Been trying for 2 days to get this post out but the wifi and internet have been a real problem. So here it is.

Two days of incredible vistas over rough, rocky, gravely dirt roads. We jostled, we bounced, we bumped almost all the way to Kodachrome Basin, the Grosvenor Arch and magnificent rock formations on the unimproved, “don’t drive when wet”, Cottonwood Road. It was well worth it. Most of the time I was hanging on to my cameras and Lily was hanging on to us. At times we questioned whether we were crazy for even doing this once. And then we did it again going even 10 miles further along the road.

The Kodachrome Basin, named by a group from National Geographic for the Kodak film because of the overwhelming  colors in the rocks, is a relatively small drainage basin.  It consists of numerous clusters of hoodoos, Chimney Rock, Shakespeare Arch and miles of colorful, multi-layered cliffs. We explored it all including a 1 mile round trip hike to the Arch.

Chimney Rock

View at Kodachrome Basin

Michael & Lily on hike to Shakespeare Arch

Shakespeare Arch

From there we proceeded onto Cottonwood Road in search of the Grosvenor Arch. The insane ride was well worth it. On our approach we saw huge white rock formations that resembled fortresses. As we got closer the arch became clearer and clearer. In fact there was not one, but two arches. As I walked to the base of this enormous structure the arch began to look like a flying buttress with a figure that resembled an angel with its head jutting out over the expanse beneath. I called it an archangel. The lighting was not the best but I took pictures of it from every angle I could so that both arches were in view. Apparently this arch was formed by rock more than 95 million years old.  On our second visit  we were joined by several Western Scrub Jays. It was unusual to see birds out in this desolate wilderness. As we finished our lunch, Michael threw them some bread. They went wild grabbing for the pieces, flying off , then coming back for more.  Their coloration and head shape are somewhat  different from our local blue jays.

Grosvenor Arch

Western Scrub Jay

When we checked with the Ranger at the Cannonville  Visitor Center about road and weather conditions, he suggested we take the Cottonwood Road about 10 miles further than the Arch if we wanted to see some spectacular views. After some crazy S curves and switchbacks (on dirt and gravel) as well as a riverbed crossing (with some water in it from the night’s rain) we crested a rather steep hill and stopped dead in our tracks. Wow! He was right. Sandstone, granite and vermillion cliffs greeted us in every direction. Some of these looked like shark’s fins, others like statues created by some ingenious artist. We even discovered a small cavern of unusual rock.  It was quite a day as we arrived back at our campsite covered in dust.

Statue on Cottonwood Road

I went down into Bryce Canyon this morning and walked through the bottom of the 1000 foot columns. What a trip. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some of my pics out tomorrow.

Today is clean-up day as we plan to take off tomorrow for the Petrified Forest  . Then it’s I40 and home.