City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho

If you visit City of Rocks National Reserve in Idaho, I'd recommend driving a car with a high clearance, preferably with four-wheel drive. In places, the road has deep trenches from water erosion.

The entrance sign from Emery Canyon Road

Bread Loaf

View toward Emery Pass Picnic Area

Same rock as previous picture.
Can you see the tiny rock climbers?

Tiny rock climbers here too.
Parking Lot Rock.

Window Arch

Burley, Idaho Pool Water

Maybe they painted the bottom of the pool different shades of blue. Or maybe it was because one area was deep and the other shallow.

Deep

Shallow

Gloria Falls, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

Gloria Falls on a Wednesday morning in August. 

Lake Mary, Utah in August

Ever since we went to Tanaya Lake in Yosemite National Park, I really wanted to hike up to Lake Mary at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon here in Utah. My memory of Lake Mary was that it resembles Tanaya Lake. I just had to see it again to verify. 

So last Friday, my husband and I hiked up to Lake Mary. It's only about a 2.6 mile hike out and back, but it is a little vertical sometimes, and it felt longer. I'm woefully out of shape. Turns out the differences between a reservoir and a glacial lake are pretty significant.

I enjoyed seeing all the wildflowers and views on the hike up.

Besides the abundant mosquitoes, I like Lake Mary. It's pretty. There's a lot of vegetation around it. It's a thirty minute drive and a 1 1/2 hour hike from home. 

Tanaya Lake wins in some ways: you can drive right up to it, it's bigger, it's bluer, the surrounding area is more beautiful, and there's more granite. Unfortunately, it's nine hours and two minutes away. So I'm grateful for our Lake Mary.