I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas....in the Utah Desert?

         While northern Utah's mountains—known for "The Greatest Snow on Earth"—await their first major snowfall, a winter solstice storm blanketed Arches and Canyonlands National Parks with 6-8 inches of the fluffy white stuff.

          Enjoy these red-rock snowscapes.  Wishing you a white Christmas—if only in your dreams.

Balanced Rock,  Arches National Park

Turret Arch, Arches National Park

North Window Arch, Arches National Park

Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky District

A November Hike in the San Rafael Swell of Southeastern Utah

         November is the perfect time for a desert outing and last Sunday six friends and I hiked the Horsethief Canyon Trail in The San Rafael Swell.  I've posted stories from this hike before, but this was the first time the goal was the overlook—a 7 mile out-and-back trek.  Our group spent four hours exploring this part of "The Swell" and during that time we encountered only two other hikers.
       
         If the San Rafael Swell was located in another state—Iowa for instance—it would be the premier tourist attraction.  In Utah however, The Swell competes for visitors with our state's 5 national parks and 7 national monuments.  Therefore those of us who live in southeastern Utah have this 1,280,000 acre recreation area mostly to ourselves.  And that's okay with me.

        Below are the photos from last weekend's Swell hike.

The trail into the canyon.

This trail has it all, a sandy wash, desert vegetation, rocky spires, and...

... slickrock hiking.

Also plenty of interesting rocky shelves along the way.

The view from the overlook.

The dogs—Annie (left) and Lucinda—loved this hike too!
As a matter of fact, Horsethief Trail was Annie's first desert hike.
Read about it here.

The group hangs out at the overlook.

Weather-sculpted features along the trail.

Annie (left center) leads the way out of the canyon.