June 7- 10
Picasa web album link:The drive from Torrey to Dead Horse was mostly stark desert with some mountains and cliffs, rock formations and some green areas along creeks. There is a lot of agriculture in this area, amazingly! After arriving at Dead Horse Point S.P., we drove out to the main overlook, Dead Horse Point. WOW, were we surprised! This view of the Colorado River and Canyonlands was more amazing than we imagined. We settled in for the evening for dinner and rest.
We were up fairly early the next morning and rode our bikes
on the mountain bike trails within the State Park. The trails were great, with
levels from easy to technical. Some of the trails were along the canyon rim, which
provided great views of the canyons below. After lunch, we hiked the West Rim Trail
within the park, which also viewed a few canyon overlooks. In the evening, we
took the dogs with us to Dead Horse Point, so they could get out for a walk.
Canyonlands National Park was our destination for the next
day. This district of the park is called Island in the Sky, since it is a large
plateau overlooking the canyons. The Colorado River flows along the east rim
and the Green River flows along the west rim. The confluence of the two rivers
is within the park. The park is very
large and has long drives to amazing overlooks. There were various hikes and
some are short hikes from overlooks to special features or canyon views. Other
hikes were extensive backcountry hikes to the lower canyons or the rivers. We
hiked a one mile loop out to Mesa Arch. This arch is on a cliff edge and
provided views through the arch into the canyons of the Colorado River. Another geological feature, the Upheaval Dome,
included a 2 mile round trip hike back to two overlooks to view the unusual
collapsed dome filled with various rocks and minerals, which is an anomaly in
the relative geologic order of canyon country. Rock layers are dramatically
deformed in a roughly circular or “bull’s-eye” pattern nearly three miles across.
Some geologists believe it is a meteor crater, while others think it’s a
collapsed salt dome. The debate goes on….
We also took a short hike back to the White Rim Overlook, which provided
great views of the lower canyon and the Colorado River.
The following day we decided to stay in Dead Horse Park. We
rode the mountain bike trails in the park for one last time. Kurt decided to go
back into Canyonlands and hike the Gooseberry Trail, a 5.5 mile round trip
going down to the White Rim along the lower canyons. I decided to stay at camp
and hang out with the dogs. Later we made our preparations for moving the next
day.
Our next destination is Moab and Arches National Park. Can’t
wait to see this area!