September 16, 2019

We were up just before sunrise and walked almost a kilometer to Love Muffins on Main Street North for breakfast – an egg shaka, an omelet and 2 decaf Americanos. We took a route along a residential street at the back and logged 4,302 steps before the 8 a.m. departure for Canyonlands National Park, about 40 minutes away. The bus is equipped with its own Wi-Fi which we are told is slow and may not be available as we visit remote areas. Each bus seat has an electrical outlet to charge electronics.

We spent the morning at 3 different locations within the “The Island in the Sky” part of the park. The park is divided into three distinct regions which are divided by either the Green River or the Colorado River. The most accessible region is “The Island in the Sky”, next is the somewhat accessible “The Needles” which has a lot of needle like rock formations and the last is “The Maze” which is the wildest only featuring unpaved four wheel drive roads and rugged hiking trails. Once off Highway 191, we drove on a four-lane undivided road where oil drilling is allowed since it is not part of the park. There were some distance buttes raising from the plateau. We could see the three surrounding mountain ranges – the La Sals, (the second highest mountains in Utah) the Abajos and the Henrys. We were travelling in the same arid desert landscape that we saw yesterday and is common on the high-altitude desert of the Canyonlands National Park. It covers 5,362 acres (2,170 hectares).

Another coincidence for the recurring “three-theme” of the past three days - - our first of three stops is The Island in the Sky region was the Canyonlands National Park Visitor Center located across from the trail head of the Shafer Trail. The Shafer Trail originally was a cattle trail constructed by a rancher over 100 years ago, then in the 1950s, the route was widened to a dirt track by uranium miners and now is a 19.2-mile dirt road recommended for 4x4 vehicles or rock crawler vehicles. At the viewpoint, the switchbacks of the route and the valley road could clearly be seen more than 2,000 feet below surrounded by the red canyon sides. The toilets at the Visitor Center where all unisex and each of the three outhouses had a toilet and an Asian squat toilet. The scenery is breath taking.

The second stop was about 10 minutes away and called the Green River Overlook. The Green River separates “The Island in the Sky” from “The Maze”. It is a tributary to the Colorado River. The Colorado River originates in Colorado then travels 1,450 miles through Utah and Ariziona and Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. The Green River was first explored in 1864 by John Wesley Powell with a team of nine oarsmen navigating four boats in the summer of 1864.

The final stop in Canyonlands National Park was at the Grand View Point Overlook. The altitude is 6,080 feet and you are gazing down more than 3,000 feet. Again, there were fantastic canyon views, including the White Rim Road on the white rim sandstone which was used by uranium prospectors. Steps so far 8,793.

The sky was starting to cloud over, but the temperature was comfortable at 26°C (78°F) with a gentle breeze, when we left Canyonlands National Park to drive to Dead Horse Point State Park about a 30-minute drive away. From an elevation of 5,980 feet above sea level, we looked down more than 2,000 feet into the Colorado River valley, where you sometimes can see the river as it twists through the valley. There are many hiking trails and the views are wonderful. We ate our lunch on a bench overlooking the valley and the Intrepid Potash, Inc. blue liquid potash evaporation ponds. Water is pumped down into the rock to extract the potash salts and then evaporated in a series of ponds. There was an interesting selection of clothes, books, calendars and other souvenirs at the Visitor Center gift shop.

The last stop was the actual Dead Horse Point. The name was given because it was a natural corral to capture wild horses. With tall vertical cliffs on every side but one, the horses were funneled toward the point over a narrow neck of land just 30 yards wide and barricaded inside the point of land. Here the best horses were selected and taken away then the barrier across the neck of land was removed so the remaining horses could escape. Some horses did not leave and died from lack of water. The location became known as Dead Horse Point. More gorgeous view of the canyon valley and sides.

Then it was back to Moab, for a few hours of free time before dinner. Once we were back on Highway 191 with its split four lane highway, the separate bicycle path paralleling was visible again. The bicycle path has been visible throughout Colorado and Utah.

Back in Moab, the temperature had risen to 30°C (86°F) so we walked a couple of short blocks for a McDonald’s milkshake.

This evening was the first optional excursion for just 22 of the group, since the tour operator would not release more seats. Fortunately, we had requested that our travel agent book our optional excursion choices several weeks ago. We enjoyed a buffet dinner at Canyonlands at Night cruises facility followed by a two-hour Colorado River cruise with 130 other guests. On the first part of the cruise, while the sun set, we travelled upstream in the open air tour boat admiring the canyon’s red sandstone walls and listening to stories about the area. Once twilight arrived we were treated to a light show on the canyon walls with a recorded narration explaining the history of the area. Most people were spell bound. There was a pause partway through and we could look up at the stars in the black sky, before some clouds rolled in and the show continued. Once off the boat we found our bus waiting for us in the parking lot. It was just a 10-minute ride back to the hotel.

Steps 13,754