Utah trip, Part 3 July 8-9

Friday, July 8
The truck was done by 4:00 just as predicted, and we were on the road headed to Moab, Utah by 5:00.

At Colorado National Park, one of the employees recommended a scenic route for us to take to Moab, and as we crossed into Utah, it was easy to find. A 2-lane road cutting the corner from the interstate and main road leading into Moab, there was a sign at the beginning warning of sharp 25-mph curves and narrow road. But the beginning began as high desert. Wide open road, desert, and only an occasional car passing up in either direction. When we entered the road, Rick said, “You could drive on this road”, but when I saw the sign, declined. However, the wide open desert lulled me into a sense of security, and after a while, I told him to pull over at one of the pullouts. He thought I meant for pictures (because the camera was a permanent attachment in my hand), so after he passed 2, I reitereated my request, and told him I intended to try to drive the truck pulling the trailer. (on my 50 List, something I’ve never done). We found a little camping area and pulled into the loop, did a Chinese fire drill, and I began. Shortly before I started to drive, we encountered the Colorado River, and it meandered along with us on Rick’s side, with beautiful rock formations along the road. As I took a turn at the wheel, we had just crossed over the river and behold – there were the sharp curves and narrow roads we were warned about 10 miles back! And suddenly, 2 cars were following me and a steady stream (maybe a car or two every ½ mile) was approaching me! Talk about baptism by fire – I sure got it! I also put Rick in charge of the camera – and he doesn’t do well with cameras to begin with (not seeing the need to take many) and had not yet used the new camera. As I drove along the narrow road along the edge of the Colorado River, trying to see the scenery, and making sure Rick took lots of pictures, I also had to keep the trailer on the road and not dump us down into the Colorado River! Not an easy task. I drove several miles before pulling over for Rick to drive again – and of course timing is everything! We were back out in wide open desert spaces!!

We arrived at Moab KOA about 7:30. This is one of the most beautiful campgrounds we have ever stayed in – and the most beautiful desert campground by far. There were apricot trees growing in the campground and the apricots were free for the picking. Neither of us are fans of apricots, but we each picked one to try, at least.

After setting up, we headed into town to find dinner. At this point it was 8:00 local time (10:00 home time) – way too late for me to eat dinner no matter what time zone I’m in! However, Rick was set on pasta, so we went to Pasta Jays, recommended by campground staff. We ate on the covered patio along the sidewalk so we could ‘people-watch.” It had sprinkled as we pulled into camp and on and off since – but the air was fresh and cool.

We headed back to camp and to bed, not quite sure what plans were for the next day. In the area were Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. Further away, in what we thought was driving distance, was Capitol Reef National Park – the 3rd of Rick’s goals to see this trip. The GPS indicated it was almost 4 hours away, so rather than tour Arches/Canyonland one day and Capitol Reef the next, we decided to skip Capitol Reef and divide the other 2 into 2 days. I think we are on Plan I.

Saturday, July 9
We headed to town for breakfast, and found Zax. They had the eggs benedict that Rick wanted, and I tried Chai, Ginger whole wheat pancakes. They were interesting – very ginger-y. Not sure if I would order them again, but good to try once! Then we headed for Canyonlands National Park. We passed Arches and Dead Horse Point on the way.

All of these parks, along with Colorado National Monument, Bryce National Park, the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde National Park form what is know as the Colorado Plateau. Many years ago, this area was lifted about 3000 feet straight up with the movement of tectonic plates. While the land remained relatively intact, the areas along the edges exposed layers of rock, and what had once been at or under sea level now became a high desert. Water and wind contributed to erosion of the layers of rock, giving us the fins, hoodoos, arches, canyons and other magnificent and other-worldly landscape of the plateau.

Canyonlands National Park is divided into 3 distinct sections, with the division coming from the Colorado and Green River converging. Island in the Sky is a broad mesa wedged between the Colorado and Green Rivers in the north part of the park. Closest to the mesa’s edge is the White Rim, a nearly continuous sandstone bench 1,200 feet below the island. Another 1,000 feet below that are the rivers, shadowed by sheer canyon cliffs. Views from Island in the Sky reach for 100 miles, with landscape too difficult to put into words. Every pullout and vista is different and amazing. The area receives about 9 inches of rain per year, but surrounding La Sal, Abajos and Henry mountain ranges are snow-capped even in July.

We headed to Upheaval Dome, where we took a strenuous be rewarding hike up the mountain (200 feet up in ¼ mile) to view the unique geological feature. What looks like something from the moon is actually a dome of salt, One theory of its creation is a direct hit from a meteor years ago, which vaporzed everything around it, and caused the salt to push up from under the earth.

We continued to Grand View, the southernmost point of the Island. From here, we could see the Needles District of the park to the east, on the other side of the Colorado River. The Needles District is characterized by till rock spires, and is accessible by car to the interior, about 75 miles away. However, once there, a 4 wheel drive vehicle is required. The Maze District, to the west, is on the other side of the Green River, and is the most remote part of the park. There are no paved road into the area, and the travel is rugged. It is believed that Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch holed up in this area because no lawmen were confident enough of the region to go in looking for him.

After touring the park, with some longer walks to viewpoints (no major hiking because Rick’s knee was being a problem), we headed to Dead Horse Point State Park, which is located along the Colorado River just north of Canyonlands. Legend has it that in the 1800s, cowboys used Dead Horse Point to catch wild horses. With sheer cliffs on all sides and an access only 30 yards wide, they would corral the horses into the canyon and build a fence to create a natural corral. According to legend, a band of horses left corralled on the waterless point died of thirst within view of the Colorado River 2,000 feet below.

We had a late lunch at the Visitor’s Center, sitting on a high deck overlooking the canyon and enjoying the quiet. We then drove the road to Dead Horse Point overlook, enjoying canyon views before returning to camp. We headed into town for dinner at the Moab Brewery, where I had an amazing honey-almond chicken. I don’t normally talk about food, because food doesn’t excite me – but this was good enough that I took it back to eat the rest for leftovers (something else I never do!). We took Haley for a walk, and sat outside enjoying the sunset before heading to bed.