Grand Canyon Hike photos contains two galleries with 50+ photos in each. "
explTxt[0] += "On the Trail is photos of the hike down th"
explTxt[0] += "e south rim on the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch, then up the north rim o"
explTxt[0] += "n the North Kaibab Trail. Scenery is"
explTxt[0] += " awesome photos of the Grand Canyon taken along the way.
Photos may be vie"
explTxt[0] += "wed as manually-advanced slide shows, or may be selected individually from the "
explTxt[0] += "galleries.
Scenic Byway U-12 is 124 miles of outstanding scenery. There are photos o" explTxt[1] += "f Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon, “the Blues,” petrified sand dunes calle" explTxt[1] += "d slickrock, Escalante Canyons, Calf Creek Canyon & Falls, the “Hogsb" explTxt[1] += "ack” - a narrow ridge barely wide enough for the highway, and over Boulde" explTxt[1] += "r Mountain, with photos of the Henry Mountains taken from Boulder summit. " explTxt[1] += " U-12 begins on the west at US89 and ends on the east at Torrey on U-24.
" explTxt[2] = "U-95, on “the Trail of the Ancients,” with photos as it crosses Com" explTxt[2] += "b Ridge, runs alongside huge White Canyon (by Natural Bridges NM), crosses i" explTxt[2] += "nfamous Fry Canyon (a generally unkown Atomic Energy Energy Comm'n disaster" explTxt[2] += "), at Hite Crossing passes over the junction of Colorado River and Lake Powell " explTxt[2] += "and across Dirty Devil Canyon, then up North Wash to Hog Springs Rest Area and " explTxt[2] += "Canyon and the North Wash slot canyons, enroute to Hanksville.
" explTxt[3] = "The main attraction on U-24 is Capitol Reef National Park/Waterpocket Fold, whi" explTxt[3] += "ch has a separate photo galary. This selection has photos of Fish Lake, i" explTxt[3] += "nteresting geology, and Goblin Valley State Park, with a link to Capitol Reef N" explTxt[3] += "ational Park/Waterpocket Fold.
" explTxt[4] = "Moki Dugway is dirt switchbacks on U-216 that drop 1,100' into the Valley o" explTxt[4] += "f the Gods. Two photos of the approach to Moki-Dugway, two of the Moki-Du" explTxt[4] += "gway switchbacks, the Valley of the Gods from about half-way up Moki Dugway, an" explTxt[4] += "d a photo of nearby Mexican Hat Rock in front of Raplee Monocline.
" explTxt[5] = "From NPS: “The Burr Trail takes the adventurous traveler into some "
explTxt[5] += "of Utah's most beautiful and extraordinary country. Views of the Henry Mo"
explTxt[5] += "untains, the colorfully contorted Waterpocket Fold, red Circle Cliffs, and Long"
explTxt[5] += " Canyon all await the traveler who wishes to drive this interesting back road.&"
explTxt[5] += "#8220;
Map and 7 Photos, including the “colorfully contorted”"
explTxt[5] += " Waterpocket Fold switchbacks.
Rainbow Bridge, in Natural Bridges Nat'l Monument, is inside Glen Canyon Na" explTxt[6] += "tional Recreation area and the Navajo Nation, is the largest known natural brid" explTxt[6] += "ge in the world. Four outstanding photos from the 2009 Natural Bridges ph" explTxt[6] += "oto contest, plus an old black-and- white with people on top, which we chose to" explTxt[6] += " show just how gigantic this rock is. Rainbow Bridge can be reached only " explTxt[6] += "by boat from Lake Powell, or by hiking inside Navajo Nation.
" explTxt[7] = "Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River, off US89 near Page, Arizona. A pano" explTxt[7] += "rama photo of the bend, which also shows how huge these canyons can be.
" explTxt[8] = "There are only three highway bridges across the Colorado River for 750 miles:&n" explTxt[8] += "bsp; U-95 at Hite Crossing, the US89 Bridge at Glen Canyon Dam near Page, AZ, a" explTxt[8] += "nd the historic Navajo Bridge on US89A over Marble Canyon. Photos of the " explTxt[8] += "three bridges, plus the soon to be finished US93 Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge high " explTxt[8] += "above the Colorado (with a walkway!) near Las Vegas, Nevada, at the western end" explTxt[8] += " of the 750 miles, are presented here.
" explTxt[9] = "The historic Navajo Bridge(s), with a nod toward history. The discussion " explTxt[9] += "includes the changes in boundaries of Grand, Marble, and Glen Canyons, and illu" explTxt[9] += "cidates the questionable practices in the naming of Colorado River. Photo" explTxt[9] += "s of the bridges, the pedestrian entrance to the original bridge, Marble Canyon" explTxt[9] += ", the upper Colorado drainage, the confluence with Green River, and several NPS" explTxt[9] += " maps to indicate the confusion within NPS as to the boundaries.
" explTxt[10] = "The Little Colorado River Gorge - pristine, unspoiled, narrow and very deep.&n" explTxt[10] += "bsp; Looking at it from a distance on AZ-64 one can see that the land is level" explTxt[10] += " to the edge, then drops straight down into the canyon. The canyon is in" explTxt[10] += "side the Navajo Nation, permits to hike inside the Nation are required for non" explTxt[10] += "-Navajos. Currently one photo, others are in the works.
" explTxt[11] = "At 185' Grand Falls is higher than Niagra Falls, but since it trickles muc" explTxt[11] += "h of the time with little flow over the falls, and can be completely dry durin" explTxt[11] += "g hot summer months, it is not generally considered a tourist attraction. " explTxt[11] += "; It is in the middle of nowhere, accessible by dirt roads in the southwest co" explTxt[11] += "rner of the Navajo Nation - permits are not required to reach the falls from t" explTxt[11] += "he road. Eight photos at various water levels, plus two of the crater th" explTxt[11] += "at formed it.
" explTxt[12] = "All studies in global warming indicate that Lakes Powell and Mead will dry up," explTxt[12] += " some say by 2021, and the doomsdayers have been sounding off. But, afte" explTxt[12] += "r the sharp decline from a full Lake Powell in 2000 to 33% in 2004, and a comb" explTxt[12] += "ined loss of 9.7 trillion gallons with Lake Mead, the lakes have started an un" explTxt[12] += "explainable recovery - today (10/20/2010) Lake Powell is at 63%. We will" explTxt[12] += " watch it hoping our study turns from current drama to an historical item.
" explTxt[13] = "Geology in Color Country is a quick overview with 8 thumbnails of some of the " explTxt[13] += "selections available from the Color Country menus, with links to the pages for" explTxt[13] += " those photos.
" explTxt[14] = "Comb Ridge runs 120 miles from an Ute Indian Village in southeastern Utah to n" explTxt[14] += "orth of Kayenta, Arizona, with the most spectacular part being between its ori" explTxt[14] += "gination and the San Juan River, and at Kayenta. Photos, close-ups, and " explTxt[14] += "satellite images of this amazing geological structure.
" explTxt[15] = "Capitol Reef is Waterpocket Fold and visa-versa - Capitol Reef National Park w" explTxt[15] += "as created to protect the Waterpocket Fold monocline. The photo gallery " explTxt[15] += "contains photos of this interesting geological structure, the Sulphur Creek Go" explTxt[15] += "osenecks, and the Burr Trail switchbacks descending Waterpocket Fold into Stri" explTxt[15] += "ke Valley.
" explTxt[16] = "The stunning Cockscomb is the Utah section of the East Kaibab Monocline, which" explTxt[16] += " runs 149 miles from near Henrieville, Utah, through the Grand Canyon, to near" explTxt[16] += " Flagstaff, Arizona. Four photos taken from Cottonwood Canyon north of U" explTxt[16] += "S89, a paper on the formation of the Cockscomb published by the Utah Geologica" explTxt[16] += "l Association, and a Google map of four southeastern Utah monoclines.
" explTxt[17] = "Raplee Monocline, also known as Raplee Ridge, across the San Juan from Mexican" explTxt[17] += " Hat, Utah, is quite short (eight miles) compared with its neighbors that are " explTxt[17] += "100+ miles long. These monoclines are examples of some violent ancient p" explTxt[17] += "late collisions. This one, with its warped alternating layers of brillia" explTxt[17] += "ntly-colored red sedimentary rock and gray gypsum, is really beautiful in dire" explTxt[17] += "ct sunlight. Photos include Mexican Hat Rock in front of Raplee.
" explTxt[18] = "The Virgin River Gorge was the most expensive section of interstate until I-70" explTxt[18] += " was completed with huge “walkers” to place precast highway sectio" explTxt[18] += "ns on the side of the mountain. The huge cayon walls of the Virgin River" explTxt[18] += " Gorge are so distracting that there are many accidents and deaths inside this" explTxt[18] += " extremely scenic 13-mile gorge. Google Earth images including US91 over Utah Hill, whi" explTxt[18] += "ch I-15 in the gorge replaced, and a photo of the approach to St George.
." explTxt[19] = "Twelve Google Earth satellite images showing the geology and diversity of Esca" explTxt[19] += "lante Canyons. These images highlight the problem with Google Earth imag" explTxt[19] += "es in that adjacent panels can be as much as 3 years apart - here we see some " explTxt[19] += "snow cover mixed in with clear ground. And the images do not have the cl" explTxt[19] += "arity and pleasing appearance of actual photographs.
" explTxt[20] = "Photos of Lower and Upper Calf Creek Falls, and 6 photos of Calf Creek Canyon." explTxt[20] += " A map of the Calf Creek Falls trails is available, with a link to Tom&#" explTxt[20] += "39;s Canyoneering Guide for more information on hiking the canyon.
" explTxt[21] = "Marble Canyon is defined as beginning at Lee s Ferry and ending at the con" explTxt[21] += "fluence of Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers. That gets confused by it" explTxt[21] += "s overlap with Glen and Grand Canyons (see Parody at Navajo Bridges - History)" explTxt[21] += ". Photos and Google Earth satellite images of Marble Canyon and Navajo B" explTxt[21] += "ridge.
" explTxt[22] = "We turn to Webshots for 20 photos of Skyline Drive. It runs over 100 mil" explTxt[22] += "es across the top of the Wasatch Range, some of which is passable only by ATV " explTxt[22] += "or snowmobile, with elevations variying between 9,000' and 11,000'.&nb" explTxt[22] += "sp; As an external site, it opens in a new window, and closes independantly." explTxt[23] = "
Infowest.com, a St George internet service provider, was an early pioneer of C" explTxt[23] += "olor Country photos on the web, and received millions of hits in the early day" explTxt[23] += "s of the web. We link to them for some high-quality photos.
" explTxt[24] = "Dead Horse Point State Park - Utah's Grand Canyon. The overlook at Dead " explTxt[24] += "Horse Point is 6,000 feet above sea level. Two thousand feet below, the " explTxt[24] += "Colorado River winds its way through southeastern Utah, on its way to Lake Pow" explTxt[24] += "ell, Glen Canyon Dam, Marble and Grand Canyons, Lake Mead, and Hoover Dam.&nbs" explTxt[24] += "p; 8 photos.
" explTxt[25] = "The San Juan River meanders for 5 miles to accomplish 1 linear mile in Goosene" explTxt[25] += "cks State Park, in this geologially rich section of southeastern Utah. A" explTxt[25] += "lmost within site are Moki Dugway, Raplee Ridge, and Monument Valley. No" explTxt[25] += "t far away are Comb Ridge, Natural Bridges, Lake Powell, Capitol Reef, and a l" explTxt[25] += "ot of interesting sites. A mixture of photos with NASA and Google satell" explTxt[25] += "ite images.
" explTxt[26] = "“Monument Valley is not a valley in the conventional sense, but rather a" explTxt[26] += " wide, flat, sometimes desolate landscape...,” quoted from American Sout" explTxt[26] += "hwest. There are three Monument Valleys - the physical valley and two pa" explTxt[26] += "rks - Utah State Park on the Utah side of the border, and Navajo Tribal Parl o" explTxt[26] += "n the Arizona side, inside the Navajo Nation. Outstanding rock formation" explTxt[26] += "s, the result of uplift and erosion over eons of time.
" explTxt[27] = "Utah has many state parks throughout the state, from the brilliant sandstones " explTxt[27] += "of Monument Valley, to the deep canyons of Goosenecks and Dead Horse Point, to" explTxt[27] += " the lush green of Wasatch Mountain State Park. We send you to Utah Trav" explTxt[27] += "el for links to many of the parks. Since it is an external site, the lin" explTxt[27] += "k opens in a new window and must be closed independently.
" explTxt[28] = "We offer videos of a number of tourist attractions including Goblin Valley Sta" explTxt[28] += "te Park, the Burr Trail, Chute of Muddy Creek, Zion's Narrows, Delicate Ar" explTxt[28] += "ch, and others. As the links break (and they do, for whatever reason), a" explTxt[28] += "ttempts are made to find other videos of interest.
" explTxt[29] = "The Banners link presents full-picture views from which six of our page banner" explTxt[29] += "s were cropped.
" explTxt[30] = "Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in southern Utah is huge (1.9 mill" explTxt[30] += "ion acres) - unspoiled, diverse, beautiful, a geologic wonderland. But i" explTxt[30] += "ts creation is unique in that President Clinton created the monument in respon" explTxt[30] += "se to coming in 3rd in Utah in the national presidential election, preventing " explTxt[30] += "the continuation of resource development and removing it from the Utah economy" explTxt[30] += ". The link goes to the BLM.
" explTxt[31] = "For the Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, and Cedar Breaks we go to NPS (the National" explTxt[31] += " Park Service).
" explTxt[32] = "For Bryce Canyon and the Four Corners we go to Utah Travel (utah.com).
" explTxt[33] = "For Zion's National Park we link to Zion National Park Info.
" explTxt[34] = "Moab-Utah - an outstanding southern utah site - is where we go for Arches Nati" explTxt[34] += "onal Park.
" explTxt[35] = "San Rafael Swell - the best kept secret in the west. Or, at least, it us" explTxt[35] += "ed to be. Now that I-70 is open through the Swell, the secret is out.&nb" explTxt[35] += "sp; These photos do not even crack the book on this outstanding geologic struc" explTxt[35] += "ture. Little Grand Canyon, Chute at Muddy Creek, Goblin Valley - are not" explTxt[35] += " even the tip of the iceberg, in a relatively unspoiled wonderland beckoning t" explTxt[35] += "o the adventurer to explore and discover its secrets.
" explTxt[36] = "Photos of St George were taken from airport mesa.
St George web site link"
explTxt[36] += "s to the city's official site.
Max's St George is a link to Max B"
explTxt[36] += "ertola's Southern Utah web site.