Flyabout to Rainbow Bridge over Lake Powell, Utah/Arizona

Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Utah, can be reached by boat, on foot or on horseback but my preferred method of viewing is from the air.

I got up very early to go on a scenic flight at 6am while the sun was rising. We took off from Page Airport and headed over Lake Powell and Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. It's better to go flying early in the morning when it's cooler and generally calmer. The light is quite intriguing as well.

Rainbow Bridge is the largest natural bridge in the world at 290 feet tall and 270 feet across (about 90 metres) and is considered sacred by the Navajo Indians.

When viewed from the ground Rainbow Bridge looks as though it's in the open but from the air you can see that it's tucked away amongst the rocks. Zoom in on the photo so you can see the top part of the bridge in the bottom right foreground.


Fortunately there's no visitor centre on the ground to degrade the spirituality of the place.

After my flight I headed back to Wahweap to catch a day cruise which took us over the large expanse of the lake, into some of the canyons, and to Rainbow Bridge itself. It was a short hike from the jetty but on such a hot day a hat, sunscreen and plenty of water were essential.

This is one place to put on your bucket list but see it from both the ground and the air like I did.

For further information check out Rainbow Bridge National Monument and Glen Canyon National Recreational Area.

Colossal Canyonlands Totally Awes Visitors

The title says it all. Canyonlands National Park is Utah's largest national park and it's colossal. There's mile upon mile of canyons and rockscapes and the state's slogan "Utah Rocks" is a very apt description.

This national park isn't that far from Moab, adventure capital of Utah (it reminds me a bit of New Zealand's Queenstown). There are two sections to the park, Island in the Sky, the northermost area of the park, and the Needles District, in the southernmost section, closer to Monticello.

I didn't have enough time in the southern part but the drive in was absolutely beautiful.

More time was spent in the Island in the Sky section with quite a few different landforms to stop and explore. For a quick visit to the park, you can get to the main attractions by paved road. Then there's the really rugged off road stuff for 4 wheel drives. Hiking, climbing, mountain biking and rafting are other activities to do if you plan to stay a while.

The main paved road ends at the Grand View Point Overlook. That name is an understatement, much like saying the Grand Canyon is grand. You can see canyon after canyon fading into the distance.

I took this photo more for the actual lookout with the piles of wood bordering the path than the scenery. However, if you zoom in on the photo you'll still get some idea of the canyons in the distance. I'll do more posts later to show some of the park's other beauty spots.

When I was in the park it was very hot, so I had on my trusty Akubra hat, sunscreen on my face and arms, and lots of water in the backpack. All essential when you go hiking in the Outback or Utah's desert country.

Check out Canyonlands National Park site for more information.

This might interest you too. Click on the ad for more information.

Kolossal Kolob Canyons in Zion National Park, Utah

The Kolob Canyons are located in the northwestern part of Zion National Park in southern Utah. They're quite different to Zion Canyon in that their magnificence can be viewed from afar.

If you click on this photo to enlarge, you can actually read the information plaque about the Kolob Canyons.

I did find my patches of blue sky and the pale background just highlighted the coloured rocks.

Unfortunately, I couldn't spend as long as I liked in this section of the park. There are many walks to do and places to explore and some of the wildflowers were out too.

I would love to revisit the Kolob Canyons because there weren't as many people and consequently it's much quieter than Zion Canyon.

There are no camping facilities here either and people probably like the campgrounds which are not too far away from Springdale near the south entrance to Zion National Park.



I preferred this area but it may also have been because the weather was slightly better than the more famous canyon. You can decide yourself when you visit.

If you would like a larger version of the bottom photo for a desktop wallpaper email me at fran@franwest.com.

Read more about the park here http://www.nps.gov/zion

Zoom in on Zion's Kolossal Kolob Canyons, Utah

Zion National Park, in southern Utah, is a park which is very spread out, having an east entrance and the main south entrance to Zion Canyon. In the northwest there's another entrance leading to the Kolob Canyons. It involves leaving the southern section of the park and heading west on Route 9 and connecting with the I-15. Well worth the drive.

The weather, while I was in the southern part of the park, was overcast and not ideal for photos, so I decided to head to the Kolob Canyons to see if I could find a patch of blue.

Here there was an excellent visitor centre and landscape much more to my liking. Unlike Zion Canyon, where I felt boxed in and had to look up at the rock formations, the Kolob Canyons were more open and easier to photograph in the landscape format (for my DVD purposes).

The location of the visitor centre is a bit deceiving because it doesn't really prepare you for the spectacular views along the road leading into the canyons. More photos of the Kolob Canyons in a future post.

Read more about the park here http://www.nps.gov/zion

Cruising the Canyons, Lake Powell, Utah/Arizona

One of the many activities to do at Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, is to take a cruise around the lake and into the canyons.

Usually there are half day and full day cruises, with lunch provided on the full day ventures. On a hot day, if you choose to be on the top deck, drink plenty of water (provided) and take a hat and sunscreen. Just make sure that the hat ties on because someone on our cruise had to wave his hat goodbye as it blew off into the lake.

As you can see from the photo, the boat is right in the canyon. The cruise captain was just so skilled, he was fantastic.

Before we boarded for our cruise I was eyeing off the nice big boats moored at the jetty and was disappointed when we embarked on our smaller vessel.

However, as we proceeded through the canyons, I soon understood that a smaller vessel was more manoeuvrable. Even so, on one of the cruises, the boat was so close to the canyon wall that one of the loud speakers was smashed. No wonder the captain told us to keep inside the boat area.

Zion National Park Springs to Life

Zion National Park, Utah, has a novel way of motivating people to drink the natural spring water.

Rather than buy a new bottle of water every time, increasing the landfill problem, people are encouraged to reuse their water bottles at the bottle filling station.

I wish all water drinking fountains looked like this one.

Not only was the background beautiful but the water, cool and fresh from Zion's natural springs, was free!

Hiking is very thirsty work and people were lining up to fill up. I just managed to catch a moment when there was a break in the traffic.

Flyabout over Lake Powell, Utah/Arizona

Lake Powell and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area need to be viewed from both the ground and the air. So I rose at 5am for a 6am joyflight, with the pilot flying a route which took in some of the picturesque canyons, Rainbow Bridge and the dam.

The air was smooth and the rock formations were gradually being bathed in the early morning sunlight.


Dangling Rope Marina, on the Utah side of the lake, was worth getting up early for, wouldn't you agree? Sometimes the early bird gets more than just a worm!

Here's more information.