36 43.012 N 112 12.841 W
Route 89 from Sunset Crater north to Page has amazing scenery. It parallels a rift where numerous thrust faults trusted the thick Colorado plate to the NE upwards. To the SE is the thin pacific plate. All along the fault line, magma and heat have penetrated. We took many photographs, but probably none of them will depict the beauty. By the way, a landslide blocked to route to Page, but we were able to use alt 89 to drive to Jacobs Lake.
We drove though Marble Canyon, spectacular. I've never been there before. Midway through the canyon we cross the Colorado River over a bib bridge spanning the gorge. The green waters of the Colorado were beautiful.
The camp site at Jacob Lake was a bit of disappointment. It lacked the colors and the beauty of the desert. Nothing but ponderosa pines in all directions. It was also at 8000 feet and the wind was blowing a gale. It was plenty cold. We went to bed at 1830 just to escape the cold. By 0500 this morning, the wind had stopped and it was nice.
Onward to Zion. On the way is a viewpoint with a breathtaking view of the valley below and The Escalante Staircase behind it. We could see more than 100 miles west, 100 miles east and 50 miles north. There is surely no,pale on the east coast with such a view.
Tomorrow I'll blog snout Zion.
Posts
Cadillac Mountain on Mt Desert Isle Me has some pretty good views.
ReplyDelete