This shows the typical vegetation of the higher deserts of Arizona: pinyon pines, junipers, and a few small cacti. The rock is typical of the Colorado Plateau, horizontal strata of bright red sandstone, which begins here and extends north and east for hundreds of miles through the Four Corners area.

Little did we know at this point that the weather was about to change. It rained almost all week, very heavily at times, and with snow on the top of the buttes. It wasn't until the next Friday that there was blue sky again.