Photo Friday: Natural Bridges National Monument
Natural Bridges is located in SE Utah, and is (or has been) surrounded by the Bears Ears National Monument, which it predates by a good century--Natural Bridges National Monument was created by Teddy Roosevelt in 1908 (Bears Ears was protected in 2016). The heart of the monument is the White Canyon, where there are three significant bridges-- Kachina , Owachomo , and Sipapu. My project on the May morning I was there was to hike to the Sipapu bridge, a 1.5-mile drop into the canyon and back out. What I ended up doing was a 5.75 mile loop from Sipapu to Owachomo and back up over the mesa to my car. Sun's up--time to get out of camp! 20 minutes later at the Sipapu Bridge overlook. Spot the bridge down there? You can't actually see through it from this angle. Time for another bit of pedantry. In case you are wondering, there's a reason these are called bridges, not arches. And that reason is totally tied up to their location. If you've visited Arches NP, you know y...