Coyote Buttes is one of the most remarkable geological areas in the country, if not the world. Inf fact, people from all over the world, especially Europe, come to see it. Actually, there are often more people from Europe applying for permits than from the states. For years, very few people knew where beautiful pictures of colorful, wavy sandstone came from. Captions would just say "Colorado Plateau". That's a really big area. I started searching well over a decade and a half ago. I managed to guess the general area and got to know a BLM ranger named "Skip" who lived in a trailer along HWY 89 near the portal to Paria Canyon. (There's now a memorial to "Skip" at the visitor center as he was killed by a drunk driver a few years ago) I finally convinced him to pinpoint it for me. In those days, we could go in whenever we wanted to. Then more and more people started to learn about it and it is now permitted. A lottery is held each day for the next day, and there of often 4, 5 or more times as many people applying for permits than are given out. The north section requires an 8.3 mile drive on an all weather road (which can become impassable if wet in places) and about a 2.5 mile stiff hike to get to the famous "Wave". The south section requires a much longer drive, 20 miles on all weather, and another 9-10 on sand, but shorter hike. It is often possible to get permits for the south section because of this, but even they are becoming hard to come by. Some of this sandstone is tough as nails, and other parts (fins) are so fragile, wind will fracture it. With the great increase in use, there is noticeable damage being done, especially to the most fragile parts. Much of it is accidental, but some is deliberate. If you ever have the opportunity to go into Coyote Buttes, PLEASE be gentle.

Many of the most recent additions to this gallery are from White Pocket. White Pocket is east of South Coyote Buttes and requires driving about 16 miles on sand that in places gets very deep. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of using a polarizing filter when taking the shots. Metering is difficult as is because of the bright white rock, and only gets more complicated when you use a polarizing filter with a 4x5. The polarizer made skies look so blue, or caused them to go black, making the images look fake. Lens "fall off" from using a wide angle lens only added to the problem. I also miss the old Velvia 50. I just don't get the same color results with Provia 100 and had to compensate in photoshop, something I don't like to do. I look forward to re-shooting these images, and finding others. White Pocket is a relatively small area, but there are plenty of pictures out there yet to be taken.

I want to publicly thank DOUG SHERMAN for taking me into White Pocket. Doug has phenomenal images of White Pocket, Coyote Buttes, and just about every scenic wonder in this country on pbase. Check out his galleries for a real treat.