Coyote Buttes Evening Glory

The “Coyote Buttes” is an area in extreme southern Utah and northern Arizona of extravagant and intriguing geologic formations in sandstone.

The most well-known of these is the small area called, “The Wave.” Close by are some other areas of great interest and viewing called “Paw Hole,” “Cottonwood Cove” and “White Pocket.” All of these require extensive driving on loose, sandy, single-track, 4WD roads that are then followed by desert hiking across sandy, sometime trackless terrain and slickrock walking. 

This photo was taken in the “Paw Hole” area. Each time we visit here, we find more that surprises and amazes us. Our last visit was September of 2017. We headed in during the later afternoon knowing that time would provide the best lighting for photography, but the weather was not cooperating. Prevailing winds were running about 30 mph and some gusts of close to 50 mph made taking photographs very difficult. But despite the challenging conditions, we persisted to explore and as the evening sun began to drop lower and the colors intensify we found ourselves in an area we had not investigated before, partly just trying to find a place out of the wind. Our effort to avoid the discomfort resulted in the opportunity to photograph this location in all its’ evening glory.

HDR Image. September, 2017