Ed and Colleen in the Southwest: South Coyote Buttes

Monday, October 19, 2015

South Coyote Buttes

WARNING!!! Viewer Discretion is Advised!!! If you have been following our blog and you are so sick and tired of pictures of rocks that you just don't think you can stand to see another... STOP right here. Do Not Proceed!
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We woke early Saturday morning, hopeful our trip to South Coyote Buttes in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument would be a "GO." There had been a few sprinkles overnight, and a little wind, but nothing severe. Of course, up on the buttes could be an entirely different situation. So we were quite happy when our hosts Susan and Steve informed us over a breakfast that we were going to go for it! Susan made delicious sack lunches for us and our fellow adventurers; Connie, Brenda and Roger, and we piled into Steve's large 4WD. After a short drive on the highway, we bid goodbye to pavement and headed into the hills on an increasingly challenging road, with Steve pointing out the low spots where we would be unable to cross in case of flash flood. After miles of bouncing, we left the relative civility of that road and followed a track deeper into the hills---basically a pair of ruts through the sand, through muddy slogs, and over some gnarly rock ledges. All of us were increasingly impressed with Steve's prowess in piloting his beast over the obstacles. We finally arrived at the end of the track and marched uphill. For about 4 hours, Steve led a winding path up, over and through the formations, with each turn eliciting a chorus of exclamations from all of us. We enjoyed the company of our fellow travelers and the little rain we experienced didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm. Steve stayed in contact with his wife and partner Susan who watched the weather radar back home. We were able to make a full day of it and to drive out the same route we came in.

From here, there's not much point in commentary. We'll just say that South Coyote Buttes is the most fantastic landscape of shapes and colors we have ever seen. And it's not a creation of a Dr. Seuss mind aided by computer graphics and an army of artists. It is all a product of nature, carved by water and ice from petrified sand dunes. And because it is very hard to access, we felt profoundly honored to have seen it.

It was very difficult to select a manageable number of photos to present here out of the 400 shots we took. Hopefully these are a feast for your eyes and your imagination.

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Itinerary

October 4&5 - Great Basin National Park, Nevada...a place we've never been. The combination of high elevation, low humidity and no light pollution makes this one of the darkest places in the country, and therefore one of the best places to watch a night sky. Darker yet is the underground world of the Lehman Caves, which we will explore in this park.

October 6&7 - Cedar Breaks National Park, Utah....another new spot for us. This is a high-altitude natural amphitheater with brightly multicolored sculptured rock, similar to Bryce Canyon. It is surrounded by a lush subalpine forest.

October 8-10 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. We visited here on our honeymoon, but because a freak snowstorm covered all the trails, we were only able to look down into this spectacular canyon. This time we hope to be able to hike down into the hoodoos.

October 11&12 - Zion Canyon National Park, Utah. We were so knocked out by this park the first time, that we had to come again. As long as no flash flooding is expected, we'll explore some slot canyons. Since our first visit, when I (Ed) chickened out of the Angels Landing Trail, Colleen has seen photos and videos of terrified hikers clutching a chain while navigating a narrow spine of rock with a 1,000 foot drop on one side and a 1,200 foot drop on the other. So she has agreed that we will not attempt this trail. Whew!

October 13-15 - Grand Canyon North Rim, Arizona. This is the less-visited side of the canyon, and far less commercialized. It is also about 1,000 feet higher elevation than the South Rim, so the vegetation is more forest-y here, and generally cooler.

October 16 - Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona. Not an easy place to get into, as it requires obtaining one of a very limited number of daily permits in advance (Colleen got ours within minutes of them becoming available online!) And you either need to be a serious desert backcountry traveler, or be part of a 4wheel drive tour to access this area. But if you see photos of this park you'll understand why it's worth the effort. We hope to take some photos of our own that do it justice.

October 17-19 - Page Arizona. Antelope Canyon, another spot that is heaven for photographs, is on Navajo land, and as such requires that we be part of a tour. We also may take a boat tour on Lake Powell which provides access to the other end of the canyon and we will most definitely walk to Horseshoe Bend.

October 20 - Monument Valley, Utah. We'll explore around the vast sandstone buttes, mesas and pinnacles.

October 21&22 - Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. Much of the park will be closed this late in the year but we will explore as much as we can.

October 23-25 - Farmington New Mexico. We will explore Chaco Canyon and other archeological sites in the area.

October 26&27 - Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, Some of the best preserved archeological sites of the Pueblo culture are here. We will explore the rim and take a tour of the canyon with a Navajo guide.

October 28-31 - Sedona, Arizona. Hiking and photographic opportunities abound in this beautiful country. On the way there, we may stop to see Meteor Crater. And if we want to see something so spectacular that all other sights pale by comparison, we may stop in Winslow, Arizona. There we can see the statue of Jackson Browne in Standing On A Corner Park.---No, we are NOT making this up!

November 1-3 - Grand Canyon, South Rim. We shall brave the tourist hordes to see this, but since we're staying right by the rim, we should be able to get out on trails before the tour buses from Vegas arrive. Colleen was here once, long ago, with a guy whose idea of exploring was to look over the edge and say, "OK, we've seen it. Let's go." This time, Colleen will get as far into the Canyon as four senior-citizen legs dare go, without hiking to the bottom. We may also splurge on an aerial tour of the Canyon.

November 4-6 - Joshua Tree National park, California. We'll spend a few days hiking the desert landscape, hopefully with some more excellent night sky views.

November 7&8 - Now, for something completely different, we will skirt Los Angeles and come to rest near Malibu. We'll use this as a base to visit a couple of Getty Museums.

November 9-11 - Heading back toward home, we'll take a few days to explore Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The last time we were here, we were too young to remember much of anything. So, as with almost all of this itinerary, it will essentially be a first visit.