Written by Kim
Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah is known for its dramatic desert landscape carved by the Colorado River. There are several sections to the park – Island in the Sky is most popular and closest to Moab but there are several other sections some of which are very rugged and require 4×4 vehicles. We followed the advice of www.earthtrekkers.com which is a great travel guide. They recommended going to see the park at sunrise for fabulous photos and views.
We visited the section of the park called Island in the sky . It is aptly named because it is a huge mesa with canyons and lowlands on either side and panoramic views. We traveled on a neck which is a natural bridge connecting the mesas. We felt like home because we live on a neck. This area only gets 8 inches of rain in a year which often comes in summer thundershowers creating quick runoff and flash floods.
We got to Mesa Arch for a little after sunrise. The parking lot was packed so we had to park in the dirt even though we only saw a few cars as we entered. It was a short 30 minute hike to get glimpses of the light trickling under the arch. This iconic arch was formed through freeze and thaw over many years. We were lucky to miss most of the crowd by getting there just after sunrise.
Grand views was closed so we went back to White Rim for a hike. White rim trail was a beautiful 1.6 mile out and back hike with fantastic views of the canyon. It was described by several as flat but had some elevation. Flat to me is the HS track. The trail wasn’t very well marked so we meandered off a few times but figured it out in the end. Being here earlier in the day was good so it wasn’t as hot as yesterday.
I always learn a lot from our audio tours. Action Tour Guide has self guided audio tours for most of the parks out here. It’s a bit glitchy but very informative. Lots of cowboys kept cattle here. Many kept cattle and sheep. Sheep ate poisonous plants that cattle found toxin do sheep were sent ahead of cattle to graze.
Green river canyon was created by the Green River flowing through. The banks are a bit fertile so early settlers would grown winter melon there and it would keep till Christmas.
Shafer canyon was amazing. There is an unpaved road, Shafer Trail, you can take back to Moab but it’s all switchbacks on the edge of the canyon. Crazy. Ah….no!!!
We enjoyed visiting Moab but it is a manufactured city to support National Park visitors so is quite touristy and pricey. there’s basically nothing here except the parks. If you love the outdoors this is a place for you. They had ATV and bike rentals everywhere.
We left Canyonland around 11 and drove to Grand Junction which is about 2 hours east. This was a layover for us to rest and catch our breath before we spend a few days with our friends. It was such a beautiful day and broke the heat record at 90 degrees so we took a dip in the hotel pool.
We had dinner downtown and were confused by all the street closures on a Wednesday night. We parked and walked to the Irish pub we chose. We encountered the Homecoming parade before Alex had a perfect black & tan with our dinner.
Tomorrow we are heading to Cheyenne to spend a few days with our good friends, Bob & Lisa (and their pup Bourbon). We haven’t seen them since they moved from Wayne 7 years ago (I think). We are looking forward to exploring with them. Until then….
