Naturally beautiful bridges

Since we had just thoroughly enjoyed watching "The Roosevelts" on PBS before taking our trip out west, it was kind of cool to visit a national monument that crazy Teddy personally set aside.

Kachina Bridge

Natural Bridges National Monument is just a hop, skip, and a jump from our post-paddling base in Mexican Hat, Utah. So although we were disappointed that we couldn't make it to the more distant of Utah's many attractions, we were glad that this one was within reach.

The major attractions here (in addition to stargazing, which we were really disappointed not to be able to enjoy) are the three bridges carved out by the occasional streams that flow through White and Armstrong Canyons. The picture above is of the middle bridge of the three.

We only had time to hike at one of the bridges, the first one on the loop, Sipapu. Here's how it looks from the viewing ledge about half-way down the trail (which is where I stopped):

Henry hiked all the way down to the bottom, and got some great photos from that vantage point, like this one...

...while I got pictures of him 'way down there, in the "keyhole" made by the bridge (the red line will sort of show you where he is in this picture:

The main reason I didn't make the trek down was that I didn't want to have to climb back up the steep trail. But I also wanted to spend some more time on the fabulous Ledge Viewpoint...what an amazingly beautiful rock formation! Here's what it looks like from near the beginning of the trail...

...and here it is from a viewpoint near the end of the ledge. That tiny figure is Henry, just about to embark on his descent to the canyon floor...Thanks for providing the scale, dear!

I had a great time sitting up there, taking in the scenery, while he once again proved to be the more energetic member of our little partnership.

To give you an idea of how much hiking is involved here, this is a shot looking back up at the overlook, from the viewing ledge. You might be able to see tiny dots that are people up there, if you click on the image to enlarge it:

There was one more bridge to see in the park, Owachomo. It's the oldest of the three, and therefore the most slender (from more erosion):

This one's probably the most beautiful of the three, too, and Henry really wanted to hike down to it, but it was getting too late. We just didn't have enough time to do justice to this marvelous scenery!

In addition to the bridges, there are also archaeological sites in the park. Here's the most easily viewable, Horsecollar Ruin (the name is taken from the structure on the far right):

We weren't surprised to find evidence of early human habitation here, given what we learned on this trip about how advanced the cultures were that settled this region, and where they liked to build their little towns.

In addition to anthropology, you can also learn all kinds of geology, obviously, out here. For example, we wondered about the difference, if any, between arches and bridges. (Long-time readers might remember my trip a few years ago to Arches National Park, further north in Utah.) And the rangers at the Natural Bridges visitors' center were happy to oblige with this information.

Arches, astonishingly enough, are made by wind erosion, whereas bridges, like those you see here, were made by the—still amazing, but slightly more believable—process of water erosion. To paraphrase a popular blog, "IFL Geology!"