Our solution to anchoring down the fly

We decided to go for a hike down into one of the canyons. We pulled up at 8:30 am to the parking lot for the Upper Monument Canyon Trailhead and began to get ready... putting on our hiking shoes, smearing on sun screen, etc. A car pulled up and four large women got out. The music was absolutely blasting as they left their doors open. They took five steps to the sidewalk, pulled out their cameras, took one or two shots, then lit up cigarettes. Fortunately we only had to endure the noise and the smell a short while before they loaded up again and sped off to the next viewpoint. To each his own way of enjoying the scenic beauty, I suppose.

Upper Monument Canyon

We began the hike down. There was an short side trail to the Coke Ovens, so we did that first. These rock formations, carved by weathering and erosions, were named after the ovens that people in the early 1900's used to convert coal into coke (which was used as an industrial fuel).

Heading down the path

A view over the ovens

Super fast, tiny Violet-Green Swallows lived in crevices in the rock. They zoomed and darted around the rocks as they plucked flying insects from the air.

The hike down was quite steep, with numerous switchbacks.... a drop of 600 feet down to 5,200 feet of elevation. It cut through layers of sedimentary rock spanning over 50 million years.

Regan signs us into the wilderness hiking log.

It's a long way down to the valley floor.

Regan on the trail for a sense of scale

To the left, you can see the start of the switchbacks down.

Sheer canyon walls towered above our heads.

The trail down

To our right we could see the coke overns. In the upper right corner, you can see the railing of where we stood at the other trail end.

Prince's Plume can get over five feet tall.

The Yucca plant is only pollinated by a special moth at night.

A gorgeous Prickly Pear Cactus flower

This tree was growing upside down from the side of a very tall cliff. Where there's a will, there's obviously a way!

Yup, I am still enjoying my wood shots.

A pair of Western Whiptails watch us cautiously.

A Sagebrush lizard

Mere moments after this shot was taken, this lizard burst from the rock and lept into the air, attempting to catch an insect that was flying by.

Things leveled out on the canyon floor, and we slowly made our way down the valley, mesmerized by all the incredible formations, cliffs and monoliths that lined the way. It was hard to capture just how LARGE things were... and how insignificant we felt as a result.

The giant scars on the cliff are where pieces of rock have broken off.

After about an hour, we found a tiny shady spot near a rock (it was quite hot out!) and had some lunch. We then continued on, going as far at the Kissing Couple formation at which point we turned around and headed back.

The Kissing Couple

Window Rock in the far distance near our campsite

Heading back

Some desert varnish

Here the difference between various rock layers is quite clear.