-
Video of Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
Natural Bridges, 6,500 feet above sea level on Cedar Mesa, is home to three spectacular sandstone landforms. The three massive bridges where formed from sandstone that was once the shore of an ancient sea. Sipapu (In Hopi methology, a gateway through which souls may pass to the spirit world), is the second largest natural bridge in the world. Kachina (named for the dancers that play a central role in Hopi religious tradition), is the youngest of the three. A rock fall in 1992 dropped over 4,000 tons of rock to the valley floor. Owachomo (rock mound in Hopi), is named after the rock formation on top of the southeast end of the bridge. The “Bear’s Ears” buttes are seen on the horizon. Horsecollar Ruin is a well preserved ancestral Puebloan site that is more that 700 years old. There is a campground available with 13 sites. An 8.6 mile loop trail will take you to all three bridges. Shorter trails lead to each bridge from the scenic drive.
-
Emerald Pools Trail – Zion National Park, Utah
-
Video of Emerald Pools and Trail, Zion National Park, Utah
Water from Heaps Canyon, originating ten miles away in the further reaches of Zion, takes a 150 meter fall in the upper Emerald Pool. From there the stream drops about 350 feet to two other pools until is reaches the Virgin River. The round trip trail from the Zion Lodge to all the pools is about 3 miles and takes about two hours. Springtime has the best waterfalls and the summer stream bed is usually dry. Slideshow and photographs copyright 2008, Creative Juice LLC.
Emerald Pools trail information
-
Frijoles Canyon, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico
Bandelier National Monument video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-RljEZeIQA
-
Black Dragon Canyon, San Rafael Swell, Utah
©2008 John Wanserski for Creative Juice LLCSan Rafael Swell (Wikipedia entry)
Blog entries for the San Rafael Swell