Canyonlands National Park

Moab like the National Parks for which it serves as the jumping off point was carved from the surrounding beige plateau by the Colorado River. It is so named because just as it’s namesake in the Middle East its rock is bright red. The area was settled originally by Mormons. To reach Canyonlands you drive north 10 miles climbing back up to the plateau, then hang a left and drive 22 more miles along a broken winding hilly two-lane to the park entrance. I stopped at the visitors centre to pick up an audio guide and watch their introductory movie. Canyonlands has a history not unlike Palo Duro in Texas however here it was the Island in the Sky Mesa--tablelands--surrounded by 2000 ft cliffs that kept the cattle in on meadowland where grass formerly grew belly-high to a horse. The Mesa is separated from the adjoining plateau by a 40-ft neck which made keeping cattle contained rather easy. A well-maintained roadway leads to various parking areas from which trails lead off in all directions. The easy ones lead to breathtaking vistas; the difficult ones with a 1000-ft change in elevation would take one’s breath away. I’ll add pictures and commentary. 

 Suspended over the edge of a massive cliff Mesa Arch impresses. 

Canyons cut into the valley floor below reveal another strata of rock with snow-capped peaks in the background.

 

The Green River meets the Colorado

Look closely and you'll see people and cars on the 100-mile back-country trail.

For the venturesome there is a 100-mile high-profile all-terrain-vehicle single-lane roadway that snakes through the canyons. One vista shows the larger Green River joining the Colorado. Only one picnic site was too busy for stopping. In all I drove 100 miles this Friday. Alas, I had to drive back down to my campground for the night and drive back up the next day.