past the towering rock fins by the trail stands Crescent Arch. It took miles of trail yet it was so close the entire time!