Trip to Moab, Arches and Canyonlands---Part 2

Tuesday October 23, 2018


As promised, this blog is about the rest of the trip to a very spectacular part of Utah!

However, I did forget to include some of the sites we saw from our bikes ( the blog Part 1)

 La Sal Mountains in the distance

On Saturday we decided to head to Dead Horse Point State Park.  It is known for being one of the most photographed scenic vistas in the world!

https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/dead-horse/

Here are some of the views we saw from the park.

 The Green River 

 

 The Green River from Dead Horse Point Overlook

The road below is used by cars and other vehicles to get through the park!

After hiking one of the trails we said goodbye to Dead Horse State Park and headed back to the hotel for a break.

In the afternoon we decided to do a scenic drive instead of hiking.  We chose the Potash-Lower Colorado River Scenic Byway   We saw some rock climbers during our drive and drove along the Colorado River.   Here are some of the interesting sites we saw.

Look closely for the Petroglyphs carved in the rock

Look on the top rock.  Those two imprints are dinosaur tracks!

We were so glad that we took that scenic drive.  We got back to the hotel and made dinner reservations at the Sunset Grill which was located behind the hotel on a mountaintop.  The drive was up a narrow windy road so we opted to take the shuttle to the restaurant.  Parking is also limited so if you visit the area it would be better to take the shuttle.

The mountains in the distance are the La Sal Mountains

The view from the dinner restaurant was spectacular but the food was not.   We were very disappointed. 

On Sunday we decided to take the day off from hiking and take another scenic drive on the La Sal Mountain Loop Road.  It was very scenic, as promised.  Below are some of the views we saw along the way.

At the end of this scenic byway we turned left and headed back towards Moab when we stumbled upon Castle Creek Winery.  We tasted a very nice Merlot made from local grapes and purchased a bottle for consumption.

Here is some information on Castle Creek Winery.

https://www.castlecreekwinery.com/

We were a little early for wine tasting so they directed us to Red Cliffs Lodge where there was a cowboy museum which actually turned out to show video clips of all the westerns filmed at this location.   Many of the films were made around 1955 and later.   This museum is a must see if you are in the area.....a diamond in the rough.  We were so glad we took the time to see it.

https://redcliffslodge.com/

We decided to do one more hike in Arches and took a short hike on the Park Avenue Trail.  It was  92 degrees when we finished this short hike and we were so glad we were done!   Here are some views from the trail.

Of course I had to take one more picture of the Three Gossips

It was a fabulous trip and I would recommend a visit to this part of the US as part of your future vacation plans!

 

Long Overdue Blog about A Trip to Moab, Arches and Canyonlands

Tuesday October 16, 2018

Al L and I went on a vacation in early September to Moab, Arches and Canyonlands.  We landed in Salt Lake City and the next morning headed to some of the most beautiful and scenic areas of the United States.  Here are some of the views we saw along the way.

 I didn't know that Utah had a coal industry

Al looking at the view of the mountains. 

The rental car got us from Salt Lake to Moab and back!

It took us a little over four hours to arrive in Moab.  We were excited to see the sites so we went to the closest park to Moab which is Arches National Park.   Here is a link with more information about the park.

https://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm


What would a visit to a national park be without a photo at the entrance!

A view of the park from the visitor center

The first spectacular rock formation in the park

 The following photos are also of the park and our first drive through Arches

The first scenic overlook in the park

Looking from the road into the park.  The view is of the visitor's center

 Balanced Rock

Another scenic overlook.  It looks like a city in the distance but it is more rock formations!

A native plant in Arches

We had hoped to do a hike in the Fiery Furnace but it is a ranger led hike and it was full by the time we tried to sign up.  You can do it without the ranger but you must see a movie about the area and pay a fee to do so.  Al and I were concerned that we would get lost in the maze so we passed!

The second day of our visit we decided to visit Canyonlands.   We were going to cycle in that area and possibly attempt a ride from Moab to Canyonlands so going by car was a way to determine how far and if we could do it.  

Here is a link with more information about the park

https://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm

Of course the obligatory photo at the entrance to the park.

 Someone was nice enough to take a photo of both Al and I

Here are some views and native plants in Canyonlands

Rock cairins that help you stay on the hiking trail

Here are some awesome photos of the landscape of Canyonlands

We did the Upheaval Dome hike.  The second scenic overview was much harder than the first and included some rock scrambling.

On the third day we had rental road bikes reserved from a local bike, The Bike Fiend.  It was the only cycling shop in town that rented road bikes.  The owner built the titanium bikes that we rented for the day.

Here is information on the bike shop.

http://moabclassicbike.com/

Here is a photo of one of the custom titanium bikes we rented.

There was a paved path for cyclists at the north end of Moab that led you to the turnoff for Canyonlands and Dead Horse State Park.  We followed that path through some of the most spectacular scenery.

We tried to make it to the entrance to Dead Horse Park but Al was having problems with his bike shifting when climbing so we made it half way and had to turn around.   If you do attempt this ride on your visit there is a water stop at the Dinosaur Museum Cafe.  There are other refreshments and food there as well.

There is much more to blog about but I will split the blog into two parts because of the amount of photos and narrative.  

Part 2 will be finished in the very near future.