June 9, leaving the Canyon

We left the Canyon and headed towards Zion Nat’l park. We drove the scenic highway and saw some beautiful sights. We saw the Rainbow plateau, the Marble Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs Nat’l Monument and Jacobs Lake all heading towards the North Rim of the Canyon. However, we are not going to that rim. We Stopped at Pink Coral Sand Dunes and you won’t believe the coral sand dunes we saw. Such beautiful coral color we have never seen before. I was impressed by the white dunes, but this tops all of those. We hiked up a big dune and took pictures. That is where we are camping while we visit Zion. You probably wonder how the dunes became the coral color they are. The sand dunes are created by 3 factors: sand, high winds and a unique influence upon those high winds. The dunes are a notch between the Mosquith and Moccasin mountains causes this influence. Wind is funneled through this notch, increasing wind velocity to a point where it can carry grains of sand from the eroding Navajo sandstone. This phenomenon is known as the Venturi Effect. After the wind passes through the notch and into the open valley, wind velocity decreases, depositing the sand. It is so interesting. The geology of these parks and surrounding areas is an interesting lesson and it has taught us volumes that a book cannot teach. Of course because it is the sand dunes, thousand’s of OHV’s and dune buggies come here constantly. In our camp, we are the only people without one. The elevation here is 6,000ft. Lovely area. Love you all