"Picture Perfect" Kodachrome Basin State Park  (Cannonville, Utah)

After spending a few hours at Bryce, I dropped down to nearby Kodachrome Basin State Park and camped there that night.  This park with the funny name is one of my favorite places to camp in southwestern Utah.  It's a few miles off Highway 12 so it's not usually crowded, but it is incredibly beautiful.  Best of all, there are hot showers here to wash off all that red Utah dust that cakes up on your skin, giving you a temporary tan.

Kodachrome Basin is a quirky park with lots of surprises, like chukar partridges that strut through the campground looking for a handout, and a tall rock that bears a striking resemblance to Fred Flintstone (which, not surprisingly, is officially called "Fred Flintstone Rock").  The only bad thing about Kodachrome Basin are the no-see-ems and cedar gnats that congregate here during certain times of the year, which I swatted in vain while trying to chow down some Doritos and salsa at my campsite.  

In case you're wondering about the name, a group of visitors came through here in the 1940s and, stunned by the colors, decided to name it Kodachrome Basin.  Soon the name started appearing on local maps.  The Kodak company, though, got huffy about the trademark infringement and demanded that the name be changed, which it was.  Then Kodak changed its mind and decided the name would be good publicity, so the name was changed back to Kodachrome Basin. 

Believe me, you can shoot a lot of Kodachrome -- or in my case, Fujichrome -- in this park.

Above left:  The entrance to Kodachrome Basin State Park, near Bryce Canyon.  This place is really interesting and it's one of my 10 Favorite State Parks in the U.S.

Above center:  Here's the campground at Kodachrome Basin.  I've camped at this particular campsite in the fall, winter, spring, and summer, and it's always beautiful.

Above right:  This rather perverted-looking rock formation is a "sand pipe."  Kodachrome Basin is the only place in the world where these rock formations are found.  Geologists think they were ancient natural wells that gradually filled with silt.

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