Back to the Egg Factory
Today was predicted to be in the 90's, so we decided to put off the Bisti Wings hike another day. It's supposed to cool off on Saturday, so we'll probably go then.
I was ready for a return trip to the Egg Factory and the petrified logs section of Bisti that we hiked last Saturday. We had wonderful clouds on Saturday, but they completely obscured the sun when we were in the petrified logs section. Since Carol wasn't interested in hiking in the heat, I decided to go back this afternoon in hopes of photographing in better light.
When I got to Bisti, there was only one other car in the parking lot. I talked briefly to an Austrian couple before setting off
for the petrified logs. I reached the Hoodoos area where we shot the eclipse in 20 minutes, so I decided to check out some areas
in the back canyons we skipped on our other two trips to the area. There was nothing spectacular in any of the back canyons,
but they were very interesting. They each had their own personality and feel. I named one canyon "Saucer Canyon"
because the hoodoos had saucer-shaped sandstone tops on them. Another canyon was "Morning Canyon" because
the layers would absolutely light up in morning light.
 |
 |
 |
| Saucer Canyon | Saucer Canyon | Morning Canyon |
When I returned to the main wash after shooting in the side canyons for an hour, the Austrian couple had passed me and were hiking up the wash ahead of me. When I turned up the side wash toward the Egg Factory, the couple seemed to be walking a bit aimlessly around the wash. I walked over to them and asked them if they were looking for the Egg Factory. They said they were, so I took them through the gap in the hills into the wash with the crazy sandstone eggs. Since the light was still flat, I told the couple I could show them where the petrified logs were in the canyon ahead. We shot the three areas of petrified logs and the surrounding canyons for about an hour.
 |
 |
 |
| Statuary Canyon | Petrified Log | Red Rock Gulch |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Statuary Canyon | Statuary Canyon | Statuary Canyon | Striped Hills | Dog Rock |
The Austrian couple walked back to shoot the Egg Factory, and I continued to hike the back washes looking for new areas.
It seemed like each new back canyon had something new to offer. I named one area 
"Red Rock Gulch"
because the bottom of the wash was littered with red siltstone boulders. The weird thing was that the red rocks were irregularly shaped,
but they were all very smooth. That would make sense if they had been tumbled for miles in a stream, but these rocks were at the head
of a sandstone canyon. Just across from Red Rock Gulch was "Statuary Canyon." Tall, slender hoodoos were scattered across the canyon floor. Statuary Canyon
would be best shot in the early morning, but it was still interesting in the late afternoon light. My favorite hoodoo was "Ptery" the baby pterodactyl.
He was on the top of a small ridge where he could watch everything happening around him.
After I had wandered
every side canyon in the area, I checked my watch and decided I had time to look for one more balanced rock.
It was across the main wash and up a side wash about a mile away. I'm not sure the shot of the balanced rock was worth the mileage,
but the geology on that side of the main wash was completely different from anything I'd seen. The top layer of the canyon was red siltstone
and about 6 feet thick. As the softer layers below the red siltstone eroded, the top layer broke off and tumbled down into the canyon
floor making a small red "stream."
I had hoped to check out a couple of more areas, but the sun was too far down in the sky, and they would be in the shade. I saw the Austrian couple hiking back to the parking area ahead of me, but I never caught up to them. They were pulling out of the parking lot just as I arrived.
Today was a great day of wandering around a crazily magical area. There is always something new to see and different lighting conditions to photograph.
Previous Day
Return to Trip Page