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!

Fiery Furnace

Thursday September 15, 2011

Yesterday we went to Canyonland NP, but it started raining big time about noon, so we came home.  We are in a semi-desert and it rains!  Only I could have that happen.  We are going back tomorrow, so I will blog that later.

Today we went back to Arches.  We had a 2PM ranger guided hike though Fiery Furnace.  This morning we hiked about 1 ½ miles to Devils Garden to see Landscape Arch.  Landscape Arch had a big hunk of it fall out in 1991.  The arch is still there, just a bit thinner.

Our biggie for the day was our Fiery Furnace hike, 2 miles, 3 hours.  This hike was very taxing.  We jumped crevasses, climbed ledges, went through slot canyons, and other stuff I’m sure we will remember when we attempt to get out of bed tomorrow.  The scenery was spectacular.  Some pictures follow.

Being able to get up close to these rock formations is really special.  The color and texture, and shear size puts it all in perspective. 

OK, all for now, 2 tylenol and bed are next!

Arches

Tuesday September 13, 2011

We are in Moab, UT at the Spanish Trails RV Park located about 3 miles south of town.  Nice park, but being on Hwy 191 makes for lots of road noise.

The drive here was pretty nifty, the section of I-70 between Salina and Green River was beautiful, very surprising for an interstate.  There also were no towns or gas for that 150 miles.  It would suck going west through, lots of 5 - 6% grades, our side was all down hill fortunately.  I did hit a few 5% grades on Hwy 89, but as long as I got a run, I was able to hold 50 -55 in 3rd or 4th gear.  Seems that engine needs 3500 rpm to keep up.

Today we went to Arches NP.  Initially we were a bit disappointed compared to Bryce.  It is all sandstone; red and tan.  This area is part of the Colorado Plateau which was formed by an upheaval from a subterranean salt bed.  This upheaval was 5000 ft high and caused the stone above to crack forming fins (I call them wedgies, fins are for fish).  Water erosion caused the wedgies to crack creating windows, then arches.  Over time the arches cave in and only spires are left.  Some of these arches look really unstable.

Although not as jaw dropping as Bryce, Arches has a special beauty.  Hiking around some of the arches and wedgies was pretty awesome.  Some pictures follow.

One thing that made it pretty cool was hiking around these wedgies.  As you can see, they get pretty tight.  Thursday we are taking a hike with the Ranger to Fiery Furnace.  Do a search and you should get a video.  So, if you see a newspaper article on Friday about a fat guy stuck in the Fiery Furnace, it could be me.

We are going to check out Canyonlands National Park tomorrow.

The Grandest of Canyons!

Sunday September 9, 2011

As planned, we went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon yesterday.  It was a bit over 100 miles away.  Even the ride there was pretty neat.  At first look, my impression was, wow that's a big hole!

You really can't see clearly across due to air quality.  This was due in part to some wildfires, which actually had one view point at Imperial Point closed; also due in part to humidity as it did rain on us later; and finally just overall poor air quality.  There will probably be a time when you won't be able to even see the other rim, 11 miles away.  I waved, but didn't see anybody wave back from the South Rim.

The colors and texture of the cliffs and rocks was quite spectacular.  You can clearly see the layers of different types of rocks. The canyon was formed by water erosion, mainly the Colorado and tributaries.  A similar process as Zion and Bryce, freeze/thaw wash away.  Little or no wind erosion.

Again pictures just can't capture the immensity of it.  The last picture shows the Colorado River on the Unkar Delta.  Amazingly this area was inhabited by ancient Indians.  We wondered how they got there, and how did they get out?  Not sure how this all compares to the South Rim, but this side was pretty cool.  Some pictures follow.

From Bright Angel Point

The Colorado River at Unkar Delta

Well tomorrow we hit the road.  On our way to Moab, the Spanish Trail RV Park, to see Arches and Canyonlands.  If you are familiar with Aron Ralston's plight in the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Canyonlands is where he got trapped for nearly 10 days and had to cut off his arm to escape.  No, we won't be getting into any remote areas like that.