Day 10: Dead Horse State Park & Canyonlands NP

Horse Shape in White at Dead Horse Point State Park

Tuesday June 21 

We needed a quiet morning.  We slept in a little and the girls and Scott made oatmeal for breakfast.  The girls and I cleaned the box that has been accumulating stuff in the truck and made more room for the necessities; maps, movies, coats, etc.  We head to Moab and get groceries.  After lunch we take a long drive to Dead Horse Point State Park and then to nearby Canyonlands National Park.  Nothing's a straight shot; the roads navigate around canyons.  The weather was warm and sunny- think that is what the dessert gets here all the time.  It was actually cold during the night without the AC on but it has warmed up to about mid 80s.  There is just no way to get out of the sun so the 80s feel a lot hotter.

Dead Horse State Park is gorgeous and we walked around the look out.  This is where American Indians drove horses and then corralled them to be captured.  Legend has it that one year they took the best horses and left the rest for too long on the point, where they died of thirst.  Another legend says some jumped to their death, hoping to get to the Colorado River that runs below.  Down near the river, the white layer of rock at the lower canyon rim (aptly named white rim) looks just like a big white horse on the ground below.  The biggest problem of the day were the bugs that were everywhere.  We noticed it seemed to be raining on our windshield but it was bug guts- gnats to be exact.  Later on the mosquitos came out at dusk. 

We saw several cactus plants that were in blossom along with other kinds of flowers.  The sand and rock is so red.  Looking down into the fields below we see a bright blue area which we overheard is Potash mining for fertilizers.  The color is so bright, it really sticks out with all the neutral colors of the surroundings. 

We drove on to Canyonlands National Park which is only a few miles from Dead Horse Point.  Unfortunately we arrived right at 6 pm as they are closing the visitor center.  We got maps and brochures and decided to continue on.  Canyonlands is actually made up of three major areas:  Island in the Sky (the big mesa where we were), the Needles, and Mazes.  Due to the canyons you can't easily go from one area to the next -- to get to the Needles we'd have to drive the 35 miles back into Moab and then another 75 miles to the Needles visitor center. 

We saw more canyons, plains, domes and buttes.  The Colorado River and Green River are visible from some of the outlooks.  Most of our time is spent at Island in the Sky.

Mesa Arch

Just at sunset, we walk the ½ mile round trip to view the only arch within the park, Mesa Arch.  It is an easy walk but we soon discover the mosquitos.  The arch is absolutely gorgeous and frames the canyon so well.  We are hoping to see more of the arches tomorrow as we tour Arches National Park.  We don’t get to the Needles section of the park as it's too late in the day to make the drive.  We do however see the Needles from one of the outlook areas.