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Show I - - . - -.,. - - - - - . . -v- , .- - 1 s - ----- ";---.....- k---.v?'r .-...-..- :, ... . ' - - v-.vv.. '' ' ;v. A j'. y :------ivrC- - Vet'- - ' -' ; ' 4' .... v.... r i- -" v -v i - , ' -v.--.' ' .V -.v.- . -- .-: -rr-' ' , -'v. . ' , - -. N - - - . ; - . - - ' - - - - - -. " v. . V V - . ....; I " .. - . . '- - A birdseve view of the land beyond the Monitor and Merrimac. In the foreground, fore-ground, fractured Entrada sandstone tops the mesas that separate the can-I can-I yons. Tusher and Mill Canyons are next, then the open expanse of Court- I house Pasture. In the far distance, the La Sal Mountains are shrouded in clouds. Beyond the Monitor and Merrimac i. ; , Submarine Rock, so named by local pilots, is a gigantic sub-shaped rem-I rem-I nant of red Entrada sandstone, awash in a sea of white Navajo sandstone slickrock. This spectacular shape lies to the north of the canyons systems tHat are beyond the Monitor and Merrimac. Aerial photos by Fran Barnes, courtesv of Hub Air Scenic Tours. i ' - - - - ' : : . . ' i, : These rdrock towers grace the rolling dune country of Courthouse Pasture, which lies to the north of the Monitor and Merrimac. The stone By Fran Barnes Beyond the Monitor and Merrimac is a land of rock and color that is seldom seen except by a few local hunters and prospectors. The Monitor and Merrimac are two gigantic redrock monoliths visible to the north of the Dead Horse Point road soon after it climbs out of Seven-mile Canvon (story, TI8-19-71). Beyond these spectacular spectac-ular landmarks, to the north and west is a series ser-ies of terraced, rock-bound rock-bound canyons bearing such names as Mill Canyon, Can-yon, Tusher Canyon and Bartlett Wash. The general gen-eral upward slope of the land toward the Knoll, where the roads to Dead Horse Point and Island in the Sky branch, has terrace upon which these towers stand is carpeted with agate and similar hard minerals. Ajeep trail goes near the base of the towers. created this group of northward canyons. The canyons, themselves, them-selves, are carved from red and white Entrada sandstone. The canyon walls are shelved and terraced by the layering in this ancient rock. The canyon bottoms are more rock strata and picturesque outcrop-pings, outcrop-pings, plus dune sand sparsely covered with juniper . and desert plants. The stream courses down the canyon bottoms are often moist or even running with spring water, and thriving thriv-ing cottonwoods tell of underground moisture even where none breaks the surface. Several Entries There are several ways to enter the land beyond the Monitor and Merrimac by vehicle. One trail leaves the Dead Horse Point road, passes pas-ses along the base of the Merrimac, then angles an-gles north into Mill Canyon. Can-yon. A branch of this trail cuts across Court-house Court-house Pasture near some soaring rock towers, tow-ers, goes through a gap in the canyon wall, then joins a series of trails in Tusher Canyon. Another more direct but less scenic route into the canyons is by way of a trail that turns west off of U.S. 163 just a few yards south of the Courthouse Wash bridge. Within the first several miles, branching branch-ing trails head south into in-to Mill and Tusher Canyons, Can-yons, Bartlett Wash and their maze of side canyons. can-yons. Exploring To No End Once you have entered any one of these, there is no end of exploring. The jeep trails generally follow fol-low the wash bottoms, but where vehicles cannot can-not go, short hikes will lead to big caves and alcoves, hidden spring-watered spring-watered edens and slick-rock slick-rock trails up onto the strange serpentine, checkerboarded mesas that separate the canyons. can-yons. On some of these mesa tops, rockhounds will find minerals of interest, in-terest, harder crystalline crystal-line forms that have been left behind as the softer Summerville sediments have eroded away. In the canyon bottoms where the reddish Carmel mudstone is exposed below be-low the Entrada, still more strange mineral specimens can be found. And near the mouths of the canyons, where the rocky , Entrada strata dive out of sight, the painted-desert sediments sedi-ments of the Morrison formation can be seen in places. Petrified wood and dinosaur bone fragments frag-ments are sometimes found in the Morrison. The northbound canyons can-yons beyond the Monitor Moni-tor and Merrimac have something for everyone. Picnicking? Try a cot-tonwood-shaded spring, or a sunlit terrace of slickrock with a magnificent mag-nificent view from either. eith-er. Photography? Try the soaring , towers of Courthouse Pasture, or the twisting, eroded walls of Mill and Tusher Canyons. Rockhounding? Look in the Carmel and Summerville orMorris-- orMorris-- on formations for agate, bone, wood and other minerals. Exploring? Look for the few abandoned aband-oned mine sites in the canyon, or check into all the sidecanyons that are there. Fun for the kids? Sand dunes and sandy washbottoms provide pro-vide a natural playground play-ground for energetic youngsters. Hiking? What with countless sidecanyons, alcoves and rocky terraces, plus square miles of mesa tops to explore, there is no end of hiking. . Indeed, there is no end of things to do in the canyon maze that lies beyond the Monitor and Merrimac. |