North Coyote Buttes, June 6

This entire trip was built around the June 6th permit we secured into North Coyote Buttes last March. Only 20 people are allowed in per day -- 10 via an online permit lottery & 10 via an in-person lottery the day before. We had been unsuccessfully trying to secure a permit both ways for over a year, with Bob finally succeeding last March. I especially wanted to explore the Sand Cove area, which I had missed during my 2007 visit.

We left Page around 3 AM for the drive to the trailhead and started the walk in by headlamp around 4. We thought we had plenty of time to arrive at Fatali's Boneyard at sunrise, until the sky started brightening too early. We quickly figured out that we had been confused by the Utah-Arizona time difference and used a sunrise time that was an hour off. Nonetheless we arrived on location shortly after sunrise, with the sun not yet over a nearby ridge. Although we found some interesting shots, in hindsight I realize that in our rush we were about 100 yards off from the best location. Oh, well, next time.

We then spent the rest of the day visiting Sand Cove, the Second Wave, The Wave, Top Rock, The Alcove, Melody's Eye & the Top Rock Window, and then returned for late light at The Wave, Sand Cove, and the Second Wave. We finally got back to the car at dark -- an amazing 14 hour day.

Panoramas – Tap/click on a pano's thumbnail to show an interactive, moving panorama; use the on-screen control bar or your finger/mouse to move around:

Early Morning Between Fatali's Boneyard & Sand Cove:

Morning at Sand Cove Buttes:

Outside The Wave's SW Entrance:

Morning at The Wave:

The Alcove, Top Rock:

The Alcove, Top Rock:

From Center of Melody's Eye's Alcove:

Top Rock Window View:

Last Light at Sand Cove Buttes:

Last Light at the Second Wave:

Image Gallery – Tap to view an individual image, then swipe to advance; use the top-right controls for auto play & other options (e.g, tap the curved arrow to open sharing options):