211 miles, 4 hours
Weather: Day 85, Night 47
Elevation of campground: 6,000 feet
Today we drove from our parking lot overnight location to a
campground between Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. Before
planning this trip, Utah was a big unknown. When looking at the state map of
Utah, the southern and eastern portions of the state are littered with National
Parks, State Parks, Recreation Areas, and National Monuments. We were having
some trouble making a decision as to where to go. We still don’t totally know
exactly where we are going, but we have made a start anyways! We decided to
start with Arches, as Dennis has always wanted to ride his mountain bike on the
red sandstone advertised around Moab-the nearest town. He and Eric have plans
to ride first thing in the morning!
We drove here from the suburbs of Salt Lake City through the
mountains on scenic Rt. 6, down to where it intersects with I-70. We drove
through several ghost towns, a windmill farm, a coal power plant and lots of
changing landscapes.
We found a Krispy Kreme out west! Had to stop and get the kids HOT donuts!
High desert campground at Dead Horse Point State Park-we were vigilant for rattlesnakes and scorpions-never did see any!
Lookout over the canyons from the visitor center. Canyonlands National Park is off to the right in this picture.
We hiked a bit of the rim and the kids had fun in the sandstone formations.
The overlook at Dead Horse Point. We are on the point in the picture, looking down at the Colorado River just as the horses did in the story.
Our quick hike into Arches Nat'l Park to catch the Delicate Arch at sunset. The best view is from the other side of the arch, but that was a much longer and steeper hike that we did not have time for this night.
The sunsets out here are spectacular
Bay and Leah had fun running down the trail from Delicate Arch. Burning off some pent up energy!
There are many campgrounds in the area-lots of RV parks and
lots of places with no hookups of any kind. The one that looked the best and
most interesting to us is located between the two national parks in the Utah
State Park called Dead Horse Point. We called first thing this morning and they
said they had 2 sites available, but didn’t take reservations at this late
notice. So we decided to take the risk and just show up; and by the time we
arrived about 1:30, there was only one site left-so of course, we took it! The
campground is at the top of a 6,000 foot tall vista, in the high desert. In
fact, there is no source of water here-all water is trucked in each day. We do
have electricity at the site, but that is it. This is an environment in which
we have never camped before and it is quite beautiful. There are pinion pine
trees, sage brush and lots of red dirt and rocks. I am sure there are
rattlesnakes, but we haven’t seen any yet, thankfully. Although the air is hot
and the sun is very strong, there was a cool breeze blowing all afternoon, and
the temperature in the shade is at least 10 degrees cooler.
We set up camp, at some lunch and then went on a short hike
along the canyon ridge. The views are incredible to say the least. We can see
the Colorado River below, and of course, Dead Horse Point is what this area is
famous for. I am going to quote from the brochure, just to be sure I get it
correct!
“According to one legend, the point was once used as a
corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa. Cowboys rounded up these horses,
herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck, which
is only 30 yards wide, was then fenced off with branches and brush, creating a
natural corral surrounded by precipitous cliffs. Cowboys then chose the horses
they wanted and for reasons unknown, left the other horses corralled on the
waterless point where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River,
2,000 feet below.”
As we drove out onto the Point, you drive across the neck
that is mentioned. It is indeed at most 30 feet wide, and straight down on
either side-quite the picture of cowboys and horses. It is a sad story for the
horses, but really neat to see their resourcefulness in using the land to their
advantage. Also from the point, you can see below large areas that look like
blue rectangular lakes. These are potash mines. Water is pumped down under the
ground and mixes with the potash stored underground. The potash dissolves in
the water and is then pumped to the surface where it is distributed over large,
shallow basins. The water evaporates in the hot desert sun, and the potash is
harvested and processed to be used for farm chemicals!
We then headed down to the town of Moab to get a snack at
the market, before heading over to Arches to get a little taste of the park
before tomorrow and to try and get some good pictures at sunset. We enjoyed the
little bit that we did see-the park is actually very small, but the rock
formations are really neat. They have all kinds of names-“Sheep Head”, “3
Gossips”, “Courthouse Towers”-and as we drove back in the fading sunlight, the
formations seemed to take on new shapes and we were giving them all kinds of
new names!
We drove to the Delicate Arch parking lot and hiked up the
rocks to try and get some pictures before the sun set. The kids ran almost the
entire way up, and then ran down also! We were not at the most popular viewing
area for sure, but we did get some nice pictures and enjoyed the sunset.
It was a long, dark drive back to the campground (30 miles),
but the night sky at this elevation with no ambient lights is incredible! The
Milky Way looks like it is actually milky. It was a late dinner of spaghetti,
but the kids will be fueled and ready to go tomorrow!
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