Day 20--Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands

Colorado River from Dead Horse Point

Our plans this morning included Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands. One thing we've learned from this trip so far is that we rarely manage to get to as many places as we plan in one day. Today was no exception. We thought we could stop first at Dead Horse Point and then continue on to Canyonlands' Island in the Sky, after which we would swing back to Moab for lunch. Then we were going to drive to "The Needles," another section of Canyonlands.

Dead Horse Point may be the best State Park we've been to so far. I was impressed with the care that was taken to blend the man-made elements with the natural surroundings. Even the curbs and sidewalks were the same color as the stone and ground in the area.

Dead Horse Point

This unique promontory, which has a narrow (30 yard) neck, was used many years ago as a natural corral where wild mustangs could be trapped and tamed. The horses that weren't appropriate for training and selling were left on the promontory to find their own way off. Legend has it that one time some of these reject horses didn't leave and died of thirst, thus the name of the area. 

This is a starkly beautiful area, and we spent a good deal of time walking around it and admiring the view of Canyonlands and the Colorado River, but it was a little hard to forget what happened to those horses.

By the time we headed over to Island in the Sky, it was lunch time, and we began to realize that it would be quite difficult to fit in everything we had planned for the day. So instead, we ate a picnic lunch next to the visitor center and decided to spend the rest of the day exploring this area of Canyonlands. The weather was perfect--blue skies as you only find in the higher-altitude areas of the west, warm sun and cool air. What a great combination.

Grand View Point, rim walk

We headed toward Grand View Point, stopping along the way at several pull-offs with terrific views of the canyons. We were planning to walk the Rim Trail. As we were walking toward the trail, I overheard a man say that in the presence of all these spectacular canyons and rock formations, he felt so very small and insignificant. I thought about that comment. Sometimes we humans think we are so important. It's humbling to go to a place like Canyonlands; I left with a little more perspective, I think!

Last night the storm that had been following us all day caught up, and the Moab area got a lot of rain. It seemed to us as we walked the Rim Trail today that the flowers, bushes, trees, and grasses were happy! It seems strange to say that, but they seemed to be smiling at us as we passed. There were puddles of water in many places, and the plants were vibrant. We saw a number of flowers today, several of which we haven't identified yet, all of them lovely! 

Prince's Plume

As we walked, I looked out at the spectacular view and thought about the insignificance of man. Then I turned and looked at the rocks and junipers and pinion pines and all the grasses and wildflowers growing around us. I tried to walk quietly through this lovely place, soaking in the energy from these surroundings.

At the end of the Rim Walk, we found a place to sit toward the middle of the point, beside a large boulder. We sat for a few minutes, listening to the sounds, feeling the light breeze and the sun on our backs. What a grand way to end the day.

Grand View Point overlook

Okay, so that wasn't exactly the end of the day. We stopped next at the Green River Overlook, where we read about Major John Wesley Powell and his exploration of the Green and Colorado rivers, which in 1869 were uncharted. Looking down on the Green River from this overlook, it is hard to imagine what Powell, who was a geologist and a one-armed Civil War veteran, and his crew of nine inexperienced oarsmen must have had to face in this undertaking. In his writings, he described the canyon walls as shrinking the river into insignificance. He may have been among the first to float the Colorado and Green rivers, but he certainly wasn't the last. In fact, Smoky and I are hoping to add a float trip to our list of things to do on our next trip to this area!

Mesa Arch

One more stop before we drug our tired bodies back to Moab: Mesa Arch. We hiked the short trail to the Arch and enjoyed taking some photos in the late afternoon light. Even though today was Memorial Day, there were only a few other people at the arch, and most everyone was interested in photographing the arch itself, which was refreshing.

Tomorrow we join the crowds in Arches National Park.

--Shann