Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands was kind of an afterthought as an addition to our adventure. As long as it was this close to Arches, why not spend a day at Canyonlands, too? What a great decision we made to visit this spectacular park! The landforms, colors, and diverse geography, were reminiscent of the Grand Canyon.  Canyonlands contains four distinct districts: Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and The Rivers. Our day focused on Island in the Sky, as it was most accessible and didn't require a four-wheel drive vehicle. 

Again, we started our day early, going to the furthest end of the park to visit Mesa Arch and the beautiful views surrounding it. We continued on to Grandview Point. It's hard to describe the beauty, contrast and colors we observed and photos don't do it justice. Amazing! From there we continued to the Buck Canyon overlook and Green River overlook. The Green River converges with the Colorado River which worked its magic to help carve out the Grand Canyon! The short hike to Upheaval Dome was next. Scientists are unsure about the formation of this large crater as it is so different from the others in the area, but many agree that it was most likely formed by a meteorite. We continued on to Aztec Butte and were able to climb /scramble to the top of the slick rock to view the ancient  granaries. Crab walking on my hands and butt, I was able to observe this amazing area where native American people stored supplies for safe keeping. Finally, we visited Schafer Canyon viewpoint and the visitor center before returning to camp. What a spectacular day!Read more