Arches National Park/Canyonlands National Park

On Wednesday we went to Arches National Park which is just 5 miles North of Moab, UT.  This is a great park and well worth seeing.

View on the drive into the park

"Three Gossips" Rock Formation

"Sheep Rock"

Balanced Rock (3600 ton boulder on a sandstone base - 128 feet tall)

Another view of balanced rock

More arches

"Double Arch"

"Delicate Arch" - you really have to earn this one - it is a 3 mile hike to see this - all uphill on the way in (1.5 mi.) - very strenuous.  You can drive to a viewpoint from across the canyon but we decided to do the hike as this is the most famous arch in the park. Note La Sal Mountains in background.

Donna under the arch for scale

"Sand Dune Arch"

"Broken Arch"

"Tunnel Arch"

Thursday we went to Canyonlands National Park which is actually closer to where we are staying as the crow flies but is about 40 miles further than Arches by road due to where the entrance is located.  Canyonlands is a great National Park as they all are but I think because we went to the Grand Canyon and Arches before we went to Canyonlands, we were not as impressed with it.

Mesa Arch (La Sal Mountains in background - near where we are staying)

La Sal Mountains in background - near where we are staying

"Upheaval Dome" - scientists are not sure if this 2 mile diameter crater is the result of a meteorite impact or of a natural geologic uplift but recent research has uncovered data that leans towards a meteorite impact

Panoramic view of the crater (click to enlarge)

Panoramic view from one of the many lookout points (click to enlarge)