gf beranek
Old Schooler
Our trip to canyon lands was fascinating. Terri and I enjoyed it so much.
We flew to Las Vegas early Saturday morning, rented a car and drove to Zion National Park. We were tramping the trails by noon. The air was pretty clear with a few wispy clouds in the deep blue afternoon sky. The color of the sky in combo with the colors of sandstone peaks and greens of vegetation made the landscapes totally awesome.
Most of the peaks in Zion rise straight up out of the canyon bottoms over 2000 feet. Some near 3000. The scale of the canyon landscapes was breath taking.
Though coming from the coast the altitude and the heat of that high desert environment just about stifled us. I don't normally drink much water, but I sure did there.
The mule deer, mountain sheep, and turkeys are all so tame you can walk right up to them. Hunting would be only too easy if it were allowed.
For the most part Terri and I stayed away from the crowds and went off on the less popular trails. Still the views are totally awesome.
I always heard that erosion is what formed all of these landscapes, but I never realized the full extent of it. When it rains every ditch, creek and river in this high desert flows sediment. Like concrete flowing out of a chute. Practically every culvert and ditch along side the road has to be cleared of sediment every time it rains. I had no idea of the shear amount of sediment flows that occur in this region before taking this trip.
And what an eye opener it was.
We flew to Las Vegas early Saturday morning, rented a car and drove to Zion National Park. We were tramping the trails by noon. The air was pretty clear with a few wispy clouds in the deep blue afternoon sky. The color of the sky in combo with the colors of sandstone peaks and greens of vegetation made the landscapes totally awesome.
Most of the peaks in Zion rise straight up out of the canyon bottoms over 2000 feet. Some near 3000. The scale of the canyon landscapes was breath taking.
Though coming from the coast the altitude and the heat of that high desert environment just about stifled us. I don't normally drink much water, but I sure did there.
The mule deer, mountain sheep, and turkeys are all so tame you can walk right up to them. Hunting would be only too easy if it were allowed.
For the most part Terri and I stayed away from the crowds and went off on the less popular trails. Still the views are totally awesome.
I always heard that erosion is what formed all of these landscapes, but I never realized the full extent of it. When it rains every ditch, creek and river in this high desert flows sediment. Like concrete flowing out of a chute. Practically every culvert and ditch along side the road has to be cleared of sediment every time it rains. I had no idea of the shear amount of sediment flows that occur in this region before taking this trip.
And what an eye opener it was.
