Canyonland National Park

I didn't know about Canyonland National Park but when I saw it almost next to Arches National Park I thought we should see it too. It is a spectacular park with more geological features than any park I've ever visited. It is like God took leftover pieces of all he created and put it in one place.

It is divided into three parts - Island in the Sky, Needles and The Maze. We visited the Island area. Needles is 65 miles south of here and has limited paved roads. The Maze is for hiking, ATVs, 4-wheel drive, etc. There are no paved roads. It is much larger than Arches.

We took our time this morning getting ready. Ted fixed goetta outside in the electric frying pan so we wouldn't create any heat inside. We both used the shower house and then left around 11 o'clock. We took several bottles of water with us. Our first stop was the Visitor's Center where we saw a 15 minute film.





Photography is difficult because of the sun and shadows, especially in the canyons. There were spots that looked like the Grand Canyon and some sheer walls that reminded me of Zion. It's all breathtaking. The mountains in the distance (53 miles) are the La Sal Mountains.

The lady at the office here told us to be sure to take the Mesa Arch trailhead. It seemed to us it went up in elevation both going and coming! The elevation changed quite a bit but we made it thanks to our walking sticks and bottled water! We are certainly glad she told us to do this because we might have skipped it due to the effort it took.



It was going on 4:00 when we came home and Ted grilled some burgers, again outside!

At 8:00 we went back into town because Ted wanted an ice cream. I just had a glass of water because I wasn't hungry. We walked around a bit but stores were closing so we came home.

There is no humidity here so it is more comfortable than the high temperatures in Texas but hot is still hot. The A/C is keeping it in the low 80s inside and we have a fan going. There is a big drop in temps at night so sleeping hasn't been a problem. We are heading towards home so we better get used to the heat. However, it will take us a month to get there.