Canyonlands National Park - Moab

The "Prairie Schooner"
Entrance road to Canyonlands N.P.

Monday, October 18
My legs felt pretty good after yesterdays half-marathon. A bit sore - not unexpected - but I had lots of energy after a good nights sleep. Maybe it was because of the excitement I was feeling about what was on tap for us today - Canyonlands National Park.

Canyonlands National Park is divided into three districts: Island in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze. Island in the Sky is the closest to Moab (33 miles), so we opted for that. The red rock desert and canyons surrounding Moab are incredibly beautiful. But nothing, nothing, prepared us for what we were about to experience in Canyonlands.

Island in the Sky is so named because it is a huge flat top mesa that is connected to the rest of the desert "mainland" by a narrow land bridge. The Colorado and Green rivers carved out the deep canyons that frame this mesa over eons.


Roo under an arch overlooking a canyon in background

 Paying our ten dollar entrance fee, we made our way to the visitor center to watch a short movie about the park. Fascinating. One point they emphasized was how little rain this area receives. Today was partly to mostly cloudy as we left the visitor center and made our way over the land bridge to Island in the Sky.

We were breathless. no other way to describe it. The park road has pullouts where you can park and hike to stunning vistas - a different one around every corner. Let these pictures wet your appetite, then make your vacation plans and GO!!

As we hiked down this one trail, the skies suddenly opened up - rained about 15 minutes - we got soaked and we loved it! It rarely rains in this desert, but it rained while we were here! What a gift!



On the edge of Island In The Sky



The Green & Colorado Rivers
Natures artists still at work

 

I'm not that relaxed........
5 ft. behind me is a drop of
hundreds of feet to the canyon floor below!!

 The deep canyons surrounding us continued to impress. Before we knew it, it was late afternoon and time to get back to town. As we left the park we asked a ranger when was the last time it rained here. His answer? Until today, no significant rainfall for 8 months!Wow!

Tomorrow, an emotional experience in a place that just blew us away.................