John at The Wave

John's number came up at The Wave lottery on the last possible bingo ball that was pulled!  He entered the lottery the day before my Bryce race (day #7 of lottery attempts), just for kicks is what I understand.  Then they called his number.  He wasn't sure he wanted to drive all the way back from Bryce the next day, also knowing that I wouldn't be able to join him (due to the race and all).  In the end he decided it would probably be too awesome to pass up.  He was right!

John waving at his hard-to-come-by permit:

As noted in the previous post, he dropped me off the next morning for the start of my race, then he drove back around past Kanab to the area of The Wave to start his own adventure.  With possible rain storms on the way and a questionable (in the wet) dirt road ahead, he parked several miles before the normal trailhead and ran it in from there.

He found plenty of beautiful things to take pictures of during the hike in.  We didn't know it at the time, but the SD card in our camera was about to die.  It was already providing less and less space for photos, so John had to delete some by the time he arrived at the actual Wave.  Happily, the card continued to work... just long enough for John to get these photos.  We are really glad it did!

Sandstone scenery on the hike in:

Fun geological formations:

The beautiful curves of Coyote Buttes:

Getting closer but still in adjacent washes:

The impending rain made for an occasional dramatic picture:

And in the other direction - blue sky:

Fascinating bumpy ridges:

Thin fins:

Trying to imagine how these layers were created when this area was covered by an inland sea:

Love all the amazing colors:

And different formations (seriously, Utah rocks):

Now arriving - at The Wave!  It's like everything John had just seen except even more intense and striking:

The lines of colors stand out and make for incredible photography, even with our little camera.  Real photographers come here with real cameras to take pictures to actually sell.  If you have ever seen photographs from Utah, you have probably seen one taken at The Wave.

Surfing The Wave, but of course:

Crazy beautiful.

Maybe someday we can return and spend all day exploring the area.

More of a distance shot, with just enough time for John to run back to the road, get a ride back to the truck (thank you, random stranger!), and drive out to the main road before it started raining.

Yes, John was here!