This picture and the next three were taken just below the rim at Grandview Overlook. From the edge, the cliff drops off steeply to a broad second level rimmed with white rock; and from there it drops again to the inner canyon and the Colorado River.

The "edge of night" refers to the Earth's shadow, visible just after sunset. The Earth's shadow is cast into the sky just above the horizon, in the direction opposite the setting sun. We are looking east, with the La Sal Mountains in the distance.

The Ledge

This part of the park is known as Islands in the Sky.

"False Kiva." The hike to False Kiva is strenuous. The trail, roughly marked with rock cairns, descends steeply. It cuts across the face of a canyon wall and then switches back up to a half-cave hollowed out by wind. The kiva is tucked under the lip of the soaring cave wall. We stayed until sunset to get the best light we could, then hiked back in the growing darkness, eventually relying on our flashlights to stay on the trail. (2nd, Digital Pictorial, N4C Feb 2012; 2nd, USA Places, Iowa State Fair August 2012; 1st, Digital Pictorial, Best of N4C, 2012).

Mesa Arch frames the canyon magnificently. As the sun rises, the light bounces off the rock below and illuminates the underside of Mesa Arch. The glow is quite real, not a product of photo manipulation. (1st, Digital Nature, N4C April 2012; Honorable Mention, Digital Nature, Best of N4C 2012)

Grandview Juniper. (3rd N4C Pictorial; Sept 2013)