It seems there is no end to the beauty of southern Utah…and there may not be. This image was taken in Long Canyon, a fantastic part of the Burr Trail. The Burr trail is a side road that comes off of Utah’s famous Highway 12, maybe one of the most beautiful highways in America.
The Burr Trail begins in Boulder, UT and is clearly marked. It winds for 68 miles, of which only the first18 miles are paved. I must admit that I never went past the point where the paved road ends, mainly because it has just rained.
The complete road runs down through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument into Capital Reef National Park and then to Bullfrog in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Almost the entire road can be called “scenic,” to put it mildly.
Long Canyon is 12 miles from Boulder and is 7 miles long…hence the name. It is absolutely beautiful as you might guess from this photo. You approach the canyon from up on high which gives you a spectacular view of the first section of it. When I got there, a rain storm was just ending, so I had fabulous clouds all the way through the canyon. I got lucky that day!
The narrow canyon itself is enclosed by sheer walls of Wingate sandstone which tower hundreds of feet above the road. The sandstone has fractured and eroded, forming alcoves. Some of the dark red sandstone has been leached by water to a whitish shade, and black desert varnish stains some of the vertical walls. There is even a small arch, if you look closely.
If you ever make it down that way, be sure and take a drive down this amazing road…or even part of it. Be sure and stop often in Long Canyon to appreciate all of its treasures. A word of caution…if you want to do the entire drive, make sure it has not rained for a few days. The dirt section of the road can become impassable, even for all wheel drives.
(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)
To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment