Kanab, Utah

Kanab (rhymes with "tab") is a small town with a scenic natural backdrop in just about every direction. We stayed in a small but perfectly comfortable room in a motor lodge at the north end of town.

We were surprised to learn that 100+ movies and TV shows were filmed here, hence the nickname "Little Hollywood." We were also surprised when the hotel clerk told us that a nearby coffee shop was "polygamist-run" (i.e., owned by fundamentalist Mormons). We were astounded when the restaurant across the street from our little motor lodge served us a sublime meal that rivaled anything we'd had in New York City. If you ever visit Kanab, you must dine at Sego! Here's a photo of the pork belly and watermelon salad, which tasted even better than it sounds.

The next morning, we met up with our guide at the trailhead for Peekaboo Slot Canyon. Our tour companions were a friendly, well-traveled couple from Southern California. Our guide drove us through deep sand (surprisingly hard to drive in - glad we had an expert at the wheel) to Peekaboo. It was fun wandering through the cool, twisty passages, admiring the graceful curves in the red sandstone, and imagining who may have lived in the alcoves once upon a time.

My favorite photo is the one looking straight up at the sky.

After Peekaboo, we had an even longer, bumpier drive through more deep sand to White Wave. We learned a bit about the fluid dynamics that caused these interesting rock formations. And then we had a ball clambering up the rocks and "skiing" back down in the soft, fluffy sand. Nature's playground made us feel like kids again!

On the other side of a huge alcove we found numerous petroglyphs and some pottery shards, reminders that people have been playing in these rocks for a very long time. Kanab is a wondrous, fascinating place, and it was fun exploring it with new friends.