SWF – A round about way for groceries

On the way to go grocery shopping in Page, Arizona Mike and I hiked the Toadstools trail in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and camped at Lone Rock Beach in Utah.

That’s about 140 miles one way along the northern route.

Lone Rock Beach is part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

The 130 mile return home after shopping the next day along the southern route takes us across Navajo Bridge where we saw California Condors.

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Buckskin Gulch slot canyon

Left camp along the Southern Cockscombs shortly after sunrise headed first to... (read more here)

Going Camping

I have the next three days off so I’m going to pick up the slide-in camper in Kanab. That’s Utah. Which is an hour earlier than Arizona. Yes, we’re both Mountain Time, but Arizona doesn’t do daylight savings time. Suppose to be there by 9am their time. Yuk, my day off and I’m still getting up early.

From there I’m going to further explore some of the Grand Staircase Escalante. You may remember I drove through there about a month ago.

A fellow Ranger recommended the Hoodoo Trail.

More good pics when I return.

Escalante Earth Day

What better place to spend Earth Day than the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument, where many amazing discoveries have come from the Earth.

Created in 1996 by departing President Bill Clinton and managed by the Bureau of Land Management this Grand Staircase represents 135 million years of Earth history.

The diverse geology includes many exposed sedimentary layers on top of the Page sandstone seen near Glen Canyon Dam. Tidal mud, windblown sand, lakes, streams and rivers followed by more sand until 94 million years ago when covered by a shallow sea.

About 145 million years ago towards the end of the Jurassic Period, the climate became more humid. Many dinosaur fossils have been discovered in the Morrison Formation from the period.

The visitor center is small yet provides great displays and knowledgeable people.

I’m so blown away by all the beautiful places I’ve visited in the last week. And I’m feeling mentally and physically exhausted. So I don’t feel like this post is up to snuff, and it’s going out anyway. The journey’s not quite over, so I hope you’ll stop by updates.