June 18 – 19
Picasa web album link:We had scheduled two nights of bookdock camping at the Needles Outpost. After a long drive back through amazing canyons, we arrived at the campground. Our campsite was nestled back in a box canyon surrounded by red slick rock cliffs. Amazing and simply beautiful! The Outpost provided water to fill our tank and we could run the generator as needed. It was so quiet and relaxing, we loved it immediately. Kurt rode his bike around the campground and found that there was only one other camper, in a tent at the far end of the campsites. We went for a drive around the area and go to the Visitor Center at the park. The area was surrounded by mesas and buttes in the distance. Wonderful views! Later, we sat back and enjoyed the views from the campsite and the sunset. Kurt made a nice campfire and we stayed up late by the fire and stargazing. It’s amazing how many stars are visible without any light pollution.
The next morning, we headed to Canyonlands – Needles District.
This is a much less visited part of Canyonlands, especially that there is a 34
mile drive off the main highway to get to the park. This part of Canyonlands
also continues with the views of the vastness of the park. We drove out to view
points and also went hiking to some special features. From the viewpoints, we
could see to the north the mesas of the Island in the Sky section of
Canyonlands. It’s so amazing the vastness and size of Canyonlands National
Park. We hiked the Slickrock Trail, a 2.5 mile loop with various overlooks to
see the canyons below and also the distant needles, mesas and buttes. We hiked
Pothole Point, a very short loop also on slickrock. There was a really nice
short hike out on a gravel road, Cave Spring. This hike was around rock
formations that had caves where ancient peoples lived and also pioneer cowboys
used as a camp. This hike also involved climbing a couple of ladders to get to
the tops of the slickrock. It was an awesome hike. After a few hours, the heat
was building and we decided to go back to camp and hang out in the shade with
the dogs. Kurt hiked around the campground and up on the slickrock canyon
walls, even Kody went with him and had so much fun!
The next morning, we packed up the camper and headed for our
next destination, Bluff Utah. This is where Kurt will join my sisters, Teresa
and Cindy, my nephew Cliff and two other friends for a 2 night kayaking river trip on
the San Juan River. Also on our drive out we stopped by an archaeological site,
Newspaper Rock, where ancient Indians and also pioneers carved petroglyphs on a
rock wall. Amazing!
