I was on a tour of the Mountain States in October 2019 and happened to have a full idle day in, of all places, Kanab UT. I have heard of some good local tours that operate out of there, so I took a chance and called Dreamland Safari Tours. I wanted to visit the slot canyons, but that tour was not available that day; would you be interested in visiting White Pocket instead?
White Pocket is an area within the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument AZ. The tour would be an all day affair, starting at 8:00am, includes a packed lunch, and gets you back around 4:00pm. It seems a long commitment and the cost per person was also not a casual sum. Well, I have come all this way to the Mountain States and it would be a shame to sit out a whole day; so, I bit the bullet and signed up.
I drove to the Tour office the next morning and was collected promptly at 8:00am and introduced first to the guide, and then to fellow participants. It was a long 2 hour drive, mostly over sandy unmarked trails. We finally arrived at a parking area, got out of the AWD truck and proceeded to make our own sandwiches from the tailgate area. These were to be packed so that we would have lunch at the midday break.
And what an area it is!
The geology is fascinating, experts say that there was a quick volcanic slide of molten rock that were exposed to different rates of oxidation and hardening. Whatever it was, the results are spectacular!
The swirls are just mystifying!
More swirls…
The details are incredible.
I think they call this the Wave!
How on Earth?
Looks like the bow of a Viking longship!
This is the only area where the tops are not white.
Impressive as the large structures are, here is a small ring of petrified Jurassic mold!
A roosting hen…
This is not trickery, I swear! There’s a pair of them…
Life does find a way, even in a harsh environment!
An exclusively white mound
A smiling gnome!
I bid a fond farewell to White Pocket. I will return some day…