In the small town of Kanab (UT) there is a lottery where ten lucky people get drawn every day. The prize is not monetary, but a sought-after permit for a dayhike to a very special place in the desert, some 30 miles away.
When my uncle told me about this I was convinced that we should try our luck; but when we showed up at the visitor center a little before nine o’clock in the morning my hopes sank: there were more than a hundred people there who had also entered to win.
But against all the odds we got the permit, and so the next day we started out on what would be a magnificent hike full of colorful impressions that I don’t even have words for. So here are a few photos of some of the highlights: (gallery, use arrows to navigate)
Not far away from „The Wave“ is Paria, a very impressive slot canyon. In places the top of the straight walls was more than a hundred meters above our heads, sometimes they were so close together that they hardly let any light through. It is hard to imagine the forces that were necessary to create such wonders!
On our way on to the Grand Canyon we stopped at Lake Powell and visited America’s second largest dam. Although man made (or probably because of that) this too was quite impressive.
And lastly I requested another, unplanned stop, because I had seen an enormous amount of cars parked on a huge lot in the middle of the desert. (Traveling rule: If there are crowds of people, check out what’s going on!)
They were all there for “Horseshoe Bend”, an overlook over the Colorado River. At this place it forms a quite spectacular curve – the contrast of the greenish-blue water to the bright red rocks and the exposed location making for an unparalleled view. I was happy: I had seen pictures of this site before and had always wanted to go there, and now we had found it – by chance!
