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Leaving the Canyon, and Arizona As excited as we had been to enter Arizona, see it's sights, experience it's places of solitude, and see it's near mythical Grand Canyon, far horizons called us on. The areas of Northern Arizona, and Southern Utah are incredibly desolate, and empty. The Interstate does not even pass through this area, and travels are limited to state and county highways, with relativly few services. My plan called for our return by way of Utah, Wyoming, Dakota and Minnesota. This would take us through Jackson, Yellowstone, Cody, Wall, and the Badlands.

	On the road north through the desert from the Grand Canyon.
	We are now officially in the Painted Desert.
	The land here for many more miles will take on the gently eroded character of the Painted Desert Monument, many miles to the south and east.
	The feel of the land changes, after many miles, and the softly rounded Painted Desert gives way to these more rugged and imposing structures.
	Some serious undercutting here indicates the presence of a hard layer surrounded by soft layers of rock.
	A close up of some of the undercutting, also show a few scattered Painted Desert type formations are still with us.
	A bit father along, on the same ridge.
	A solitary mound stick up higher than surrounding formations. It's height and rough appearance could indicate some distant volcanic activity. It would seem to be harder than the rest of the local rocks.
	The tilting of these banded hills indicates that some pretty impressive forces were once brought to bear here.
	A road passing through, puts these formations into perspective.
	A close approach shows the significantly different beds which make up these hills.
	A view of the Colorado River Basin. After several hundred miles, this is what the Grand Canyon opens up into.
	The road curves through rubble strewn hills, as we continue north towards Utah.
	Coming down out of the hills to enter the basin itself.
	One last line of sandstone cliffs before we descend into the basin, and the landscape changes yet again.
	A look out onto the basin as we approach the Colorado. A number of cars can be seen on the road far ahead of us.
	A faint glimpse of Lake Powell, the first bit of open water we have seen for many miles.
	Even with the Colorado, and the swollen lake Powell nearby, the basin is still desert dry.
	The border, complete with bridge, river, and power station.
	The border: Here the Utah Arizona border is marked by the Colorado River, and by the bridge which crosses it at Glen Canyon.
	A close up of the trusswork of the bridge, showing the Colorado River below.

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