Methowoutdoors.com--Outdoor Living in the Methow Valley

South Coyote Buttes

South Coyote Buttes looking to the North. Bryce Canyon can be seen in the far distance.

One of the finest places to visit in the American Southwest is an area that lies within the Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness. The area is called Coyote Buttes and is full of amazing and beautiful geologic features. Before the 1990’s this place was relatively unknown to most people. But no more. Chances are you have seen the region’s most popular feature known as “The Wave”. This multi-colored, undulating sandstone feature now graces calendars, coffee table books, prints, note cards–the list goes on (Google it, you’ll recognize it). Strangely enough, more Germans (yes, from Germany) have probably been to this remote area than Americans. Why? One source claims it’s because a scientific magazine article about it appeared in Germany. While this may be true, it probably comes after the fact. With the fact being that a German porno was filmed here. This tidbit comes from someone close to me who had been shown this area (and had been sworn to secrecy) WAY before any one knew of it, when “The Wave” was called the “Rainbow Room”. Now, I have not verified this German porno connection with a good Google search because that just brings up too much weird stuff. But I’m willing to go along with it because it makes a better story.

Fantastic sandstone formations of South Coyote Buttes.

Nowadays, if you want to go see “The Wave”, you’ll have to get a permit for it. The area is divided into two sections: North and South, with “The Wave” residing in the North. Reservations are few and book up pretty far in advance, a system that is not compatible with two wandering travelers who have no idea where they are going to be from day to day. When we found ourselves in the area of Coyote Buttes day we settled for another option: South Coyote Buttes. Permits are easier to come by here perhaps because it is lesser known and harder to get to. By hard I mean either a long, sandy 4WD trek or a long, long, long hike. But it is no less spectacular and definately has merits of its own. Only the most dedicated will probably find themselves here and on a cool spring day in March we were the only ones here.

One of the many unique hoodoos of South Coyote Buttes.

We spent several hours wandering around the colorful, swirling Navajo sandstone buttes, precarious-looking hoodoos, and delicate fins of stone projecting out from the cross-bedded layers of rock. In a particularly interesting hollow, I stopped to soak it all in. I’m facinated by geology, and getting to experience it in this magnificent setting hardly got much better–until I spotted the dinosaur tracks. There they were, at least 3 to 4 sets of tracks walking side by side, suggesting a small group of dinosaurs traveling together. They looked like they just appeared out of the past, walked about 15 feet or so, and disappeared back into eternity. I’m certainly not an expert so I can’t say how old they were, but I do know that this area was once a land of sand dunes, deposited somewhere around 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic. So yeah, they’re old.

Dinosaur tracks imprinted in the sandstone.

Also of interest were the deflation hollows, depressions in the rock formed by wind erosion, that had accumulated sand and other interesting particles of rock. We combed through a few, looking for lithics. After satisfying that curiosity, we headed back towards the road where we parked. There are no trails to follow, so route-finding skills, a sense of direction, and a GPS are pretty helpful for making sure you don’t get lost.

On a total side note, If you were out here and lost a memory card from your camera (and you’re reading this) let me know. I found it in the sand, and in good condition. You family photos of Disneyland are still safe with me.