Utah Rocks…. again!

Canyonlands National Park (no. 4 of the 5) was next although we actually stayed at Deadhorse Point State Park next door. It was Easter Week so busier than normal although the US, trying to be ‘inclusive’, now call it Spring Break. Upside down logic me thinks! It was great though, to get away from the OHV junkies everywhere en route. Deadhorse Point was a great place to be staying for a couple of nights as it’s very small and quiet and the views were fab, well, they all are really! We had a great rim edge walk (hike!) to take it all in.

Spoiler alert, Canyonlands National Park is so photogenic… I know I keep saying they are all different, Utah’s Big 5, but they really are. Canyonlands is the most appropriately named park as from the high viewpoints and trails, the majority of the time we were looking down on the canyons so understanding them was easy. Narrow and deeply eroded it looked like a giant had been along and torn the land apart. The erosion rates of the different rock layers created a kind of step effect down the sides, maybe giant steps?! It sure is a landscape of colourful canyons, buttes, fins, arches and spires, water and gravity the prime architects. It has everything!

The zone of the park we explored is called ‘Island in the Sky’ and much of it sits between the Colorado and Green Rivers. The island mesa sits on sheer sandstone cliffs, over 1000ft above the surrounding terrain. Our first stop was Mesa Arch where the photo was of the queue for a photo 🙂 Tourists eh?!! Like we aren’t in that mix! We didn’t queue but did manage a quick ‘person less’ snap in between people ‘InstaPosing’….

Upheaval Dome was an uphill and steep hike but worth it to see what is considered to be a meteor crater (an upside down dome kind of place) It was incredibly green in colour as when the crater hit, rock deep within the worth rebounded up. From there we were taking in numerous views of The White Rim. It literally is a white layer of rock exposed at the edge of what is the last sheer canyon face down to the Colorado River. It’s 100 miles long and is drivable in a 4WD but looks precarious in places!

Another well named place is Grand View Point, a breathtaking view across the plateaus atop the canyons and the best demo of the earths erosion we’ve seen. The canyon chasms and the rivers flowing through low down were a mesmerising sight and personally, one of my go to image memories. The weather in the distance was intense, and the snow capped La Sal Mountains really made it. The Shafer Trail, built in the 1940’s is clear too, as is Thelma & Louise Point, where the final ‘driving off the edge’ car scene was filmed. Canyonlands is truly a special place.

Moab became our base for a few days from where we were time slotted for a couple of days in park no. 5, Arches National Park. Due to overcrowding, many National Parks are moving to a timed entry system where visitors need to book in advance. That was fine, there was plenty in Moab to occupy us in advance, like ‘Moab Rocks’, a 3 day cross country mountain bike race. I came third in the female veterans category… just kidding! We did however ride half way up The Shafer Trail to T&L Point, where two angels were on their phones. A pretty challenging ride but worth it for a very different perspective of the canyons of Canyonlands and to see the Potash evaporation ponds close up, an incredible blue.

Our other extravaganza was to go rafting on the Colorado. A great experience that you’ll understand, meant no photographs were taken really, hanging on being more important! We did spot a Bald Eagle nest with both birds in it though! A coffee and a bun were needed afterwards and we met brothers who invited us to stay when in Michigan when we get there… who doesn’t love a natter while watching the eclipse through our Junior Ranger specs! A bike ride along the river yielded a strong breeze and tumbleweed that got stuck in my hair….

Arches National Park has some of the most recognised ‘Arches’ and it’s iconic one, ‘Delicate Arch’ is featured on anything ‘Utah’ and on the rear of a lot of Cruise America rental RV’s! A strenuous hike up slick rock was worth it, to watch everyone queuing for photos underneath its 80ft tall span. There are plenty of other forms in the park. It actually lies on top of an underground salt bed, laid down 300m years ago on the Colorado Plateau, that’s responsible for the arches and spires. The salt bed was pushed up to create the fins that eroded to arches, imagine slicing a mango and turning it skin inside out! Too many places to mention them all but we liked ‘The Gossips’, ‘Turret Arch’, ‘Double Arch’ and one we named ‘Nefertiti’.

Spending two days in the park we opted for a 6am start to watch the sunrise so likely annoyed a few folks starting our engine and driving out. McD’s coffees in hand we sat in solitude in the park watching the holes in the rocks (arches etc!) turn orange as the sun rose behind in the distance. After breakfast we then headed out to the further reaches of the park, hiking and feeling like Mr & Mrs Flintstone at times among the rocks, especially at ‘Balancing Rock’ and ‘The Devils Garden’ where another famous one, ‘Landscape Arch’, is situated. So delicate this one, it is 306ft wide and the longest in the world. It was all about the soaring pinnacles, rock fins and natural environment.

So the big 5 ticked off, we left Moab and started to leave the red rocks behind. We didn’t leave the unique though, ‘Newspaper Rock’, near Monticello (not of the wine) was the most wonderful display of Petroglyphs we’d seen, and we’ve seen a lot! From between 200 and 750 years ago an artists wonderland, magical. We also found ‘Hole in The Rock’, a travellers rest stop from 1829 on The Old Spanish Trai,l a cave was blasted out for camping, it then became a diner as the uranium boom drew people to the area, now its a 5000sq ft private house. Honestly, the outdoor art was more interesting, the bowling ball cactus and the old Americana signs for example.

After a breakfast of kings at a local diner (we didn’t need to eat for the rest of the day) our last Utah rock fest was Natural Bridges Sate Park, as if we hadn’t seen enough arches… 🙂 Very quiet, we were able to drive around and hike to see the three main ones in the park that cross The White Canyon. Owachomo is the second widest in the US and also very delicate. Again, the layers were so visible. Visibly different landscape, more slick rock, it was still special and all credit to Utah ‘State’ Parks for providing as good an experience as the mighty Big 5… tick!

So long Utah, thanks for the memories…. and the cleaning of the dust from on and inside the van…. it had changed colour… guess which one! The van wasn’t the only filthy thing around, a certain feline loved rolling in the sands at every opportunity, or basking in the sun, or getting stuck up trees! A few friends a long the way too!