There we were, driving through Nevada on our way to Las Vegas. And we saw something interesting along the side of the road.

This is part of our 100 Things in 2016 challenge. Here’s the full list.

You can see it in the first photo, kind of a light-tan stripe in the middle of the drab-green desert. Turns out that’s a spectacular Nevada state park called Cathedral Gorge.

We stopped and explored for an hour or so, meandering through slot canyons and up the slopes to rain-excavated caves. The place was nearly deserted, we didn’t really see many people until around lunchtime when the people camping on-site came over to the canyon area for picnics.

This was one of the highlights of our trip. It was really amazing and awe-inspiring, and we’re definitely planning on bringing the kids back here. It’s a little out of the way, being near the Nevada-Utah border, but well worth the trip if you’re anywhere nearby.