Appreciating Red Rock Canyons
We decided we needed a Mini vacation so motored to Moab and set up the tent next to the Colorado River. Sun-up we headed to Canyonlands NP 'Island In the Sky' and snagged a first come first serve campsite as people were leaving. Then headed to a ranger talk/walk on native plants - he even had some Pinon nuts for us to taste while explaining how to peel them. Next we headed to the overlook at the end of the road for a geology talk while contemplating the enormity of the Canyonlands. An afternoon hike with a little rain shower, a good dinner at camp, and a picturesque sunset wrapped up the day.
We started the day with sunrise at Mesa Arch but were rewarded with only butt shots of a camera club. There was no sunrise anyways and we drove over to Arches NP to have breakfast at Balance Rock. We found the rest of the camera convention at the next arches, inspiring us to look for interesting pictures. We then did a long hike where we managed to get away from the crowds and find some solitude. We couldn't leave without seeing Delicate Arch (other than on the Utah license plates) even though we weren't sure we had another 3 mile hike in us but we were glad we bucked up and made the climb. Twelve miles of hiking deserved an ice-cream break at Milts in Moab before we went back to our camp, dinner and sunset at Canyonlands.
Another early morning had us on the road to the south side of the park, taking pictures of Newspaper Rock before the Needles Visitor Center was even open at 8:00 AM. We snagged a campsite at 8:30 AM as someone left and had breakfast before setting up the tent. We headed off for an 11-mile hike to the slot canyons - very rewarding. Saw a rattlesnake in a slot canyon - glad he had room to slither under a rock - Pam went by fast and Henry lingered to take a close-up photo. We enjoyed the sunset from our private rock balcony as well as our coffee there again in the morning - fabulous view of the Needles - love having the little chairs to make yourself comfortable where-ever. Our second full day here we did some shorter hikes - much more leisurely day.
We broke camp early and headed to Natural Bridges NM - we were too tired to hike much but went down several trails to get closer views of the bridges. We hung out waiting for the big puffy clouds to be framed just so with the bridge. Interesting the difference between the geology of the arches (primarily sandstone, formed by water seeping/wind erosion) and the bridges (formed by rivers eroding through the rock). We had planned to spend the night and do some stargazing but finished our loop by lunch so had a picnic and drove on to Hovenweep NM. This is such a fascinating place. We also toured the Lowry Pueblo, which is part of the Canyon of the Ancients NM in BLM land. We decided to have dinner in Cortez and camp at Mesa Verde NP, since sites were still available. We enjoyed a ranger talk but the campground was packed - they had less than 200 SF per tent so only thing separating us from our neighbors was a bush. It was quiet so we were glad for that - we broke camp early and had breakfast in the picnic area near the visitor center where we could have some solitude. Just nice to reconnect with the park, see some of our favorite sights again, and enjoy the far views.
We headed for Great Sand Dune NP and were disappointed the campsites were full when we got there. We couldn't get up the Zapata Falls road to another campground...We drove on to Walsenburg and were debating to stay in the state park but went for a spicy Mexican dinner before motoring north on I-25 to our bed and a hot shower - we realized we had reached our limit!
Awesome trip but book ahead for campsites or be there ready to get them by 9 AM.
- Utah's Canyon Country
- The Narrows - Canyonlands NP (Needles)
Schedule
Itinerary Highlights.
Fun things to do.
Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
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7 June 2009 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
Pick-Up Rental Car Denver, CO |
Lunch Grand Junction Arches NP Visitor Center Moab, UT Camp Granstaff Campground on Colorado River |
Canyonlands NP (Island In The Sky) 8-am Canyonlands Island In The Sky Visitor Center 10:30 Ranger Talk On Plants 11:30 Ranger Talk On Geology Afternoon Hikes Canyonlands NP, UT Willow Flat Campground Site #8 |
Canyonlands NP (Island In The Sky) Sunrise (Not) Mesa Arch Arches NP Hikes:Windows Double O Devils Garden Delicate Arch Malt & Shake @ Milt's Stop and Eat Canyonlands NP, UT Willow Flat Campground Site #8 |
Canyonlands NP (Needles) 2 ½ Hour Drive to 'Needles' Visitor Center @ 8-am, setup camp Hike 11 mile Joint Trail Canyonlands NP, UT Campground Site #9 |
Canyonlands NP (Needles) Explore All Overlooks Shorter Hikes Canyonlands NP, UT Campground Site #9 |
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14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
Natural Bridges NM Hovenweep NM Lowry Pueblo NM Mesa Verde NP Mesa Verde NP, CO Campground |
Mesa Verde NP:Chapin Mesa Farview Site Museum Dinner @ Corine's Mexican Food—Walsenburg Home @ 11-pm Denver, CO |
Happy Travels,
Pam and Henry