From bizarre rock formations, through a slot canyon, to colorful sandstone cliffs, this day in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef had it all.

Not to be confused with an area of the same in Arches National Park, this area of hoodoos and other sandstone formations protruding from the landscape is right off Hole-in-the-Rock Road. It was a quiet morning respite for me, an opportunity to enjoy some more intimate aspects of the desert.

Park sign	Candles	Phallic rocks	Hoodoo voodoo	Shadow	Triplets
	Balanced rocks in BW		Arch	Arch framed pine

One of the most easily accessible and easy slot canyons in the area is located a few miles down a dirt road from Cannonvile. There is a small parking lot. From there, the canyon starts just a few feet deep and gets deeper as one walks downstream. There are several narrows areas where the canyon is just a few feet wide and the walls rise vertically and high on both sides. The bottom of the canyon makes for an easy passing and stays as an easily walkable gravel path, albeit shared with the stream running through the canyon. The canyon widens for good after about 1.5 miles, and that is where I turned around.

Cows on the road	Willis Creek Canyon	Creek in the canyon	Scrapes		Narrows
Slit			Walls and the sky	Start of the canyon

Kodachrome Basis is a Utah state park somewhat reminiscent of Bryce Canyon to the north. Colorful sandstone cliffs and formations abound. I made a short loop hike starting from the park road. The views were great, but the midday sun could not make the colors, that gave the park its name, stand out as they would earlier or later in the day.

Return from Willis Creek	Trail below the cliffs	Kodachrome Basin	Eroded rocks	Dead tree	Hoodoos
	Escalante River panorama 1	Escalante River panorama 2	Escalante River panorama 3	Motorcyclist on Highway 12

After a two and a half hour drive back to Capitol Reef, Chimney Rock welcomed me back. It is a rock formation prominently visible as one enters the park on Highway 24 from the west. The late afternoon sun made for a very photogenic scene.

Utah Highway 24	Chimney Rock			Desert view	Dead tree in BW
Dead tree		Wildflowers in the desert

As the name seems to imply, this is the place to be for sunset, I decided to join the crowds and see for myself. It is easily accessible by a 0.4 mile long trail without much elevation gain. As the sunset drew closer, more people arrived. The view is a bit flat as the sun sets behind you with much of the Capitol Reef to the east, but it was still a treat, capped off when the hues of cyan and blue started creeping up the sky from behind the range. I was the last to leave.

View south	Pines and Capitol Reef	Rock cairn and pine tree	Rock cairn	Dead tree	Dead tree and the sky
Weathered rock	Sunset Point	Capitol Reef	Sunset light	Last sunrays	Color in the sky
Layers of rocks in the dusk	Last light