Saturday was my birthday.

And what did I want to do on my birthday?

Go hiking in southern Utah, of course!

(The family “celebration” would be on Sunday anyway.)

So David and I drove down to Calf Creek near Boulder Utah and just north of the Escalante River. We then hiked to the head of Deer Canyon which is a short side canyon in the Escalante River canyon complex. We wanted to visit Bowington Arch from the top, which required a moderate hike along the top of the cliffs.

Deer Canyon

Bowington Arch

Sandstone Ooze

After seeing Bowington Arch, we hiked a distance to the northeast to see some pictographs on a sandstone dome. These pictographs were marked on the 7.5′ topographic maps and we were surprised to discover that they were fairly minor compared to other pictographs/petroglyphs that we have stumbled upon.

Ancient Handprints

Pictographs

Hand Prints

Oh well. It was a great day to be hiking in southern Utah.