A place no one knew - My 2012 Utah Trip

A lagoon stretches mirror like, bottomless black and beautiful before me.    Dragonflies zigzag by and occasionally dip into the water creating series of ripples across the water surface.  The pond is 30 feet across and looks to be about 5-10 feet deep at its deepest point.  At the right hand corner is a cylinder shaped chamber covered with stunning black desert varnish, which indicates that the trough is shaped by the powerful force of a recurring waterfall streaking down from the cliff above.  Across the lagoon is the emerald green of the aquatic plants floating on the perfectly still water surface.  Nature has positioned the plants artistically and poetically to form a picturesque backdrop.   On the smooth canyon wall, permanent spring seeps prodigiously from the porous sandstone, giving life to a hanging garden of flowers. Mosses, maidenhair ferns and scarlet monkey flowers are in a brilliant display. I notice a set of ancient moki steps carved into the wall and lead up to a small ledge above the chamber. The Indians who lived here before 1300 AD must have visited this lagoon often.  The ridge could possibly be their hiding place or a granary.  The primeval steps only add more mystery to this small canyon...... 

Sleepy Hollow is a wildlife sanctuary.  Inside the alcove-type cave, we found deer tracks, animal foot prints everywhere.  A little flowing spring is the heart of the cave, where animals come to drink, to nest, to rest and perhaps to dream.

Lower Calf Creek Falls

The trail leads to the Lower Calf-Creek Falls is sandy, and can be very strenuous walking, particularly in warm weather. However, the falls area, once reached, is a delightfully cool, shady haven well worth the effort.

Hidden Passage

I find it difficult to describe the experience of being in these places, the hidden passage, the beauty of the sandstone and tapestry walls, the designs on the walls, the pool of water at the end, the hanging garden, the little trickle coming down and echoing over the whole place…..     I hope in my next life, I will be a raven, perch high up on the canyon wall, live day to day, hour by hour.  All my existence is this beautiful place.

Golden Cathedral

"Nature is the expression of God" I can see more clearly each day.  There are no words to describe how beautiful this place is

 

After a week of tough hike, I end the trip at a nice restaurant looking over to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  Under a pink sunset, the cliff glows to salmon color.  Soon, the sky gradually gets darker; Venus is brilliantly shinning down.  It is the moment like this that I wish I had someone special to share with...

By and large, it was a good trip, a trip that was full of expected and unexpected adventures and beauties.  I had fulfilled my years' longing to see the Escalante River, the last river in the continental United States to be named.  Utah remains my favorite travelling place.  I look forward to my next adventure - the Bandelier National Monument!