Monday 9/19  Big day ahead.  We dropped Jax off at a dog-boarding facility and headed for Canyonlands National Park.  This park covers a vast amount of land, on the Colorado Plateau, that is divided into 3 very different districts.  The most easily accessible is Islands in the Sky.  It is a broad mesa wedged between the Green River and the Colorado River.  The main road follows the White Rim edge of the mesa.  The views are stunning and at some viewpoints you could see the drop of several thousand feet down. 

Because we didn't have the dog, we were able to hike to a few of the better overlooks.  The first was a half-mile hike to Gooseneck Overlook.  We hiked through a narrow grassy stretch until we reached the wide plateau at the viewpoint.  From there we could see the Colorado River and Dead Horse Point in the distance.  Amazing views.  We could also see the narrow road that was used for moving sheep from the grassy areas on top down to the River below.  It was said that many animals went over the side to their deaths, and it was easy to see why.

Next we drove to Mesa Arch.  This was one of my favorites.  The hike was again about a half mile and  it was rocky and steep in places.  But the reward at the top was worth it. The arch itself was beautiful, but the views through it were incredible.  I really liked this area.

Washer women as seen through Mesa Arch.













We stopped at several more overlooks, Green River, Buck Canyon, and Orange Cliffs.  We saw fields of Indian ricegrass, mesas, and pinyon-juniper forests. There were so many things to see that I am running out of words to describe them.  I wish we could put all of the pictures on the blog.  Not possible. 





Upheaval Dome

At the end of the day, we treated ourselves to a lovely dinner at Pasta Jays.  Wonderful, authentic Italian food.  Another great day in Utah.

Portabella, chicken, and spinach cannelloni for Sue.  Pops had Chicken Parmesan.  Yum!

Saturday.  Exciting!  One of our neighbors at the park told us about Potash Scenic Byway.  He said it is a pretty drive that follows alongside the Colorado River, and you can see ancient petroglyphs there. So off we went.  Along the way we saw some different rock formations.  These were lighter in color and dome-shaped.  We saw Jug Handle Arch, Bowtie and Corona Arches. There were also 2 trails, Poison Spider Mesa Trail and Dinosaur Tracks Trail.  From the trailhead parking lot we could see the dinosaur footprints.  We didn't climb up to them, mostly because we had Jax with us.  There  were lots of rock climbers on the rock wall called Wall Street, and bikers everywhere. But most exciting of all were the petroglyphs.  I will let the pictures tell about them.

Friday we decided to go to Dead Horse Point State Park (dogs allowed).  This place is a peninsula formed when the Colorado River made a hairpin turn.  The "neck" of the peninsula is only 30 yards across with sheer 2000 foot cliffs on the sides.  There is a tragic story connected with this peninsula.  Legend says that, in the 1800s, cowboys used it as a natural corral.  They rounded up wild mustangs and herded them onto the peninsula and closed off the neck with a fence of brush and branches.  Then they sorted out the horses they wanted to keep and let the others go.  But for some unknown reason, they left one group of these beautiful horses on the peninsula.  They had no food or water (but were within sight of the Colorado River 2000 feet below).  All of the horses died and hence the name, Dead Horse Point.  So sad!

There are many trails in this park, both for hiking and biking.  We decided to walk the East Rim Trail.  It was rocky and rough in places and we felt very adventurous (shut up, Kay).  As a matter of fact, we are both getting much stronger with all of the walking and hiking that we have done.  Not ready for the really strenuous trails yet.

That evening we drove into town and ate at a local place called Milt's.  It has been there since the 1950's.  Order at the window and eat on the patio underneath a huge sycamore tree.  This is where a lot of the local bicyclers eat.  We heard lots of "Dude" and "Bro". Even the "dude"  at the window: "Whatcha need, dudes?" and "Here ya"go, Man"!  It was fun.

Another good day in Utah!

Thursday was another adventure.  We found out that we couldn't board Jax until Monday and Tuesday, so we wouldn't be going to Arches or Canyonlands until then.  What now? There are so many things to do in Moab that it is really hard to choose.  We chose La Sal Mountain Loop Road. I am so glad we did.  This is a perfect example (again) of how the landscape can change dramatically in just a few miles.  We started out in Moab-80 degrees and surrounded by towering red-rock walls and cliffs (they told us it is Entrada Sandstone).  Pure desert.

We drove 30 miles and ended up in an alpine forest (only 55 degrees) Beautiful aspens just beginning to turn gold, 60-70 ft pines, scrub oak, and even a small alpine lake.  From the forest up above, we could see the red-rock desert down below. Two completely different biomes, practically side by side.  Crazy!  The only downside was that the road was not very well maintained.  It was extremely narrow, no shoulder, edges crumbling, steep drop-offs.  Fortunately we did not meet another car so we didn't have to figure out who would have to back up to an overlook to let another car pass.  We also took a three mile detour to see the small lake. The 3 miles took 30 min because the road was a dirt washboard path, full of potholes and wash-outs.  We would have turned around after the first mile but there wasn't any place to do that.  Good thing we had a 4-wheel drive pick-up.  The Loop was 60 miles total.  It took us 4 hours because of all our photo stops and a picnic along the way.  Good day.

Wednesday was a driving day.  I was having a hard time appreciating the new scenery because I was still so enchanted by the Colorado National Monument from yesterday.  It was such an ancient place with its history so apparent in the strata of the rock and the unique effects of erosion.  However, my husband reminded me that all of the new things we are going to see in Utah are also ancient and unique places.  He is right, so I am putting CNM behind me and looking forward to new amazing sites.  That's one of the reasons I love him, he reins me in and keeps me grounded.

View out our front door.