Cottonwood Canyon Road - Grand Staircase Escalante

On Saturday October 12 my friends Rob and Brad and I set out on a road trip.  We left Edmonton around 10:00AM, for the 24 hour drive down to Kanab, Utah.  Originally we thought we might drive straight through in shifts, but by nightfall we found ourselves getting too tired to continue.  We checked into a hotel in Butte, Montana.  The next morning we were up before dawn and on the road again.  We drove pretty much non-stop with only the occasional brief stop for food, fuel or a bathroom break.  We finally rolled into Kanab by nightfall and stopped at a local bar and grill for something to eat.  I ordered a New York steak but I guess I am somewhat spoiled by the quality of our Alberta beef.  This American cactus-fed beef left something to be desired.  The jug of Budweiser draft that we shared was worse than the steak.  After supper we rolled into the house that we had rented for the week and unpacked our gear.

The next morning we were again up before dawn.  After a quick breakfast we hit the road, heading east on Highway 89 into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  These public lands of 1.9 million acres contain some fabulous scenery and very rugged backcountry.  This first day we decided to explore the Cottonwood Canyon Road.  This road runs for about 40 miles in a northerly direction, eventually ending at Cannonville, near Kodachrome Basin and Bryce Canyon.  Initially the road follows the Paria river, but then veers away from the river and follows the Cockscomb Fault.  The spectacular Cockscomb is a 50-mile long fault crossing Grand Staircase Escalante and the Vermilion Cliffs National Monuments from north to south, roughly following the Cottonwood Canyon Road.  From the air the Cockscomb appears like a giant wound on the earth's crust and is arguably one of the most remarkable geologic formations of the Colorado Plateau.

This photograph was taken at the southern end of the road, where it starts at Highway 89.  This beginning few yards was deceptively smooth.  It quickly got very rough and contorted.  In fact we found out, a few days after driving it, that it had been closed for some time due to a number of washouts.

This photograph is of the Paria River, near the southern end of the road.

We pretty much spent the entire day driving along the road making various photo stops.  At some stops we just took record snapshots with our digital cameras.  At others we actually set up the big view cameras and did some more serious photography.  One of our first stops was along the Paria River.  Just across the road was a large cliff with an interesting area of fallen rock.

Another of our stops along Cottonwood Road.

A little further on we crossed over the Cockscomb Ridge and down in the valley of Cottonwood Creek.  Here the Cottonwood trees were in full color and lived up to their namesake.  There were also some very interesting rock formations here.

A little later we came upon this formation, that Rob referred to as "The Clansmen".  This is not the proper name for it, but it sure is fitting.  The valley just below these rocks was filled with more Cottonwoods in splendid fall color.

As we continued down the road it climbed up and over the Cockscomb fault and provided a great view along the ridge looking back to the south.  As we were driving along the ridge Brad spotted this Red Fox attempting to dig something... probably a meal... out from between the rocks.

By this time is was getting late in the afternoon.  As the valley was beginning to fall into shadow we got a couple of shots of an area called "Candyland".  It was difficult to photograph due to the high contrast between highlights and shadows.  Hopefully some of the shots that we took on Black and White film can be printed properly in the darkroom to yield a better tonal range.

After finishing up here, we made a brief stop at Grosvenor Arch, and at an overview the looked down onto the valley near Kodachrome Basin.  But we were out of time and had to hit the road from home.  Rather than drive back over the rough Cottonwood Road in the dark, we elected to loop around the long way and stay on the pavement.  This round about route took us through Cannonville and Tropic, up onto the plateau adjacent to Bryce Canyon, and then back onto Highway 89 north of Kanab.  It took about 1-1/2 hours to get back to the house in Kanab and it was well after dark when we arrived.  We had a late dinner, settled down to re-load film holders, and eventually cashed in for the night.  This would be the routine for the next several days...