February 16th found my brother David and I heading for Kanab in southern Utah. From the Orem/Provo area we headed south on I-15 to Cedar City and then east to Duck Creek, Cresent Junction and finally Kanab. We took this slightly longer route just so I could catch some photos in Utah towns I hadn’t documented yet.
The next day we headed east to Coyote Buttes which is an area right on the Utah and Arizona border. We parked at the trailhead for “The Wave” but only hiked a short distance that way before we headed off-trail and up a drainage to visit a small Class ‘C’ natural arch called High Heel Arch.
We stayed overnight in Page Arizona so we would be close to Lake Powell for the next day’s plans which involved driving the dirt road on the north side of Lake Powell all the way to “Mary Bulloch Ranch” located near the Little Valley Canyon.
From the aged remains of the ranch, (two rusting travel trailers and some corrals) we hiked down Little Valley Canyon to locate several small natural arches.
Along the way, we encountered fairly fresh mountain lion tracks in the mud. We found ourselves watching our back trail for anything that might try stalking us.
Back on the long road back to paved roads, we did make a few side trips to take pictures of Lake Powell.
We stayed overnight in Page Arizona again. The next morning we headed north towards home but not directly. We choose to take the Cottonwood Canyon dirt road that follows the east side of the Paria River for a ways.
This allowed us to stop at Grosvenor Arch for a few pictures.
While Grosvenor Arch is a Class ‘B’ sized natural (double) arch, it has been obscure. That is until this area became part of the Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument. With no real scenic natural wonders to promote, Grosvenor Arch became the poster image for the monument.
After finally hitting paved roads in Tropic Utah, we got a little more serious about going home to Utah Valley again.