Dead Horse State Park

---

While not the most appealing of names for a state park, Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah is a treasure to visit. Most spectacularly, the Park is a peninsula of rock, towering 2000 feet above the Colorado River. You can just imagine how it got its name.



The most interesting to me is the "cowboy" legend, using the point as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa. They herded the wild horses across the narrow neck of land onto the point. From there, the 30 feet wide neck was blocked off with branches and brush. This created a natural corral with sheer cliffs on all sides, leaving no escape. Cowboys picked the best horses, and let the others escape. It was not unheard of to leave the horses corralled on the point, and left to die of thirst.



This park sits at 5900 feet above sea level, and was opened in 1959. Only 32 miles from Moab, I plan to cycle my way through most of the park. If Lexi made the trip, the park has numerous pet friendly trails, totaling 16.6 miles. The view of Canyonlands from the mesa is simply spectacular. The scene was used in the final segment of the great movie, "Thelma and Louise."



Meanwhile, back in Moab . . . . .



Glad to go home tomorrow, but not looking forward to the 4 hour drive back to Salt Lake City. It has been a great trip, though I never found Forrest, the Duke, or Thelma. People are nice here, despite the jeepers creepers influx. I met some great people from Michigan, Norway, and Florida. The jeep people were very nice, and considerate. I could easily spend two weeks here. Even the food was surprisingly good, as were the microbrews!

---