Paul Smit  Mick Palarczyk | Features, Photos and TextTwo faces, one philosophy |
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FEATURE (Category: Americas | USA | autumn | hiking | naturereserves)
Utah/Arizona: in Search of the Wave
Utah/Arizona: in Search of the Wave
Deep in the heart of the Colorado plateau the Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area begins. An inaccessible and breathtakingly beautiful area. This is where we start our search for The Wave: the best-kept trekking secret of the USA. Read excerpts of this feature.
![Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.ARIZONA 3868] 'The Wave.' Behind the ravines entrance I walk into a giant wave of what seems to be a sticky red fluid with white stripes. Like sour cream stirred into pumpkin soup ('The Wave' in nature reserve Coyote Buttes).](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/photos/2048582_YFes4-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.ARIZONA 3868] 'The Wave.' Behind the ravines entrance I walk into a giant wave of what seems to be a sticky red fluid with white stripes. Like sour cream stirred into pumpkin soup ('The Wave' in nature reserve Coyote Buttes).")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.ARIZONA 3879] 'Side wave.' I walk on in a side wave, a whole network of waves, some narrow and some half submerged. ('The Wave' in nature reserve Coyote Buttes).](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/photos/2048579_RTKgj-Ti-1.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.ARIZONA 3879] 'Side wave.' I walk on in a side wave, a whole network of waves, some narrow and some half submerged. ('The Wave' in nature reserve Coyote Buttes).")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.ARIZONA 3886] 'Pavement of giants.' We cross a plain two kilometres long, paved with pentagonal orange stones, each a full meter across. We feel like archaeologists in a long-lost world of giants (Coyote Buttes North).](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/photos/2048570_y3skV-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.ARIZONA 3886] 'Pavement of giants.' We cross a plain two kilometres long, paved with pentagonal orange stones, each a full meter across. We feel like archaeologists in a long-lost world of giants (Coyote Buttes North).")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.ARIZONA 3887] 'Coyote Buttes North.' I stumble across a herd of ochre-yellow giant turtles. Or are they the roofs of the mud huts of an as of yet undiscovered people? (Overview of Coyote Buttes North).](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/photos/2048569_JvWGm-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.ARIZONA 3887] 'Coyote Buttes North.' I stumble across a herd of ochre-yellow giant turtles. Or are they the roofs of the mud huts of an as of yet undiscovered people? (Overview of Coyote Buttes North).")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.ARIZONA 3895] 'Herd of giant turtles.' I stumble across a herd of ochre-yellow giant turtles. Or are they the roofs of the mud huts of an as of yet undiscovered people? (nature reserve Coyote Buttes North).](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/photos/2048566_H5hdc-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.ARIZONA 3895] 'Herd of giant turtles.' I stumble across a herd of ochre-yellow giant turtles. Or are they the roofs of the mud huts of an as of yet undiscovered people? (nature reserve Coyote Buttes North).")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.UTAH 7673] 'Paria Canyon entrance.' Round shapes in pink and white at the entrance of the Paria Canyon.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/photos/2048553_Nu4FF-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.UTAH 7673] 'Paria Canyon entrance.' Round shapes in pink and white at the entrance of the Paria Canyon.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.UTAH 7676] 'Paria Canyon entrance.' Weird shapes at the entrance of the Paria Canyon.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/photos/2048551_3Z679-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.UTAH 7676] 'Paria Canyon entrance.' Weird shapes at the entrance of the Paria Canyon.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.UTAH 7679] 'Marbles of sandstone.' These marbles of sandstone on the plateau above the Paria Canyon are the same things as the blueberries found on Mars. They are a bit harder then the surrounding sandstone and were incorporated in the pinacle. While eroding, the marbles roll down. NASA came to Utah to study the phenomenon.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/photos/2048550_GCgfh-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.UTAH 7679] 'Marbles of sandstone.' These marbles of sandstone on the plateau above the Paria Canyon are the same things as the blueberries found on Mars. They are a bit harder then the surrounding sandstone and were incorporated in the pinacle. While eroding, the marbles roll down. NASA came to Utah to study the phenomenon.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.UTAH 7684] 'Crooked pillars. Overhanging cliffs lean on crooked pillars. It looks like a group of crazy sculptors have been at work, slightly disturbed characters with a strange sense of humour (Paria Canyon).](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/photos/2048549_oCDXV-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [USA.UTAH 7684] 'Crooked pillars. Overhanging cliffs lean on crooked pillars. It looks like a group of crazy sculptors have been at work, slightly disturbed characters with a strange sense of humour (Paria Canyon).")
[USA.UTAH 7679]
'Marbles of sandstone.'
These marbles of sandstone on the plateau above the Paria Canyon are the same things as the blueberries found on Mars. They are a bit harder then the surrounding sandstone and were incorporated in the pinacle. While eroding, the marbles roll down. NASA came to Utah to study the phenomenon. ![> [USA.UTAH 7679] 'Marbles of sandstone.' These marbles of sandstone on the plateau above the Paria Canyon are the same things as the blueberries found on Mars. They are a bit harder then the surrounding sandstone and were incorporated in the pinacle. While eroding, the marbles roll down. NASA came to Utah to study the phenomenon.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/photos/2048550_GCgfh-S.jpg "> [USA.UTAH 7679] 'Marbles of sandstone.' These marbles of sandstone on the plateau above the Paria Canyon are the same things as the blueberries found on Mars. They are a bit harder then the surrounding sandstone and were incorporated in the pinacle. While eroding, the marbles roll down. NASA came to Utah to study the phenomenon.")
[USA.UTAH 7679]
'Marbles of sandstone.'
These marbles of sandstone on the plateau above the Paria Canyon are the same things as the blueberries found on Mars. They are a bit harder then the surrounding sandstone and were incorporated in the pinacle. While eroding, the marbles roll down. NASA came to Utah to study the phenomenon. filename: 792 |
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