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

Despite the consistent rain last night, the sun is shining this morning and Moab looks again as though it has never seen a drop of precipitation. Everything has dried and the bare red rock cliffs look as parched as ever. It’s as if this area is somehow water repellent. We have an excellent breakfast at the Jailhouse Café which is just a block down from our hotel. They have outdoor seating in specially constructed huts without walls. Custom canvas sides can be deployed for inclement weather, but this morning is in the high 70s and very pleasant. AJ takes the first meltdown as he wanted to drive to the restaurant and I enjoy a time out with him in the sun. Canyonlands National Park is split into four distinct and quite separate areas, none of which ... read more

Greetings All This is a blog from my latest trip to Utah. We spend 8 days hiking, biking and Camping through the national parks. Canyonlands NP was amazing, incredible views of the canyons with over a kilometer drop off down to the rivers below. It is also home of the Mesa Arch one of the most beautiful and photographed arches in the world. One of he highlights was the wild camping site that we found at Big Bend down on the banks of the Colorado River. Watching the sun set over they canyons and due to its remoteness the night sky was breathtaking (although I need to work on my star photography). Waking up on the banks of the Colorado river under bright blue skies was a highlight of the trip... read more

Roadtrip SW USA...Flying with ravens through Canyonlands and Arches. It's that raven again...the one that surfed the updraughts at Monument Valley...he's following us North...squarking we've seen nothing yet...mocking the best views are from up here...cawing you know I'm right fella. So we tried to book a helicopter...but no joy flights in off-season around here. So we continued North yelling leave us alone...we're off to Goblin...gotta be at Home & Away's in Colorado in three days...just leave us alone. But the raven followed us. Reminded me of the Albatross in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner...un-nerved me...didn't have the courage to take that steep dirt climb through snow to Goblin. So we took the long way but on tarmac...might be able to reach Moab by nightfall. Yet I couldn't get the raven's caw out of my mind. ... read more

Just planning... read more

Geo: 38.2574, -109.963This is our second day in Moab, Utah and the plan for this day was to visit Canyonlands National Park. We left the hotel at 8:30 and 72 degrees. The park is about a half hour away, so we were there around 9 AM. The drive to the park was absolutely incredible, through canyons surrounded by high-rising walls of orange and red stone. The early morning sun shined a warm light on the east-facing facades, casting shadows on the ripples and caves in the walls. It makes you feel small and insignificant, but also privileged to have the opportunity to see and enjoy what nature has provided. We drove up about 3,000 feet into the park, which is large, but access to the canyon is limited. Most of the park lies thousands of feet ... read more