A red rock canyon

When I'd never visited the desert, many years ago, I thought of it as a hot and dusty wasteland. When I first passed through Utah many years ago, I found out exactly how wrong I was. In the photo below, K gazed at the slickrock reef that marked the start of the San Rafael Swell.

During our recent trip, we spent time in awesome red rock canyons of the San Rafael Swell. Our first stop was Black Dragon Canyon, a deep canyon that cuts through the rock plateau of the swell.

Most of the rock canyon walls are made of sandstone, and some of it glows red making me feel like I'm on Mars. The water that periodically rushes through the canyons shapes the rock walls into smooth wavelike forms. K stood in the shade under one of the waves.

The scale of the canyons is hard to fathom. These canyons are alleys carved into the red rock by surging water and wailing winds. In the photo below, K is trotting up an canyon that periodically has a river coursing through it when an intense rainstorm dumps water at the top of the canyon.

K seemed to love being down in the canyons, following the scents of the many animals who walk through the canyons and enjoying the cool air that rests on the floor of the canyons.

Following the labyrinth of canyons kept reminding me of what a small speck we are in the history of the Earth. The drama and heartbreak of our lives have seemed huge and overwhelming recently... but many people have walked the peaks and valleys of life before us, some creating rock art depicting their life experiences.

These drawings bring heart and humanity to the history of the world that can be read into the the rock canyons. I wonder whether the people who drew the rock art so long ago also gazed at the skies over the canyons at night.

And, I wonder how many watched all the stars in the sky rotate around the north star in the darkness of the deep desert at the mouth of Black Dragon Canyon.

We felt so grateful that K was healthy enough to playfully enjoy the desert with us. I think that she was grateful too. Look at her smile!