After the cool, green of the North Rim we made a rapid descent of 3000 ft. down to the desert-scape of the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. We drove down the BLM road that we were looking for and found a camping spot to settle into and plan our next move.
Our purpose for coming here was to investigate some beautiful areas in this remote region, that are only accessible via 4 wheel drive and the gear to get out of the deep sand, if necessary.
Poverty Ranch
The first region we explored was called Paw Holes, which is part of Coyote Butte South in the Vermillion Cliffs Nat. Monument. Along the way we passed an abandoned ranch, known as Poverty Ranch, which was fun to explore.
Abandoned panel truck at Poverty Ranch
The red rocks of Paw Holes were gorgeous. It was quite an adrenaline inducing ride in and when we got there we discovered we were not alone. A family of Germans with 3 young children had hiked in several miles from the opposite direction. Wow!
Sun and Sand Travelers 
Hard country, but beautiful flowers – what are they?
Don’t know what they are, we’ve only seen them in this region.