Behind The Photo: Factory Butte
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The Heart Of The Wastelands
A defiant monolith guards against the outside world as it watches over forgotten Badlands.
No matter how many times I visit, no matter how long I stay, I always leave Utah feeling like I have barely scratched the surface. Everyone knows about the main locations, the highly explored spots like Zion National Park with its unimaginable beauty, or Bryce Canyon and the thousands of hoodoos. Sure, these spots are incredible places well worth seeing. But it’s the seldomly spoken of spots that open your imagination and make you feel the astounding uniqueness this planet is capable of.
It’s the spots of unfamiliar landscapes that confuse with wonderful weirdness while also inspiring you to search for more. It’s teetering on the brink of certain death just to get a little closer to the endless view that keeps pulling you out to the cliff edge. It’s gazing upon the solitary plateau of Factory Butte as it stands defiantly in the setting sun.
It’s the discovery and adventure awaiting in the Utah Badlands that makes every trip a new and exciting experience.
Can it get any better than this?
Feeling the adrenaline and inner serenity that comes from looking down to see the tips of my toes dangling above a 1,000-foot fall. Basking in the battling elements of warm light from a secluded sunrise and the icy breeze sweeping up from the canyon floor as they fight to gain control across my face. Standing on the edge of the world to stare out onto the open horizon, I ask myself, “Can it get any better than this?”
To some, playing with the precipice of death sounds like an unnecessary and stupid risk, but in the Canyonlands of Utah, those reckless actions are always rewarded the most. Whether it’s the incomprehensible scale of the endless canyons kissing the horizon or the dangerously dramatic cliffsides begging to be explored, the Canyonlands always bring out the adventurous inspiration you didn’t know you were seeking. Especially when it comes to the spot I’ve found myself in on this cool October morning.
The Green River Overlook is usually a personal piece of majesty away from the main attractions of the park, awarding those that can find this tucked away overlook calm views that rival anywhere in the world. However, this particular morning was different. The unbeatable views still remain unbeatable, but the consistent, calm nature is replaced by harsh autumn winds threatening to push me straight off the cliffside and down to the canyon floor 1,000 feet below.
This morning, the National Park has had enough of people borrowing its favorite overlook and was determined to take it back for itself. Blasting faster and faster, becoming more and more violent, the park was going to get the secluded serenity it had enjoyed for eons, but not before I could soak in the sights.
While the conditions are becoming increasingly treacherous, the scene is also becoming more stunning as well. The sun steadily stretching across the canyon floor while working its way up the cliffside paints a perfect picture far more peaceful than the reality I’m in, but for a sunrise I’ll never forget, it was all well worth it.
Taking in the indescribably astounding surroundings, it feels as though I can stay here for the rest of eternity, and as delightful as that would be, I had other gorgeous sights to travel to and not nearly enough time to see them. Burning one last look into my memory forever, I hop into my car and head to the next fantastic location, the Bentonite Hills.
After leaving the Canyonlands and driving a couple of hours across the southern half of Utah, I come to a small dirt trail veering off of the main road. This can’t be it, right? This looks like a path through the Utah badlands that has been long since abandoned, but that’s where the GPS is telling me to go, so I guess we’ll see. After all, sometimes the best places are also the most unexpected, like my experience at the Russian Ridge Preserve.
So off I go down Cow Dung Road (the actual name of the dirt road) in search of the colorful hills I have heard so much about. Heading farther down this offshoot trail, it seems more and more likely that this isn’t the right way. The “road” is becoming more rugged. Signs of previous people heading down the trail are fading away, as are any signs of anything noteworthy. Utah’s lively colors are giving way to the bleak, washed out beiges of the badlands. It’s feeling like I’m lost.
Then, just as quickly as life faded from the surroundings, an explosion of color appeared. There they are, the tie-dye hills of Utah. Mounds of vibrant colors scattered about the dull desert floor. From large mountains layered in color to little lumps only big enough to fit one or two shades. So vibrant and expressive as if someone used a whole box of crayons to color in the natural terrain.
I get out of my car and begin exploring. Hiking up and down these rainbow bulges in the Earth. Feeling the different layers of color, almost expecting the paint-like surface to rub off onto my fingers. Just incredible, another location so stunning that it’s impossible to take a bad picture. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. The Bentonite Hills appear similar to many places in Utah in that they are unlike any other place in the world.
Having spent a couple of hours exploring, I hit the road again for one last natural spectacle before my main event of the Factory Butte. The Moonscape Overlook.
I make a quick stop for some food in Hanksville, a very small western town that finds itself right at the center of one of a kind natural attractions. Usually, towns next to gorgeous landscapes are bustling places filled with tourists and additional entertainment, but not Hanksville. This old west town is barely a blip on the map. When driving through, you would have no idea that this settlement of less than 200 people is also home to incredibly unique landscapes that feel as though you have found yourself on not just one different planet but 2. That’s another of the many reasons that make this area of Utah so spectacular: the feeling of having the whole place to yourself.
Continuing through Hanksville and on my way to the Moonscape Overlook, I come to another offshoot dirt road leading away from the main highway. At least this time the road shows signs of use, a reassurance that I’m going the right way. Down the road I go, progressing farther and farther into expansive and empty landscapes. Away from the paved roads and touristed areas and deeper into whatever awaits.
Exploring the uninhabited Utah badlands almost began to feel as though I was morphing away from being just another person driving around looking for incredible views, and more so the feeling of being placed in the middle of a great quest. A quest to travel through this rough, foreign terrain, braving harrowing heights and forgotten landscapes, all with the goal of discovering unearthly sights few have ever laid eyes on.
It sounds ridiculous, but that’s the power that Utah has. Utah takes you away from the simple and straightforward reality and makes you feel as though you’re in the midst of something more, something far greater than you initially expected, something… unforgettable.
I come to a clearing that seems to be a large landing right before the cliffside. This must be it. I get out and jog over to the cliffs, almost giddy with excitement, and to no surprise, the view is even greater than I could have imagined.
The perfect lookout point. Hundreds of feet above the vast wastelands, this one of a kind point is too good to be true. Precariously sloping away from the cliffside only to rise to a point just before giving way to the open beyond, I think, “These are the scenes that dreams are made of. These are the places that inspire wonderful creativity and the desire to search for more places as stunning as this.”
I carefully make my way to the tip of this unbelievable overlook perched atop the badlands like a natural throne inviting you to watch the vista as it was meant to be seen. As I’m taking in the view, I only feel one thing. Not fear of falling to sure death just inches away, not the overwhelming sense of beauty, no the one thing that stands out far above the rest is absence.
No blustering winds or additional elements to distract from this moment. No people crowding around the overlook or any other signs of surrounding life. It’s as if this spot is frozen in time, cut off from the rest of civilization and untouched since the planet itself had formed. At this peak above the badlands the whole world seems to fade away. The worries of yesterday and questions of tomorrow, all the stress of life rendered irrelevant as I once again stand on the edge of the world and watch the Earth merge into the far off skyline.
This is what life is about.
These moments, these places creating memories you can look back on for the rest of your existence. No item can replace that. No item can even begin to compete with something as powerful as that.
I snap out of the trance this remarkable location put me in to see the sun setting across the barren landscape. Time seems to have jumped. I could have been standing in that same spot for hours, even days; all sense of time had left. All that remains is this scene, being etched into my brain forever.
I wish I could stay here until the end of time. Build my life right on this perch, and I would be the most fortunate person in the world, but I have to leave. I have to abandon one of the most remarkable sights of my life in hopes of finding another, because as incredible as this place is, it isn’t the reason I came here. I came for the towering figure of Factory Butte, and I need to find it quick before the sky sinks to darkness.
I hop back into my car and take off for the final stop in what has truly been a day to remember. Almost instantly after leaving the Moonscape Overlook I see an immense plateau soaring above the rest of the surrounding landscape. Probably a safe bet to head that way. The closer I get, the more imposing it becomes. Watching over the undisturbed environment like the protector of the badlands, this is Factory Butte.
All of the stories and pictures of Factory Butte were true. A figure portraying colossal power while also managing to exude astonishing beauty. A butte of worn, wavy rock folded layer upon layer in a rectangular design that rises to the sky. This is the reason I came to the seldomly seen areas of Utah. This is worth any trip, no matter the distance. As much as I wanted to sit and admire the scene, the light was retreating, and I needed to hurry if I wanted to capture this magnificent view.
I race to launch my drone and seize the setting sun before it slowly slips away. I take to the air in record time and gain altitude as quickly as I can. I reach a good distance to take in the whole scene when I’m taken aback by what I see.
The full sight of Factory Butte in all its glory. It’s one thing to see this monolith from the ground, but to fully appreciate it, you have to take to the air. From here, I can see a scene with levels of magnificence. I can see desolate peaks of the plateau, the last glimpses of sunlight shrinking behind the distant mountains, and perhaps most importantly, I can see the dozens of folds in the land.
Row upon row of mini mountains circling the tremendous tower. From washed out crevasses to waves of Earth rolling in a sea of sand and stone. This unnatural looking land is as foreign as it is familiar. Instead of an area of entrancing land, it resembles that of veins or roots spreading out in all directions, pumping life into the heart of the wastelands.
I rush the drone around, trying to take in everything I possibly can, but the sunlight was fading fast, and there was still so much to explore. So many secrets tucked within the ripples and riverbeds. It’s clear I wasn’t even going to come close to scratching the surface. But maybe that’s for the best. Maybe places like Factory Butte are so incredible, so alluring not because of what you see, but because of all the things that remain unseen. That’s what can keep bringing people back. Not to see sights you have already seen in person or in pictures but to catch glimpses of areas you have yet to explore.
No matter what handful of sights you came to Utah to see, you will end up witnessing far, far more. Far more cliffside views that shock and amaze. Far more depth to areas you thought you uncovered all there is, only to reveal how little you have really seen.
You can venture through Utah 10 times over and still experience just a fraction of what this state holds. Because in Utah, with every awe-inspiring location, there is another even more astounding spot right around the corner.
I came for the glorious Factory Butte, and without question it was glorious, but like so many times before, it’s the additional adventures that make Utah so special. It’s the surprise of stumbling onto a spot you never expected to see or experiencing an area far more breathtaking than you could have ever imagined. Sunrises bringing life and hope over the open horizon, or sunsets reminding us that nothing lasts forever.
Whatever your reason for coming to Utah, one thing is for sure. It won’t be your last.
Factory Butte
(Until next time)
Thank you for an unforgettable experience
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