Canyonlands National Park

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Monday, May 21, 2012

We were up early and on our way to Canyonlands National Park and camping at Dead Horse Point State Park. We left the trailer at the campsite and hiked and drove the park until afternoon. There were beautiful vistas at the convergence of the Green and Colorado Rivers. We returned to the Dead Horse Point and realized that this park offered the best views of the Colorado River. It looked so tranquil and calm with many turns and twists. We plan on getting up before sunrise and walking a 5 mile rim trail of the East and West sides of the park. Tonight we watched a beautiful sunset as we made our bean soup. This is one of the few times that we have a little down time and I read Stegner and Debi read Wroblewski. It was a great time to reflect on the journey that Debi and I have been on in the last three weeks. We have seen the beautiful California Coast and the layers of sandstone and limestone have been our companions through Arizona and Utah. There are no words to describe the wonders we have seen. Camping has made it possible to embrace the sights, sounds, smells, textures and essence of these American treasures that are out of reach for Holiday Inn crowd. As I type a small fox has just gone through the campsite and a lace wing insect has just landed on my screen and the temperature on my skin is cool and comfortable gift from the canyons of the Colorado River. The best part is being able to share this with my life companion and best friend. I can only hope that Debi will be at my side for many more adventures as we travel life together.



Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Yesterday we did take the rim walk around all of Dead Horse Point State Park. Most of the park had a cap of Navaho Sandstone that protects the Slickrook from eroding. The result is sheer cliffs that drop away at your feet for a thousand feet. There are great views of the Colorado River running in U shaped curves at the bottom of the canyon. In the afternoon we took a dirt road to the Green River. Gut churning switch backs down the slickrock cliffs lead us to the large and powerful river. The river is green colored and is flowing at about non-flood stage capacity. We followed a dirt road along the river and only encountered two people the whole time we were there. The wind picked up and scuttled a bike ride that I was planning.

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