Canyonlands
I was planning on typing an intro of sorts explaining why and how I felt safe traveling during COVID but honestly, I don’t really owe that to anyone. That may seem brash but it is what it is. If you’re reading this or my past post about Muir Woods and you don’t agree with my travel decisions, I’m sorry to see you go. That’s all I’ll say about that.
I absolutely live for travel and when I started planning our trip to Utah months ago, I could not wait to get going! With flight, accommodations and rental car secured, the day arrived and we were on our way. We drove to Charlotte to stay with my in-laws for the night since our flight departed at 7:30am. The day started at 4:00am, we caught our flight and everything went smoothly. I enjoyed a few Bloody Mary’s, enjoyed some views from above and caught an hour or two of zzz’s.
As you’ve probably seen in the news, there has been a rental car shortage due to selling cars during COVID so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about that. However, we easily got our rental, a Jeep Cherokee, and drove 4 hours to Moab. The number of off-road vehicles and sprinter vans we saw definitely solidified the fact that we were headed to Moab! We arrived about 15 minutes early for check-in at the KOA and they kindly let us check in. We got situated in our Cabin and then went into town to get a burger, fries and a shake from Milt’s Stop and Eat! It was SO good - a must have!
191 South to Moab.
Moab KOA Holiday - 3225 US-191, Moab, UT
After a good night’s sleep, I was up early and caught this incredible sunrise!
Then the real fun began! In typical Moab fashion, the wind was blowing like hell but we put on our Buff’s, layered up and headed to Canyonlands. We arrived mid-morning and there were only a few cars ahead of us waiting to get in. Since we would be visiting Canyonlands and Arches multiple times, I purchased the Southeastern Utah Parks pass for $55.00 vs. $30 for each entrance. Our first stop was directly across from the visitor center. You get an incredible view into the canyon and Shaffer Trail, a 4-wheel drive road that travels deep into the backcountry.
After taking in the view, we headed to Mesa Arch. We were very fortunate that there weren’t many people and the ones that were there were kind, aware of others and had several people offer to take a photo of the two of us. We did the same for a few people.
Next stop: Upheaval Dome. There are a couple of theories about this geological formation.
1. It’s a Salt Dome, meaning “A thick layer of salt, formed by the evaporation of ancient landlocked seas, underlies much of southeastern Utah and Canyonlands National Park. When under pressure from thousands of feet of overlying rock, the salt can flow plastically, like ice moving at the bottom of a glacier. In addition, salt is less dense than sandstone. As a result, over millions of years salt can flow up through rock layers as a "salt bubble", rising to the surface and creating salt domes that deform the surrounding rock.” (NPS 2018)
2. It’s an Impact Crater - obviously, a meteorite.
Regardless, it’s remarkable and a bit out of this world.
After scrambling around on rocks around Upheaval Dome, we ate lunch in the car: good ole PB&J, chips and some cookies for dessert! We headed to the southernmost point of the park, Grand View Point Overlook. Here you truly get an understanding of the massiveness and vastness of Canyonlands. Derrick asked me, “How does this compare to the Grand Canyon?” Both are magnificent and kind of hard to describe but generally, the Grand Canyon is deeper and simply awe inspiring! There truly are no words to do it justice. Canyonlands, to me, is like an onion with its many layers. Just when you think you’re looking at the bottom of a canyon, you realize there is yet another layer below - and these canyons stretch to your left and right for what seems like miles. Both equally impressive in their own ways.
The wind here was intense so we only scrambled along the rim for about a 1/4 mile. Each new gust bringing with it stinging sand to the eyes and skin. Juniper and other trees and plants somehow managing to hold on and survive in this hostile environment!
A day full of hiking and wind wore us out so back to town we went. It’s always hard for me to leave places like this… oh, let’s be honest, it’s hard for me to leave nearly everywhere I visit… but places that are as vast, wild and intense as this do something to my senses. Even though the wind carrying sand into my eyes is an annoyance, and a hazard some might say, it makes me feel alive - and it makes me realize just how fragile I truly am. I am not a Juniper tree clinging to the side of a cliff. I am not nearly as resilient but I’ll be damned if I don’t try to be.
