My wife and I had a trip to northern Arizona in September of 2015. One of the things that we wanted to do was to visit a remote area in the north central part of the state called Cottonwood Cove, which features very beautiful sandstone rock formations. The formations are often built in many layers and colors. The location is within the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. It is in a protected wilderness area, and you need a permit to visit. I had to be prepared on my computer, 3 months ahead, the minute that the permit became available for the month that I wanted, and I did get it. Also, the Cove is well off of any regular roads, and is reachable only by four wheel drive over deep sand rutted tracks. Not wanting to get lost or stuck, we booked a tour to get there that also included another area called White Pocket. The Cove covers many acres and we only had a couple of late morning hours there, so the time was not ideal. We did enjoy the site very much, though.

In 2020 we were in the area again, but in April, and I wanted to go back with more time to explore. This time, I went on a dedicated Cove tour that gave me more flexibility. With the extra time, I was able to roam around the area much more extensively, finding more good subjects and the chance to choose sun angle and direction.

This is one of my favorite shots. I picked a spot that had the leading lines of the rock layers, and caught good light on the formation.