April 22-29, 2025

By Tim Briese

Teresa and I went on a weeklong trip to the canyon country of Utah and to northern Arizona to explore some new places and to revisit some old favorites, with the emphasis on photography and hiking. On the first day we drove to Green River, UT and stayed at the wonderful River Terrace Inn, where we had a peaceful balcony on our room overlooking the Green River.

the green river

The next morning we headed south toward Hanksville, stopping to take photos of some scenic rock formations along the highway.

the interesting geology of utah never ceases to inspire wonder - formations near green river

Just west of Hanksville we took a dirt road a few miles north into the very remote desert to see the interesting Mars Desert Research Station.

no little green men were present, but we were looking for them!

After that we took another dirt road a few miles to the trailhead for a hike to the Long Dong Silver Spire, also known as the Black Spire, a previously little known hike which has become increasingly popular in recent years. We had never been there before. This 2.2 mile roundtrip hike was certainly a unique adventure.

a trailhead for introverts!

approaching the unearthly looking spire

It was amazing to think that someone climbed this 80 foot tall tower in 1993!

there were other interesting formations like this nearby

After the hike we drove a few miles to Capitol Reef National Park and had a peaceful time sitting on our camp chairs in the shade beside the Fremont River for a while.

the fremont river in capitol reef national park

We stayed in Torrey that night, and before sunset drove a few miles back to the western part of the national park to take some late day photos.

The next morning we headed south on scenic byway UT 12 and a few miles south of Boulder we pulled off at the trailhead for Upper Calf Creek Falls. I had done this hike twice before and knew the falls were a magical place to visit and eagerly looked forward to doing it again. Teresa had never done this hike and I had not been there before when the vegetation was so green and the sky so blue. The 2.8 mile roundtrip hike follows an interesting and fun route, descending sharply 600 feet on slickrock and sand to the bottom of Calf Creek Canyon.

beginning the descent into calf creek canyon

on the way down

The delicate 80 foot high waterfall descends over a colorful cliff into a green pool below. We had this pristine place all to ourselves and sat in tranquil contemplation enjoying the experience and the scenery for a while.

upper creek calf creek falls

Then we hiked back up to a couple of pools and another small waterfall above the main falls.

Other hikers were coming down the trail as we hiked back up and when we reached the trailhead we pulled out our chairs and ate lunch in the shade of a pinyon tree as we gazed out at the refreshing beauty of the desert. The silence was utter and complete, as we have often noted when we are in the desert. We continued the drive down UT 12 on a very scenic hogback with stunning views off of each side, and after crossing the Escalante River we stopped at the unique and popular Kiva Coffeehouse and had a drink and pastry.

enjoying a stop at the kiva coffeehouse

We continued west through Escalante on UT 12 and drove by the Clear Sky Resort near Cannonville, which offers a unique stargazing and glamping experience.

the clear sky resort

Further down the road we stopped in scenic Red Canyon for some more photos.

at red canyon

Our plan was to drive through Zion National Park the next morning so we wanted to get nearby to do that and so we elected to stay in Kanab, UT that night. The next morning we headed for Zion on UT Highway 9. We expected it to be busy and it was. We have done this drive before, and one simply forgets just how stunning and spectacular this national park is, with incredible domes and cliffs towering colorfully above, majestically dwarfing the onlooker below.

We stopped to do a short hike to the Zion Canyon Overlook, an immensely popular hike and deservedly so. Parking is very difficult to find but we snagged a spot about a third of a mile east of the trailhead and walked along the road to the start of the trail. There were dozens of other people on the one mile roundtrip trail, many speaking foreign languages. The route itself is spectacular, with the trail traversing many hair-raising ledges, thankfully with handrails, and across a short boardwalk that hangs out over the canyon below.

a handrail section is visible above the cliff

The prize at the end is a spectacular overlook down into Zion Canyon.

view from the zion canyon overlook

After the hike we continued on the drive through the Zion – Mt. Carmel Tunnel on Hwy. 9. Built in 1930, the mile-long tunnel is too narrow to accommodate modern 2-way traffic with larger vehicles, so passage is time-consuming with alternating one-way traffic.

another view in zion after we went through the tunnel

After passing through Zion we continued to the Red Reef Trailhead, a short distance off of I-15 north of St. George. This very scenic 1.7 mile roundtrip hike exceeded our expectations, with beautiful red sandstone colors contrasting exquisitely with the lush spring greenery and the deep blue skies.

on the red reef trail

After the Red Reef hike we were quite tired when we checked in to the beautiful new Best Western Plus Settlers Point hotel a few miles north of St. George. Ratings for this place were stellar, and we found it so wonderful that we booked it for a second night. The next morning we took a 30 minute drive to Snow Canyon State Park, a very scenic place that is the most popular state park in southern Utah. We don’t get to the southwest corner of Utah very often, so it was nice to explore some new places like Red Reef and Snow Canyon. After entering the park we went on a short hike to Jenny's Canyon, a spectacular little slot canyon. This hike is only half a mile roundtrip and took just 20 minutes but it delivered a lot of bang for the buck.

on the way to jenny's canyon

in the canyon

Then we went on a longer 3 hour loop hike, covering 4.3 miles roundtrip, to explore the scenic variety that the park has to offer, on the Hidden Pinyon, Petrified Sand Dunes, Lava Flow, and Red Sands Trails. We saw gorgeous redrock formations, did a fun hike up over a vast slickrock ridge, saw lava tubes and blooming cacti, and much more.

on the hidden pinyon trail

did you ever wonder what 70 year olds do for entertainment?

we hiked up to an overlook to survey the surrounding scenery

we followed the fun petrified dunes trail up over the slickrock near the top of the photo

artistic squiggles in the rock

the very fun route went straight ahead up this slope past the dome at the top

a great display of cross-bedding in the sandstone

more fun on the route ahead

there were a couple of interesting lava tubes along the lava flow trail

The park has an interesting combination of 200 million year old sandstone and 27,000 year old black lava rock.

the sandstone and lava rock were an unusual contrast

We were pretty beat after completing the loop hike in the mid day warmth, so after lunch on our chairs at the trailhead we headed back to the motel to relax for the rest of the afternoon. The next morning we headed southeast into Arizona, through Jacob Lake and past the Vermillion Cliffs to Lees Ferry on the Colorado River.

some cool rocks on the way to lees ferry

We did a short scenic hike along the Colorado River and then found a peaceful place to sit and relax beside the water for a while.

the colorado river at lees ferry

we saw this little guy on our hike along the river - don't worry, he wasn't as big as the zoom makes him look!

Relaxing by the river was among the many highlights of the trip for us.

We spent the night in Page, AZ and the next morning we drove a few miles out of town past Glen Canyon Dam to take some photos of Lake Powell. 

lake powell, with navajo mountain on the horizon in the distance

some rock formations nearby

Then we drove across Navajo country to Kayenta and headed north on scenic US 163, which is always a treat. We went past impressive Agathla Peak and stopped at famous Monument Valley for a while.

agathla peak, an ancient volcanic plug

another perspective of the peak

monument valley

After this we stopped to take some photos and do a short hike near Mexican Hat Rock in far southern Utah.

mexican hat rock

Late in the day we stopped to see the Goosenecks of the San Juan, marveling at the meandering canyon with the San Juan River a thousand feet below.

the goosenecks

That night we stayed at the wonderful Bluff Dwellings Resort in Bluff, UT, where they treated us to a free dinner because our anniversary was only a few days away.

i would stay here again!

a cloud formation before sunset from our patio

There was a steep and scenic trail on the property that climbed up to the cliffs above, which I hiked the next morning to see the views.

a view from the trail looking down at the resort

That day we drove to the Four Corners and on through Cortez and Durango and eventually home, completing a wonderful scenic trip through a land that is close to my heart and soul!