Blogs from Canyonlands National Park, Utah, United States, North America

Tuesday, May 8th It is 66 degrees this morning at 10:30 with mostly blue skies. Starting mileage is 25205 from Wind Whistle BLM campground. I am going to cover this huge area briefly as my verbal descriptions of these lands, created by upheavals of multiple layers of sandstone, once a gigantic seabed, and then carved and shaped by wind, water, and gravity, cannot do them justice. These flat of layers of sedimentary rock have been cut into hundreds and hundreds of canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires. Five National Parks can be found in Southern Utah, an additional 6 parks are National Monuments, 9 million acres are National Forests, and lastly, 23 million acres are managed by the Bureau of Land Management . Obviously we had a lot to see and do in this region ... read more

September 1 Cortez , Colorado to Canyonlands National Park. Checked out of the motel in Cortez and headed up Hwy491 towards Utah. In Utah it connects with Hwy191 at Monticello going North towards Canyonlands and Arches National Park. At the Montecello Library I connected with their WIFI and did some homework on the two National parks as to campgrounds there. The Willow Flat campground on the “Island in the Sky” seemed to be the best campground so I decided to try for that one. I drove out of Monticello an headed north Moab. The further north I got the hotter it was. It was roasting hot in Moab. I soldiered on to Canyonlands and used my Park Pass to get in and when I got to Willow Flat Campground I was surprised that there were open ... read more

September 29, 2010 Utah: Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse State Park Utah, the state of red rock canyons, deep gorges, mesas, breathtaking views. Also a huge recreation area for the young - or the “young at heart” - or maybe the “young and fit”!! Here you can hike into deep canyons; bike or ride horses along the cliffs and down into the gorges; raft on the rivers; 4-wheel on the roads made specifically for that purpose etc. etc. We have spent the last two days exploring some of the magnificent National Parks and State Parks around Moab, Utah. Places Dwain never dreamed he would ever visit, so he has fulfilled a lifetime dream - sort of checking off items on his “bucket list.” Everywhere you look there is a picture to be taken!! We have ... read more

Wednesday, Aug 4th we spent half the day at Island in the Sky. It was not as dramatic as Arches, but it was still beautiful. Then at lunch we went back to Moab to Zax bar to watch the Rockies kick the Giants butt 6 to 1. After that Donna shopped for awhile and then we went to see the petroglyphs along River Road toward Potash. It's really hard to believe that three thousand (3,000!!!!) years ago someone made these drawings on the rocks.... read more

Left Blanding, UT and drove to the Needles (South) Visitors Center in Canyonlands NP. The road into the park is really spectacular - - very similar to the bus ride up the Zion NP canyon along the Virgin River. Lots of need stuff to see in the loop within the park. One really unique feature was the Wooden Shoe Arch (Picture included). Every where we looked were amazingly beautiful sights - - the photos don't even come close to doing them justice! Then drove to Moab, UT to get fuel, find a campground, and eat lunch. Good thing we didn't stop to eat lunch as Charlie called 5 places before she found one with two vacancies. They are now all full!!! After some lunch, we piled into Kerry's van and went to The north entrance to ... read more