Another beautiful sunshiny day. We are not complaining at all.... The skies are blue blue...and with 15.5 degrees C, it is just perfect.
We headed off from Moab after filling her up. Gas is US$3.859 per gallon which is pretty good for being in such a remote area.
We drove up to Canyonlands from the southern entrance this time. Along the way we did a couple of overlooks and learned all about Navajo sandstone, which are the soft squishy looking formations which were really sand turned to stone over millions of years. We have to imagine this place as the Sahara Desert with drifting sands all those years ago. Unbelievable what a few years will do!! We also saw two buttes named Merrimac and Monitor which looked like the iron-clad ships of the same names which fought during the Civil War.
We drove up to the Visitor Center which is not as spiffy as at The Needles but they did have a 15-min. video which was most interesting. We then headed to the Mesa Arch Trail which was an easy hike and gave us a gorgeous view of this incredible arch (see photo). We had lunch here.
After lunch, we moved on to the Upheaval Dome and hiked to the two overlooks. This is a large crater-like formation which is coloured green. The geologists figure that it may have been produced from the tons of salt from an inland sea which pushed up to the surface and created this dome now partly eroded. It was very different from anything we have seen so far. The hike was strenuous as we climbed up and down and even followed a ledge but it was all worth it.
On our way back, we stopped and hiked down to see Holeman Spring Canyon which just blew us away. Deep and deeper it went. Then we stopped at Candlestick Tower Overlook where we could see the Green River. Then on to Buck Canyon Overlook (6240 feet) and then for the finale, the Grand View Point ... Grand!! is the word. We are overwhelmed by all this. It just gets better and better.
On our way home, we picked up some beer and more wine. Had a late spaghetti dinner and now it is time to call it a day. I think we should sleep quite soundly.
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