Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, UT

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument covers more than a million acres in southern Utah. Due to its vast size, I took multiple days visiting different areas within the national monument to get a small taste of its diversity to include cliffs, canyons, plateaus, badlands, and rock formations.

Grosvenor Arch

I drove 10 miles over a mostly well-maintained dirt road to see Grosvenor Arch. It was by no means a boring drive as there was plenty to see along the way.

Buttes Rise Above the Desert

Multi-Colored Stipes of Rock Strata

Two areas, Round Valley and Butler Valley, allowed me to get a closer look at some of the rock formations.

Individual Pedestals Begin to Separate

Chiseled Rock Stands Straight Up

Pale Rock Stands Out

Upon arriving at Grosvenor Arch, I was impressed by how effectively and strikingly millennia of wind and water had created the double arch of pale yellow, orange, and brown rock.

Grosvenor Arch within its Rock Formation

Grosvenor Arch

Closer View

Rock Formations near Grosvenor Arch

Devil's Garden

For such a relatively small area within the national monument, Devil's Garden and its Entrada sandstones pack a visual punch. On this day, the mostly overcast sky and faint drizzle messed with my photography but not my enjoyment.

I was able to identify the names of two of the formations.

Four Hoodoos

Mano Arch

For the rest of the hoodoos, stone goblins, and arches, my imagination took over.

Lego Executioner

Chocolate Meringue Cookie

Bear & Elephant

Roman Ruins

Flintstone House

Train

Silly Putty Arch

In addition to the fanciful shapes, the textures and designs in the rock itself caught my attention.

Molten Lava

Shell of a Tortoise

Wafer Thin Layers

Head of the Rocks

Head of the Rocks is an overlook on Utah Highway 12 which provides a panoramic view of Big Horn Canyon and other parts of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

View from Head of the Rocks

Hwy 12 Drops Down into Big Horn Canyon

Switching perspective from the grand vista, a closer look at some of the rock formations showed the character of the landscape.

Sandstone Mesa

Nature's Shopping Mall

Lower Calf Creek Falls

During the 6.6-mile hike to see Lower Calf Creek Falls, I was struck time and again by the location's diversity of rock formations, plant life, and water features.

I hiked over clay-like sandy soil and smooth rock surfaces as I traveled through a canyon created over countless years by Calf Creek.

A Few Minutes into the Hike

Headed Between the Edifice & the Canyon Wall

White Rock Rises Above the Lush Green

Only a Short Ways to Go

Everywhere I looked were rock formations of interesting shapes and colors. I almost had to force myself not to stop every few minutes there were so many. Of course, I came up with my own names or descriptions for them.

Death by Chocolate Dessert

Dr. Seuss Contraption

Space Citadel

Tow Truck

Wind-Up Toy Mouse

Yellow Submarine
(ala The Beatles)

Plants growing along the banks of Calf Creek were so abundant, they seemed to fill the bottom of the canyon. They crowded the trail so much in many spots that I had to almost wade through them.

Rubber Rabbitbrush, Gambel Oak, Juniper Trees, and More

Big Sagebrush
(the name fits...some plants were taller than me)

Hoary Tansyaster
(added a bit of color beyond the dominant brown & green)

The deeper I went into the canyon, the closer the walls got to one another. This is also when they began to reveal details a hiker might otherwise miss.

Microscopic Organisms Help Create the Vertical Stripes

Is It an Eye or a Mouth?

Fremont-Style Rock Art

Calf Creek begins with large seeps and springs. Its flow varies in width and speed depending on the terrain and the impact from industrious beavers. At my turnaround point, the creek's water reaches a cliff, drops 126 feet, collects in a pool, and then continues onward.

Pond Fed by Calf Creek

Calf Creek Near the Falls

Lower Calf Creek Falls

(Note: There is one more place I'll be visiting at the national monument, Toadstool Hoodoos. However, it won't be for two weeks due to the route I chose through southern Utah and northern Arizona. So, I decide to publish this post now and I will update it after I've completed that final visit.)