Further In

You know those sand castles you can build by using really wet sand and dripping it into a pile? Well, one of the newest additions to The National Parks basically looks like giants tried doing that.

Drip Sand Castles. Definitely.

Last weekend, after an hour or so drive northeast through basically nothing, eleven of us made it to the trailhead for Tent Rocks. We started hiking and it was already over 90 degrees out, but soon we hit this slot canyon that reminded me of pictures of Petra, Jordan! It was a blistering hot day as we emerged from the shadow of the canyon to face a 600ft climb up to an overlook of the entire valley. A cub scout group was hiking (well, more like sliding) its way down but eventually the traffic eased and we made it to the top. The view was amazing! You could see in every direction and there were sheer drop-off on most sides. The tent rocks really do just look like huge stone teepees!

Heading off for the hike.

Doesn't it look like Devil's Tower?

Shade!

Can you see that little rock balancing on top?

Heading through the slot canyon! This part reminded me a bit of Needles last year.

Beautiful.

The sky slowly started clouding up. What a beautiful day!

Oh, the view!

Yes, that is a lake in the distance, not a mirage.

Some of the cactii were in bloom!

Sitting at the overlook.

It was quite windy at the top!

Three Tents

It's a tree!

On the hike back, we detoured to a cave carved into the wall. After some struggling most of us were able to climb into it to find that whoever carved it had thoughtfully included a bench :-)

View looking out of the cave.

Little(er) Tents.

This one just looks like a termite mound!

Upon returning, most people decided to opt for a shower but a couple of us headed to a place called b2b for some of the best burgers I've had (they have some strange combinations as well, and everything here has the option of getting green chile on it!) then it was off to decide what was more pressing, a shower or a nap? The age-old question.