Slont Canyons

So we've loved slot canyons ever since we did our first one in southern Utah in the Grand Staircase Escalante area.  Mostly these were in the Vermillion Cliffs, but if we went further north we got into the White Cliffs, and although the canyons had interesting construction and formations, the color simply wasn't there. 

 So when local people told us to come to the San Rafeal swell, which is north of Bryce Canyon (Pink Cliffs), I was a little confused how the canyons could be any more beautiful.

Then I started looking at the formation here, and discovered that there had been an uplift in the layers of the formation of this part of the country. This is easy to see when you see a cross section of the San Rafeal Swell.

 I know - this looks like a bunch of gobbledegook. 

But wait till you see the photos from our first slot canyon visit.   You can REALLY see the uplift in the formation of the walls.  Of course Walt's photos are really beautiful of the canyon.  This one really shows the uplift angle of the whole San Rafeal Swell.

Mine were portrait since I had the zoom on my camera (which weighed a ton, hence the sore buns this morning!!!)

Boulders, rocks and various other impediments are frequently lodged in the canyons caused by the rushing waters through the canyon. 

 Of course Walt and I can not resist catching the other in action photos!

 Yes, we took Bruno with us.  We had a little problem with the A/C and didn't want to come home to a dead dog.  The problem with going through a year of puppiness, is that you grow so immensely close to the dog, you don't want to have to go through that again. We look upon Bruno as a beloved member of the family now and Walt has the dog he's always wanted.  Bruno and Walt are big buds and Walt does so much for the dog - that's a whole other blog for another day.  But here are the dynamic duo on this 6-mile hike.  That sounds like a lot and we ended up having to carry him out of the canyon and he sat down in the shade and that was that.  But Bruno is a trouper.  He wants to run with the pack, even though it's the alpha male, alpha female and he's the alpha dipshit!!!  Running with the pack is what he loves. 

Hope this isn't too boring.  We're headed out today to show more of the topography of this part of the country.  Even though the geology sounds so boring ( and I'm president of that club cause most of the time when someone says geology to me, I start singing Zzzzzzzz's!  But you see it, and it's a whole other exciting experience!