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Show nothing but bare and barren rocks of rich and varied colors shimmering in the sunlight. Scattered over the plain were thousands of the fantastically formed buttes to which I have so often referred in my notes; pyramids, domes, towers, columns, spires, of every conceivable form and size. Among these by far the most remarkable was the forest of Gothic spires, first and imperfectly seen as we issued from the mouth of the Canon Colorado. Nothing I can say will give an adequate idea of the singular and surprising appearance which they presented from this new and advantageous point of view. Singly, or in groups, they extend like a belt of timber for a distance of several miles. Nothing in nature or in art offers a parallel to these singular objects, but some idea of their appearance may be gained by imagining the island of New York thickly set with spires like that of Trinity Church, but many of them full twice in height. Scarcely less striking features in the landscape were the innumerable canons by which the plain is cut. In every direction they ran ramified deep, dark, and rugged, impassable to everything but the winged bird. Of these the most stupendous was that of Grand River, which washes two sides of the base of the pinnacle on which we stood, a narrow chasm, as we estimated, full 1,500 feet in depth, into which the sun scarcely seemed to penetrate. At the bottom the whole breadth of this canon is occupied by the turbid waters of Grand River, here a sluggish stream, at least with no current visible to us who were more than 2,000 feet above it. In this great artery a thousand lateral tributaries terminate, flowing through channels precisely like that of Labyrinth Creek; underground passes by which intermittent floods from the distant highlands are conducted through this country, producing upon it no other effect than constantly to deepen their own beds. might well apply to the entire 9.5- mile remnant of plateau land between the knob and Observation Rock. Driving south from Green River, Utah, through seemingly endless stretches of sand and rock in places covered with blackbrush or grasses, in places barren, you note that the ground is gradually rising. Occasionally there is a view of the La Sals to the east or the Henry Mountains to the west, or a glimpse of the heads of canyons leading down to the Green River. There are 60 miles of this to Robbers Roost, a large shallow open bowl, which is said to have provided the perfect secluded range for cattle stolen from the early Mormon settlers. It was reputedly the hang- out of Butch Cassidy and his gang of outlaws. Southeast of the Roost, the land continues to rise, pifion and juniper appear, and canyons heading near the road lead off to the right and the left. Fourteen more miles and you are at French Seep. Observation Rock stands directly ahead on the rim of a world of great terraces, canyons, and strangely carved rocks that surrounds the junction of the rivers. North of Observation Rock is Cleopatras Chair, a high block of Navajo sandstone sitting on the edge of the upper terrace, commanding a view of the Stillwater Canyon of the Green, Junction Butte, Upheaval Dome, and the La Sal Mountains far beyond. At French Seep the trail turns south and winds its way along the top of the pifion and juniper covered remnant of plateau. The winding of the trail provides alternate views into the many fingers of Happy Canyon and out over the great canyon of the Colorado. Although lower than Elk Ridge, this too is an island of green forest surrounded by a fantastically shaped and colored sea of desert; an excellent place from which to view the canyons of the Colorado and the Green Rivers or for a base camp for exploring expeditions down into that beautifully weird " Land of Standing Rocks" or down to the edge of the sheer- walled Cataract Canyon 2,000 feet deep. Lands End is one of those satisfying far- off places you want to visit again. Lands End area.- West of the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers is Lands End, appropriate name for a low knob at the south end of a finger of the high plateau standing between the Dirty Devil River and the Colorado. The name Hite area.- The Dandy Crossing or ford of the Colorado River, later replaced by Hites Ferry, greatly facilitated the extension of early Mormon colonization of the San Juan country of southeastern Utah. The great early activity in placering |