Canyonlands; Needles, Island in the Sky, Arches and Moab, UT

Sunday, June 21st, 2015. From Devil's Canyon it was about a 10 mile ride to Monticello - where we waited about 1/2 hour for the visitor's center to open. We were productive during that time publishing 1 blog and finding our local bank. The visitor's center was conveniently located on the corner of what would be our short-cut to connect with Route 211 which leads straight up to the Needles section of Canyonlands NP.

After checking in at the Visitor's Center we headed for Squaw Flat Campground and at the end of Loop A tucked into a site with some trees and the rock formation at it's western edge. We hoped for some cooling shade later in the day. As the hot afternoon wore on the temps moved higher into the upper 90's. We hunkered down for the afternoon and kept hydrated and as cool as possible. At 6:30 PM we headed to the Cave Spring Trail passing the Woodenshoe Stone Arch formation glowing high on a ridge in the sunlight. This loop trail leads to a historic cowboy camp and rock art tucked under the hanging ledges of smooth granite then ascends 2 wooden ladders to an overlook with canyon views. We returned near to our campsite and parked at the location on Loop A where the sunset Ranger Program would be held. We had just enough time for a cold supper complete with a Klondike Bar to keep us cool. The talk was centered on pre-historic formations and his interpretations of living creatures of that era. We returned to our campsite and tried to sleep in the heat.

On Monday morning we rose at sunrise and broke camp. Heading straight out without hot coffee, east on Route 211 through lovely canyon ranch lands to Route 191 North to Moab. The Maverick Gas station south of town had an RV dump station as well. Then we hit the McDonald's for coffee and breakfast sandwiches.

Just about 5 miles north of Moab, we entered Arches NP and stopped at the Visitor's Center for a great film "Windows of Time". (which was not available for purchase yet.) It was a beautiful film and portrayed the life cycles of these stone arches. We did a driving tour in A/C admiring the stone formations. Keeping hydrated we did manage several short hikes here. The first was out to North and South Window (arches) and then across the parking area west to Double Arch. It is amazing how much freedom some children are given, as we saw a few hike up under the formations into areas that are "off-limits".

The next hike was out to Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint. Followed by our surprise favorite, a sandy hike through a narrow gap in the sand to Sand Dune Arch! We ate our lunch in the picnic loop at Devil's Garden then retraced the scenic drive back to the park exit.

We returned to Moab and found an oasis. Riverside Oasis Campground at the North end of town with mature trees shading most all of the sites we discovered that they'd just had a cancellation and it was for a short site just a perfect fit for us. We were told by one of the employees who did lots of maintance on the green grass here that next year there would be a hotel on this site. We certainly enjoyed it with A/C, Cable TV, laundry on site and free showers. ($44.80/night) We were especially grateful for that A/C as the temps now maintained triple digits everyday. We enjoyed a much more comfortable nights sleep!

June 23rd, We headed out in the morning to Canyonlands Northern section, Island-In-The-Sky. There is a turn-off to Dead Horse SP (we didn't take) just North of the NP which has a campground with electric hookups but they were full. Here there is a legend of how cowboys used to trap and catch wild horses in this canyon area. Once, a band of horses died of thirst while trapped here 1,100 feet above the flowing waters of the Colorado River Below. Views from Island-In-The-Sky reach from the depths of the Green and Colorado Rivers to the mountain tops and above. Across canyon after canyon they stretch to the horizon 100 miles distant. It is a broad mesa wedged between the Green and the Colorado, it's Canyonland creates an observation tower. You can see The Maze and The Needles formations in the distance. We hiked the short trail to Mesa Arch - which offered spectacular views of the canyon lands beyond. We retraced our drive back to Moab and headed straight to Moab Brewery. Utah's regulations are that all drafts must not exceed 3.2 % Abv. We found their sampler to be refreshing yet a little lacking. The seasonal Nut Brown stood out for me. Bob bought a bottle of their Black IPA which did have the hoppy notes that he so loves and was not as restricted by Abv values. They also had 25 cent wings and we sampled 4 flavors of those! Back to the campground to catch up on the blog and some TV and get another cooler nights rest.

"Going Places With Smiling Faces!"