Canyonlands

Friday September 16, 2011

We returned to Canyonland NP today.  We got rained out on Wednesday.  During our travel we have encountered some unusual plantlife, unique to this desert environment.  Those reading this from the Southwest may say these are common, but to us they are very different than anything we have seen, so I have included some pictures.  They are so tiny and delicate to survive this harsh environment, and yet so beautiful in their tiny way.  Hope you enjoy them.

We hiked several of the trails, OK only a couple miles each, but that’s big for us.  Some of the pictures provided are from these trails.  A big part of this is not the destination as much as what you see along the way.  I will say though that the White Rim trail ends up with this collection of boulders, with big gaps that I guess you can walk out on.  You will not see us on those, one slip and you drop several thousand feet into the canyon.

We got another big rain storm after retuning “home”, so we are trying to decide if we should drive to Mesa Verde tomorrow.  Its ~300 miles RT, about 20 gals of gas @ $3.89/gal.  By the way, gas is an interesting commodity around here.  Regular is 85 octane.  The truck requires 87, as do most cars, so I am wondering who buys 85 octane?  Why do they even sell it?  So you pay 10 cent extra for 87.

Our trip is winding down as we’ll be leaving Moab on Sunday.  It is unlikely we will be in campgrounds after we leave here as we seek Wal Mart, Cabellas, or maybe Cracker Barrels for O/N on the way back.  We are figuring 3 days, with our first stop east of Denver.  We will be traveling I-80 after I-76 out of Denver.

After returning home, I will do a final post as we complete our adventure.  The things we have seen and experienced will be with us forever!