April 20, 2014 San Rafael Swell, Utah

We started out today to hike Wild Horse Canyon. Somehow we got going the wrong direction, went too high.

There was only a 20% chance of showers today,but these clouds looked serious.  We came upon this great cave.

When we got closer we discovered it was an arch. Skylight Arch. We started back down, here is John in a drainage.

The view to the south. It began to thunder- echoing up and down the canyons, it went on forever. Then it rained. We had lunch under a tree and waited it out. This second shot is as it was moving in.

All of a sudden all we could hear was waterfalls. Water was running off everywhere. The rock does not absorb any of it, it all runs off. We met a BLM guy up there too. He is in the middle of the second photo. We were headed back to the arch to see if water was coming down it, when we came up this drainage the first time it was dry. Now it is running water.

The rocks were shiny where the water was running down. At the arch all of the black lines were running water-that is how the dark lines, or desert varnish forms, water reacting with the rock over many  of years.

And where the sun was hitting it you could see water falling down. It echoed in the cave and sounded really loud. The BLM guy showed us these petroglyphs on the wall.They were about 5 feet tall.

And these ones also.

Water running on the way down. It is now raining south of us. We heard a thunder clap coming from this storm.

It was sunny where we were going. Back at the campground we moved the bus to the very end spot iso no one can camp beside us or in front of us, much better view.

Flowers seen today. Toad fax,phlox, fringed gromwell, sun cups, phacelia, more gromwell, yellow asters, crypanthia, alyssum  , no idea what these purple things are and wild onion.

Red cliffs with a face in the top one and on the bottom is a smile on the cliff. The last photo is one John took of me under Skylight arch, gives you an idea how big it is.