STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

"There's a feeling I get ...When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving"
... Led Zepplen, 'Stairway to Heaven'

It was overcast the day we left Zion National Park and the first time without sun since we arrived eight days earlier. That helped ease the discomfort of leaving our second most favorite spring destination. The next stretch of our trip incorporated new destinations and experiences, starting with spending a few days in Escalante, Utah visiting Grand Staircase National Monument and Bryce Canyon. We didn't mind that the cloudy weather followed us since we were going to be travelling anyway. What we didn’t expect was to be caught in a snow storm. 

About two hours into our four hour journey, two things became apparent:  it was raining a lot and the roads were getting narrower and windy as we ascended into the mountains. Rain soon turned to sleet and then snow as we finally reached the summit at 8,000 ft. Don't forget we were in a 30 ft motor home pulling a car behind on a trailer. Doug's experience driving a truck in the army, along with spending snowy winters living near Chicago sure came in handy that day!

Once we arrived in Escalante, we looked for a natural formation shaped like a staircase, but there was none. In fact, there really weren’t any dramatic cliffs or anything around us. So where was this “Staircase” and what was so grand about it? After some research we solved the mystery.  Gotta love the internet!

The Grand Staircase refers to a sequence of sedimentary rock layers that stretch from Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, through Zion National Park, and into the Grand Canyon National Park. In the 1870s, geologist Clarence Dutton first conceptualized this region as a huge stairway ascending out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon northward with the cliff edge of each layer forming giant steps. The Grand Staircase is not readily visible because it covers over 1,000,000 acres. The “steps” of the staircase were formed as the sedimentary layers were pushed upwards by plate tectonics. Rivers, such as the Colorado and Virgin, eroded the landscape to form the deep canyons. The exposed layers range from 100 million years old to 600 million years old and contain a continuous rock and fossil record of earth history like no other place on earth.

We did find an optimum spot to photograph the whole region, but in no way does it capture the full depth and breadth of this amazing place.

Looking to the left,we glimpsed the entire Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon. Off to the right, Zion National Park – over 130 miles away. It was mind blowing to conceive that we were able to see all three of these huge national landmarks from one viewpoint with very little civilization in between. In fact, much of this area had never been traveled before until the 1930's when the Work Progress Administration (WPA), under by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, built the road shown in the photo below. 

Doug was able to capture some of the layers of brilliant color:

Escalante Steps

"Colors are the smiles of nature." - Leigh Hunt

Bryce Canyon is a one-of-a-kind formation. Here, the eroding force of frost and the dissolving power of rainwater have shaped the crimson and orange limestone rock into bizarre shapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos." Experiencing this magical wonderland is like being on another planet.

Bryce Canyon is also a painter's paradise. Too bad we were only there one day.

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon 

"Dinosaurs - they're not extinct, they're just hiding."- Anonymous 

Next, it was time to check off one of Sue’s “bucket list” items by visiting Dinosaur National Monument in Vernal, Utah. Expecting to see the typical display of assembled dinosaur skeletons, we were once again pleasantly surprised by what we learned and experienced.

In 1909, paleontologist Earl Douglas was searching for fossils for the Carnegie Museum when he discovered an entire rock formation layered with prehistoric plant and animal fossils. Further excavation revealed multiple layers of dinosaur fossils, indicating that this location may have once been one a downstream bottleneck where carcasses accumulated and decayed after a flood.  Many of these fossils formed complete skeletons and were removed and shipped to various museums around the country where they remain on display today.

In 1915, Dinosaur National Monument was established and the remaining quarry wall was preserved with additional dinosaur fossils still intact. This is the only intact preservation site that exists. Fragmented fossils are so prevalent in the area surrounding the quarry that we were even able to see them in rocks on the hillside outside the quarry.

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts." - Rachel Carson

When all was said and done, we had traveled over 450 miles from Zion to Escalante to Dinosaur National Monument – all within the state of Utah. As we traveled from place to place, the landscape changed color and texture, morphing into something completely different. It wasn’t until later we realized that all of the territory we covered was part of the totality of the Grand Staircase.  We were awed and humbled by Earth’s grandiose display of majestic beauty, every step of the way.