grand staircase

well, due to the threatening weather forecast mentioned before, we did NOT end up going through Buckskin Gulch. It was tempting, but on the wall of the ranger station where we stopped to check the status, was a story of a couple that survived a flash flood in the canyon after forecasts very similar to what ours was...it did not look fun for them. We'll have to go another time and let you know how it goes.
We did, however, have a fun adventure ascending the grand staircase...a major geological phenomenon in southern Utah, called Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It's an incredible landscape with several ascending plateaus, all the way up to the highest, where Bryce Canyon is located. People had been asking us if we had been there yet, and though we had planned to last fall when Missy and Rob came to visit, due to unforseen washed out roads we still hadn't made it there. We decided to check it out and scope out the hiking and camping opportunities for when Aaron and Amanda come to visit....and man, it was incredible! the pictures don't do it justice, but they give you an idea of the totally one-of-a-kind formations. we can't wait to go back for more hiking among the "hoodoos."
To top off the trip, we spent Sunday at Coyote Buttes, some other cool rock formations in the area, mainly known for a cool spot called "the Wave." In fact, we've heard that there was a German movie filmed at the Wave, and therefore Germans have flocked here to see it. Because of strict permitting to protect the delicate rock formations, it is very difficult to get a permit to see this section--in fact we witnessed the daily lottery for the 10 available permits. There were 52 people (many from overseas) there trying to get 10 spaces! So instead we easily got a permit to the southern portion of the Coyote Buttes, which was equally cool if not more so. We didn't see the official "Wave" but many similar formations that looked just as incredible.

Here's some photos from the weekend:
Alright, here aren't some photos. i can't figure out what's wrong with my computer and why it won't let me upload photos.
i'll keep trying, but after my descriptions of how awesome our weekend adventures were, you'll just have wait in suspense.