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)

Bluff, Utah - Fort Bluff, Moab, Utah BLM Camping

We moved from Mexican Hat, UT to Moab, UT this week with a two day stop at a campground with full hook-ups in Bluff, UT.  While in Bluff we visited Fort Bluff, a Mormon outpost established in 1880.  While in Moab we plan to visit Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.

Our Route

Our campsite in Moab (bottom center)

The view from our camper - 12,000 Ft. La Sal Mountains in background

Fort Bluff in Bluff, UT

This wagon traveled the famous Hole In The Rock Trail constructed by the Mormons

One of the original settlers cabins that was part of the fort

Flag at half mast in memory of Barbara Bush

The Sand Island Petroglyph Panel (near Bluff) is one of the finest and largest  examples of easily accessible Anasazi rock art .   It is comprised of over 100 yards of rock art.

Mexican Hat, Utah, Monument Valley, Valley Of The Gods

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Horseshoe Bend - Glen Canyon Dam

We hiked the  Horseshoe Bend trail in Page, AZ this AM (just a few miles from our campsite in UT).  The prime time for photographing this famous site on the Colorado River is early AM just after sunrise or late evening just before sunset - of course we were there at high noon on a cloudy day but the place is so photogenic that the pictures still came out pretty good. 

We intentionally waited until a weekday to go here due to the crowds - still pretty busy though - the hole in the ground at left center is where you view Horseshoe Bend

On our way back to the campground we stopped at the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor Center for a little while.  The dam, which was built in the late 50's, dams the Colorado River to form Lake Powell which is 186 miles long

The dam and the Glen Canyon Bridge to Page, AZ 

This weekend there were a couple of powered para-gliders that took off and landed on the beach at the campground

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area - Utah

Friday we moved from the Grand Canyon area to Lone Rock Beach Campground in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah, just over the border from Arizona.  This is a paid campground in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area with no sewer, water, or electric hook-ups - cost with the National Senior Pass is $7./night - full price is $14.  Most everone camps on the beach but we are in the dunes area which is much more private.

Our Route From The Grand Canyon To Utah

Our Campsite

The view from our campsite

Panoramic photo of the campground (click to enlarge)

Another view of the camground

The namesake rock

Today we hiked the Hanging Gardens Trail which is just a couple miles from the campground.  The hanging gardens are a mass of vegetation, mostly ferns, growing on the vertical face of a cliff. Water seeps from the porous sandstone and is absorbed by the ferns.  The cliff has an overhang which protects the plants from the sun. It is more impressive than the pictures show - this is a little oasis in the desert.

The rest of the pictures are views from the Hanging Gardens Trail or nearby.

A small section of Lake Powell - this section is mostly in Arizona

Another view of Lake Powell

Another view from the hike

Quite a variety of landscapes in a small area - red sandstone hill on our hike

Looking South into Arizona

Not as many cacti here but this one was in bloom

View of the back side of the Glen Canyon Dam which dams the Colorado River to form Lake Powell which covers 254 sq. mi.   Tomorrow we are going to the Glen Canyon Dam visitor center and to Horseshoe Bend which is just up the road from where we are - we decided to wait until Monday hoping they both won't be so busy.