Apologies in advance for all the photos in this post. And no, the title is not meant to suggest that what follows is an analysis of the demographics of Kanab Utah, where we've been staying, although it would be apt if it did. White Pocket is a trail, a sight, a destination that is part of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, which is in Northern Arizona bordering Utah and east of the Grand Canyon. We took a guided trip out of Kanab, which is located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument that covers much of southern Utah and borders Arizona. (In 2017 Trump reduced the size of Grand Staircase-Escalante from 1.8 million acres to just over 1 million acres).
Our guide Ian provided some interesting context to the whole area, particularly from a geological perspective. Both national monuments are part of the Colorado Plateau, which encompasses large sections of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. The plateau is made up of layers upon layers of sedimentary rock -- shale, limestone, sandstone -- of varying colors from vermilion red, to yellow, to white depending on the amount and form of iron in the sediment. Millions of years of water and wind erosion have sliced through these layers leaving awesome cliffs, canyons, mesas, buttes, and spires with dramatically exposed colors depending on how deep the layers are cut. The "staircase" relates to the steps up the various layers of sediment and color.
It finally dawned on me (duh) that all of the amazing views we've witnessed on our hikes and drives -- from Moab to Durango to Abiquiu to Kanab to Sedona -- were derived from the same eroded layers! So apologies again because I now realize full well that the photos in this blog are absurdly repetitive.
Even so, there is White Pocket, which, due to its unique erosion history, is geology on steroids. (I know that does not make sense scientifically, but you get the gist).
To help make these less repetitive I've tried to include Charlie (and others) as much as possible in the photos. She had an amazing time chasing lizards and squirrels and bothering other tourists.
Our guide had us pose for an optical illusion resulting from the shift in grain
Behind the scenes
In the Pocket