Natural Bridges National Monument

9/25/10 Working our way east thru southern Utah, we camped the night of the 23rd at the north end of Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Hite, UT. We left early the next morning, headed for Moab and Arches National Park. That was not to be. A side trip to Natural Bridges National Monument was supposed to be quick. We should have known differently when we talked with the intern at the Visitors Center. She had volunteered there and now was back interning and radiating a love for the place. It was infectious.

The three natural bridges in the Park were formed as the forces of uplift and erosion cut thru a white sandstone formation, creating the White Canyon and leaving the bridges behind. To get to the park, we had driven along the rim of the White Canyon, looking down into an ever deepening cut thru the sandstone. The Park roads and trails took us into the Canyon itself.

How could we be blessed to find ourselves at yet another magical place on this earth’s surface? Through the day of hiking and sketching and writing and looking I found myself developing a love for this beautiful sandstone. Unlike the sharp, raw and vertical walls of red sandstone canyons, we were now in a place where the rock weathered round and soft. I loved her bulbous rolls, cut and smoothed over the eons by the river way below; I loved her overhanging sides, rounded cliffs that shaded and cooled our trail hikes; I loved the way her crannies supported all manner of plant life… spiky cactus, scrubby pinion pine, mountain juniper and dry yellow rabbitbrush. Her vegetation, taken together, was a full green rainbow, set against the pink/grey of the sandstone… deep blue green, yellow and brown tinted green, grey blue green, bright yellow green, light green with red highlights, the variations go on (and change with the changing light). It was spectacular.

We camped that night in the ‘overflow’ campground associated with the Monument, a large open area accessed by a partially washed out road, offering space, views of the setting sun blazing off red rock formations in far mountains, and a glorious full moon… a lovely place to stop.

In the morning we decided to keep our compass bearing headed east toward Mesa Verde rather than Moab and Arches/Canyon Land area. That will have to be another trip.

I was sad to leave Utah. We had been treated to a journey through geologic time and outrageous land forms that could only be seen and touched, felt and walked on. The timeline of this land defies human imagination but her bold faces, raw and deep cuts, jutting mountains, long vistas, and twisting canyons enticed us, invited us in, and ultimately captured something deep in the soul.