Bryce Canyon & Escalante Grand Staircase

During my week off between semesters, I took my boys camping at Bryce Canyon National Park.  I was surprised to learn that the formations there are made out of Limestone rather than the sandstone that makes so many other geological formations in Utah (Arches, Zion, etc).
We also took the most beautiful drive through Escalante on the way home.  This scenic byway is awesome and I was stopping very frequently to take pictures.  We went through at sunset so it was amazingly beautiful.

Escalante

 Awesome cross-bedding waves:

Mule deer

Escalante State Park - Petrified Forest

This is some of the colorful sand that caused the kids to name this the rainbow place

Blue and green - copper cobalt and chromium
pink- manganese
black - carbon and manganese
red, brown, yellow, green - iron

Beautiful petrified wood

Petrified wood:

Ancient river system

Forest of trees

Mix in volcanic ash

sprinkle with minerals

whip up with seasonal flooding

bury it in the ground

Bake without oxygen for millions of years