Our trip to the 4 corners, October 2012

Our trip to the 4 corners area in the SW states.

Click on any picture to enlarge it.



Our first morning on the road.  Gates of the Mountains, MT
Sweetie?  How did we get this dent on the _top_ of the camper?

The arabesque Moorish Revival Helena Civic Center

Well, someone's gotta do it, I guess.

It's getting to be a tradition for us:
Salt Lake City = Squatter's = Tomato Bisque 
It was still warm enough to be out on the patio.

Little Cottonwood Canyon Road, the way to Snowbird and Alta Ski areas.
The mouth of the canyon was the site of the quarry for the granite used to build the LDS Temple in SLC

John at the top of Guardsman Pass between Brighton ski resort and Park City, UT

Our camper on the Main street in Park City, UT

The Egyptian Theater, one of the many venues in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival

Hallowe'en is a bigger deal in the US than Canada.
A family (no shrinking violets, they) in Park City have gone all out
with the decorations.

The Platyrhynchos Pied Piper of Provo
"All right, you guys-  Listen up!!"

Another bag of duck food (chop),
Another mixed flock of well-fed ducks at the KOA in Provo.

Mount Elliot, a high point on the Book Cliffs escarpment,
between Price and Green River, Utah.
The 10s of miles wide and 100s of feet high exposures are an excellent laboratory
for 'sequence stratigraphy'. (big .pdf)

Ray's Tavern, in Green River.
Good beer.  Good food.  Nice folks.

Athena rocket in the park in Green River.
Athenas were launched from Green River, and used to callibrate and test propulsion and payloads.
Most landed in the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico

Git along little Dogies
Near Loa, UT

John in Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Petroglyphs along the Fremont River, Capitol Reef Park.
The river gives it name to the Fremont Culture

Sun and shadow dappled petroglyph

Intense colors in Capitol Reef Park.

Ruth at Hickman Bridge, Capitol Reef Park

Camping wild near Caineville, UT

Hollow Mountain gas station in Hanksville, UT
I doubt that Butch Cassidy got gasoline there.

This little guy had his own little Hollow Mountain.

Stegosaurus Quisquiliarae

in Hanksville, UT

The zookeeper of the scrap metal dinosaur menagerie in Hanksville



The upper reaches of Lake Powell, formed from
the Colorado River by the Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona.

The Goosenecks of the San Juan River, Southern Utah.
Very good examples of incised meanders.
Alhambra Rock, an exposed volcanic plug on the horizon far left.

Mexican Hat rock, in Mexican Hat, UT

Ruth in the middle of Hwy 163.
Forrest Gump stopped his run here
(turn off the sound if you click the link)

Right mitten, Left Mitten, and Merrick Butte.
Monument Valley, Ut / Az.
(They were named while looking at them from the other side.)

John and Ruth at John Ford's Point, Monument Valley.

Ruth at John Ford's Point.

The Yei-Bi-Chei at center, with The Totem at right,
and the rooster in the left distance.

Sunset and moonrise.
Monument Valley

Morning at Goulding's Camp, Monument Valley, UT

Baby Rocks, Entrada sandstone.
East of Kayenta, Arizona.

Teec Nos Pos Trading Post, one of the oldest in Navajo country

Ruth and John each in four states simultaneously.
That's, like, eight states, right?
Or sixteen?

Taking the 'short cut' to Ship Rock.

Ship Rock, New Mexico.
The largest of the volcanic plugs in the Navajo Volcanic Field (.pdf)
The 'wall' at left is an exhumed feeder dike

Election day soon.
Her name must have fit on the ballot, because
Ms Clash...er  Clatch. . . .er. . . . Chalice. . . .er. . . . 
Sharon won

Walking outside The Wyman Hotel, in Silverton, Co after a ride from Durango on the
Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge RR

The (somewhat dusty) old-time piano in Grumpy's in the
Grand Imperial Hotel, in Silverton, Co.

AAALLL  AABBOOOORRRRDDD!!!

Deep discussion on the trip back to Durango

Rounding the bend

The locomotive is original, from the early 1920's, and needs constant attention
Here, we are stopping to blow down the boiler.

John at Spruce House in Mesa Verde National Park.
This multi-media site works best on a fast connection

Kiva at Spruce House

Spruce House from across the Valley

Oak Tree House.

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde Park, CO.

Stacked Lenticular clouds over Colorado

Church Rock (more like a stupa) south of Moab, Utah

A pair of hawg ridin' Saskatchewanians coming into Moab from a ride in the desert

The large LDS temple in Manti, UT, older than the temple in SLC.
It's visible for many miles up and down the San Pete valley.

SLC- Check
Squatter's- Check
Gonna have Tomato bisque?- Check

Our last morning on the road, in Idaho Falls, ID.
The night before would have been cold, but for the nice folks at the
Sinclair station down the street who had propane and were still open at 11:00

Cool cowboy dude in Dell, MT