Thompson Springs | Utah

Antelope!  They seem to wander around near the train tracks in this little community.  They were a little shy, but they did pose long enough for me to get this shot.

This hotel has seen it's best days, although when I was there taking this photo, two men were peeking in the windows at the mess inside.  They told me they were thinking of making it a little hotel again for tourists.  I hope they love lots of hard work!

Considering the age of this car, it doesn't look all that bad......    This was right outside the RV Park I stayed at. 

This one didn't fare so well......  But it's older!

Schoolhouse built in 1907, nicely refurbished.

There are multiple abandoned and derelict buildings here.

Spooky on an overcast day.

I have no idea if it's true, but someone said this is the café that was in the movie "Thelma and Louise".  Looks way more interesting inside than outside!

Other buildings are just shells.

I'm not really fond of the purple color here.......

One of the residents has yard that looks more like a mini-museum - he had everything back here.

 

Mountains look like they are melting into plains here.  

Rocks are multicolored here.  I think I remember someone telling me that the green rocks have copper in them.

A restaurant, show place was nearby, but unfortunately it was all closed up and looking abandoned.

The weather did this a few days while I was here, but only got a few sprinkles one day.

This is the third Boot Hill that I've seen.  I don't think this one has anyone really there. 

Red rock is everywhere near Moab, and it is stunning.

Lower Antelope Canyon | Page |Arizona

I have been looking forward to this hike for a long time because I have been told it is amazing.  Of course, the photos that the tourist places put out are absolutely beautiful.

This photo and the one below will give you an idea of how deep into the canyon we had to go.  There were multiple levels of steel stair steps going down into the canyon.

Since we were on a crowded tour with groups ahead of us as well as behind us, it was hard to take pictures of just the rock formations without people in them.  Sometimes the pathways were wide enough to include everyone in the group and other times they were so narrow that you almost couldn't get your whole foot on the sand.

Below are more of the shots I took during the tour.  Some are aimed directly above so you can see the light coming in.  Others are views of multiple layers of this amazing slot canyon. This canyon was formed by erosion caused by water as well as wind. Sandstone is relatively soft but it still took many, many centuries to form this canyon.

The hike is not a very long one but there is stunning scenery every time you look around or take a few steps.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

And this concludes our tour for today.

Bryce Canyon National Park | Utah

Bryce Canyon is a special  and amazingly beautiful place.  While I was in the area I took multiple trips to the park to be able to see most of it.  There are some areas that can only be seen by strenuous hiking.

The tree above has an amazing network of roots that enables it to live in this harsh patch of sand.

This is a closeup of part of a Bristlecone tree.  You can see the pine cones on it and if you look at the very end of that branch, it looks like another pine cone.  During the tour we had a very informative bus driver and he told us that it is actually a pollinator.  I think this is the first time I've seen a Bristlecone and it's very unique.

The photo above shows the tops of some of the hoodoos that are throughout the canyon area.    The hoodoos are  caused by erosion and ice and wind.  In the following pictures you'll see multiple examples of them.



 

This last photo shows an arch, also caused by erosion.