Tag: red rocks

Leprechaun Canyon Adventure

Posted on by Joy

Let’s go for a hike to a little known canyon in the Irish Canyon area along UT-95 in Utah. No, I’m not kidding. Leprechaun Canyon is part of the Irish Canyon area 28 miles south of Hanksville. You must carefully count the miles because there are no signs and the unpaved parking area is easy to miss. Ooops, have to back up, I just missed it. Luckily there are no cars on UT-95 as far as the eye can see in either direction. Ahh, wilderness.

Although this area is known for full-geared climbing and rappelling, only walking and a tiny bit of scrambling is needed to explore Leprechaun Canyon. Just my kind of “challenge”, so let’s go!

Yup, sand will give us an extra workout

Glacier’s Two-Waterfall Ramble

Posted on by Joy

Well hi! What a delight to visit Glacier National Park again. Let’s take a two-waterfall hike to Saint Mary Falls then Virginia Falls on the east side of the park. This is the first time for me and maybe you too, so grab your gear and let’s go. It will be 3.6 miles round trip with lots of wide switchbacks taking us first down about 260 feet then up about 280 feet–then doing it in reverse. Let’s take our time and enjoy the ramble because we’ll no doubt be huffing and puffing as we go!

Let’s go . . .

Fire Wave/Seven Wonders Trail

Posted on by Joy

Valley of Fire State Park

Here we are at the Fire Wave/Seven Wonders Trailhead. Well, actually we couldn’t find the Fire Wave Trailhead, so we are across the street to do the 1.8 mile loop in the other direction. It is about 8am and only two other cars in the large parking lot. Fire Wave is a major feature here in Valley of Fire. We will get there toward the end of our hike. Here we go!

Watch your step!

Cottonwood Canyon Road, Utah’s Geologic Rainbow

Posted on by Joy

About 20 miles southeast of Bryce Canyon National Park is a 40-mile road that will take your breath away: Cottonwood Canyon Road. It is in the southwest part of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a rugged, remote 1.87 million acre wilderness and a Utah jewel. The landscape has unique geologic formations of red, white, pink, blue, green, yellow, and more. Coming up out of the sagebrush valley, we are south of Kodachrome Basin State Park. Our “kodachrome” colors will only get better! The first six miles of Cottonwood Canyon Road is paved, but then we adventure on a graded dirt and clay surface with warnings to never travel when raining. Well, it is a beautiful day with no rain forecast so off we go!

Look, the colors are changing . . .