Day 15 – Canyonlands National Park, Moab

Day 15 – 5/27/2021 – Canyonlands National Park, Moab

Again, we are up early and on the road by 7:00 AM.  When we pass the entrance to Arches National Park, the line is as long as it was when we entered the Park yesterday. 

Having passed the entrance to Arches, we continue heading north on US-191, then turn west on UT-313, also known as Dead Horse Mesa Scenic Byway, that will lead us straight into Canyonlands National Park. 

North of the City of Moab west of the road is the mesa that is our destination.  We will drive onto the mesa from the north, but roads are accessible by 4-wheel drive vehicles through the canyons.

Not sure what to expect when we reach the Park, we are already beginning to see other mesa rises on this mesa and we are still 5 miles from the entrance to the Park.  I always wondered, if you lived here would the vistas become commonplace?

Stopping at the first viewpoint in the Park, Shafer Canyon Overlook, we can see the trail flattens out to the rock protrusion at the end.  There are a couple of people reading the information panels and that is where we are headed.

Getting to the information panels, I have a great view of one of the access roads to the canyon floor.  I can hear a motorcycle, but do not see it, when I am there and get closer to the edge to see the full road.  You can see all of the strata in the rock.  The road hugs the wall of Shafer Canyon and is part of the 100-mile White Rim Road and the switch backs drops 1,400 feet.

The massive rock at the end of the flat slickrock that gave me the view of the Shafer Canyon Road is now blocking my view of the canyon.  As I try to see around the rock, I happen to see a narrow, 3-foot ledge on the left side going around the rock and decide to shuffle around it.  WOW!  The canyon opens up as I get around and have a full view of the Shafer Canyon. 

Dragging myself away from the view at Shafer Canyon, we make a quick stop at Lathrop Trail for a view of mesa and canyons. 

We pull into the Mesa Arch parking lot and I thought this was an interesting view.  The is rock jutting up on the left, Juniper tree on the right and mesa and canyon walls in the distance.

Carmen decided not to hike a little more than a half-mile down to Mesa Arch, so while I started the hike, Carmen get this picture of a cactus flower.  This one was yellow, not the red we have already seen.

Still a little distance from the Arch, I get a view of the Arch and surrounding area.  There are people in the arch having their picture taken.

Getting to Mesa Arch there were some people over to my left in the arch, but I liked this view so much, that I decided to put it in the travel blog.  You do not see the whole arch, but looking through to the canyon beyond is dramatic and amazing.

All of a sudden, everyone is away from the arch and I quickly take a picture of the full arch.  Even though the arch is short, the view is still phenomenal.

There was a dome of rock to the right of the arch and I decided to climb it to get a better view of the canyon.  Once up there, I can see the spires and canyons and the mountains in the background.

While I was on the dome of rock taking a picture of the canyon, Carmen was taking a picture of me on the rock.

As I begin my hike back to the parking lot, I see this flowering yucca plant.  We have seen a number of yuccas before, but all of the flowers had passed.  These were in good shape as they were just beginning to flower.

On our way along Upheaval Dome Road, not stopping, we pass Aztec Butte in the distance.

After parking at Syncline Loop Trailhead, we hike a little ways to one of the overlooks and find a juniper tree on the cliff edge. 

Now this is what I call a balanced rock.  The top section looks like will slide off at any minute.  A little wind and poof, there it goes.

Check out the great view from this canyon.  This panorama view gives you an idea of the size.  We are not traveling the trail never the less we can see much. 

At the Green River Overlook, it is clear where the Green River has gorged the sandstone to create these canyons.  You can see the Green River in the canyon from our point of view.  Image, we are at 6,000 feet of elevation and the Green River still need to go another 20 mile or more to reach the Colorado River.

Six pictures stitched together to great this panorama view from the Green River View.

I get a picture of Carmen in front of the Green River View. 

Stopping at Candlestick Tower Overlook, we see another cactus flower, this one red. 

Once we get to the viewpoint, we can see Candlestick Tower in the background.  I get Carmen to stand near the edge, but not to close, and get a picture. 

Since we cannot overlook flowers, Carmen gets a picture of these yellow ones.  They look similar to a Daisy, but I’m probably wrong.

After parking at Bucks Canyon Overlook, we travel about 200 feet to the viewpoint. 

Neither Carmen nor I can pass up a juniper tree on a ledge overlooking a canyon.  This juniper was all twisted and appeared half-dead, but it still has appeal.

Looking to the left side of the canyon, we can see rock overhangs just to our left, mesas in the back, the rift of the Green River and the La Sal mountains in the background.  You can also see part of the White Rim Road near the canyon below.

With this great view of one of the mesas, it looks like we might be in Monument Valley.  You can see where some of the rock has weathers, collapsed, and fallen creating a landslide along the slope of the mesa. 

As with all of the overlooks, we could stay all day looking, but we must be going to the next location and for us that is Grand View Point. 

A panoramic view from Grand View Point clearly shows the rift with small spires jutting up from the floor.  You can see the White Rim Road, on the ledge before the final canyon to the river, 1,400 feet below us.

A closer look and the spires look like the beginnings of hoodoos.  The white hard stone on top protects the softer stone underneath from weathering, which creates the spires.  Again, you can see the Rim Road as it passes before the canyon.

More spires along what would have been the river’s edge.

On our way out of the Park, we are heading to Dead Horse Point State Park.  But, before we get there, we see one last canyon.

Before we enter the State Park, we see a couple of pumps.  Not sure if they are for oil or water, but it sure is unusual to see on top of a mesa. 

Having entered Dead Horse Point State Park, we stop at the Visitor Center and after a break, we follow the path to the point for Basin Overlook.  The blue and white pools are the TexasGulf Potash Ponds and just beyond the Potash ponds is the Colorado River.

I found this picture fascinating.  The spire in the foreground and the snow capped La Sal Mountains in the background. 

We find this yellow flower near the parking lot. 

Before we leave the Visitor’s center, I think about taking a panoramic picture of the canyon. 

We cross the narrow strip of land that separates the mesa we were on and head to the viewpoint that is about 1600 feet away.  From here, we see another pinnacle of rock with the mesa that is part of Canyonlands National Park and Shafer Canyon.

From the Rim Trail at Deadhorse Point, we have a good view of the Gooseneck on the Colorado River.  Maybe not as good a view as the people in the vehicles will have, but still good.

Having seen another flower near the edge of the cliff and the canyon beyond, I have to take a picture.  Like I said before, we just can’t help ourselves.

Once again we see a solitary juniper tree growing out of the rock.  Trees and ice are some of the biggest destroyers of the sandstone formations. 

We take one final panoramic picture from Deadhorse Point while looking at the Gooseneck of the Colorado River before we head out of the Park.

I find this both interesting and funny.  We are on a mesa when we visited the two Parks and these two mesas are on this mesa.  Mesas on a mesa!  I find that funny for some reason.

Even though we are coming off the mesa, we still see fascinating rock formations.

Getting another view of rock formations before returning to the main road and they look like houses on a street. 

When we turn on US-191 to head back to Moab and drive by a place called Moab Giants.  This is a museum with both indoor and outdoor experiences.  The outdoor trail has actual sized dinosaur replicas.  These are two of those seen along the trail. 

Tomorrow we leave Moab, beginning our drive through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and stop in Escalante for the night.  See you tomorrow.