It was nearly impossible for the Grand Canyon to compete with the intimate experience of being inside the slot canyons in Page. However the scale of this most well known of American landscapes and the array of colours painting the story of its geological history through its layers was awesome to look down on. And realising it is all just ever so slowly crumbling over the eons was a curious realisation – nothing is permanent.
At one of the lookouts was the Desert View Watchtower, a gorgeous stone building designed by Mary Coulter in the 1930’s. It was inspired by the architecture of the ancestral Puebloan people and the inside decorated with images and paintings from First Nations peoples. It was encouraging to see a building that fitted so well with its landscape – hence all the photos!
The landscape kept changing with the weather – sunshine the first afternoon and snowing as we drove on the next day.
Another eyepopping drive on through Arizona back ino Utah, nature in all directions, it was almost trancelike. Audiobooks were the kids’ friends on these journeys, allowing for window gazing and brain food at the same time.
Then we got to Arches National Park and it got even better – we all wished we had more time here and in Moab, the town we stayed in. Other wordly vibe – its like those red rocks are talking to you.
Yup, it’s a lot of photos of rocks but we just couldn’t get enough. And then to top it off a spectacular drive on up to Colorado, heads full of Big Nature.
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