Canyonlands

From our campground in Moab it took approximately an hour to reach Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky Visitor Center.  We allowed one or two days for Canyonlands, but after driving such a distance we decided to see it in one day.  We stopped at the visitor center first to obtain the Junior Ranger books and find out if there were any short hikes we could complete despite the high temps.  The Mesa Arch trail sounded like something we could handle.  After exploring the visitor center and watching the video we decided to stay for a a Ranger Talk about ravens.  It turned out to be very good - did you know you can tell the difference between a raven and a crow in the sky? Ravens soar, crows don't!  I also learned ravens are very clever, use tools, work in tandem when hunting, and that their numbers are increasing even while their prey decrease in numbers.  This last fact is a result of human activity - ravens are able to obtain human food (trash) to supplement their diet.  Anyhow, the talk was good and then we went off to explore the park.  Our first stop was the half mile Mesa Arch hike. 

It was a hot desert day - the temp approaching the high 90s.  The high desert is full of pinon pines and junipers.  It looks a lot like our land in NE Arizona....

 ...until you come upon this beautiful site!

In this part of the park you are driving/hiking on a plateau that was formed into a V shape by the Green and Colorado Rivers.  The Mesa Arch looks out over the canyon formed by the Colorado River.  This is the same river that formed the Grand Canyon, but we are much further north.  Clearly water is a force to be reckoned with!

As you drive further out to the point of the V plateau there are a number of beautiful views.  For instance this is the Green River Overlook.

But at the point of the V there is the Grand View Point Overlook.  Out there is where the two rivers join at the confluence (though it is not really visible from here).  Here is just a glimpse of what you get to see.

During the day we also had a nice picnic at the Upheaval Dome formation.  We ended up taking the Junior Ranger books home and completing them.  We drove back into Arches at night to do some star gazing to complete one of the Junior Ranger activities, although the moon was so bright and full that it was hard to see many stars!  The next day we went to the visitor center in Moab to turn in the books, obtain the badges, and purchase the patches.  The staff at the visitor center were so complimentary about the kids' badges and patches.  We had a nice conversation about our travels.

Canyonlands was a very good place to visit prior to the Grand Canyon because it shows just how much impact the Colorado River has had on the area.  There are two other areas in Canyonlands that we did not visit.  Each of the areas are separated by the rivers so you have to enter from completely different "sides" of the park.  Island in the Sky is the most accessible, The Needles is second, and The Maze is the least improved in terms of roads.  It would have been fun to drive into The Needles area, but we didn't have time.

While in Moab we saw this sculpture, I thought it was cool.

We experienced a desert storm while in Moab one evening.  The sky became very dark, it was very windy and dusty until it rained.  I welcomed the storm because it cooled the temp quite a bit, but was frustrated because I was trying to grill and my propane flame kept blowing out - that is how windy it was!

The last thing I want to mention is that we ate out twice in Moab and one of the meals need to be recognized!  If you are there, check out Arches Thai Cuisine & Pho - wow.  I had mango curry it was amazing, vegan, and topped with an orchid! Husband also had a vegan curry which he loved, Brother had a chicken fried rice and Sister had tofu, rice and steamed veggies - both kids cleaned their plates. 

 Would love to spend more time in Utah.  I am sure we will be back.