National Park Shakedown

Every day, visitors to Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Northern Arizona hike into an area named Coyote Buttes North to see one of the most visually striking geologic sandstone formations in the world, which is known as The Wave. On an ancient layer of sandstone, millions of years of water and wind erosion crafted three-thousand-foot cliffs, weird red canyons that look like you are on the planet Mars, and giant formations that look like crashing waves made of rock. There are petroglyphs on cliff walls and dinosaur tracks embedded in the sediment.

The Wave is unlike anywhere else on earth. It is also part of a U.S. national park, and thus technically, it’s open to anyone. Yet, to preserve its natural beauty, the Bureau of Land Management lets just sixty-four people daily visit the area. Snagging one of these slots is an accomplishment, and a ticket into The Wave is known as one of the hardest permits to get on U.S. public lands.