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By Jacob
By Jacob
This article will be a shorter one because we only spent an evening in Canyonlands National Park. Canyonlands National Park Island in the Sky District is about 45 minutes away from the city of Moab. We had spent most of our time in Arches National Park and one day river rafting on the Colorado River. Canyonlands was an afterthought even though it should not be. Canyonlands National Park is located at the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers. The park is put simply is a less visited Grand Canyon.
We began our trip to Canyonalnds at the Gonzo Inn, our hotel for our time in Moab. We drove to a nearby Subway and picked up sandwiches so that we could find a picnic place in the park to sit, eat and relax in the beautiful scenery. We then headed north on Highway 191. Since Arches National Park is so close it felt like it took forever to get there. I believe I fell asleep on the way and woke up just before the park entrance. We passed the park sign and headed for the Island in the Sky Visitor Center. We picked up some information and crossed the road to look at the Shafer Trail. The shafer trail is a windy sort of off road way to get down the canyon and eventually goes all the way to Moab. My dad knew he had to drive at the least the canyon section.
We backtracked back up the road a little bit and made a left onto the Shafer Trail. By this point in our vacation we had done many miles of off roading so we were used to huge drop offs on one side of the car. The trail was surprisingly wide and the road down was beautiful. Because of the massive change in elevation we felt our ears start to pop. It was one of the most amazing roads I had ever been on. We reached the bottom of the canyon, turned around and returned up to the rim.
Once we reached the rim we headed south on the main park road towards our next attraction. Mesa Arch. We got out of the car and followed the short trail to the arch. Then standing majestically with this short wide arch framing the canyon and mountains beyond. It was a complete surprise and one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Fortunately, there was only another couple there so we did not have to stand in a crowd of people. Unlike other arches this humble arch more eloquently hovers over a massive canyon and frames the entire area. We stopped at several overlooks along the main park road to take in the canyons on either side of us.
For the last part of our time in Canyonlands we headed for Upheaval Dome. We found a nice picnic area and sat and watched the sunset across the Green River and Upheaval Dome. Our time in Canyonlands was short, but spectacular. I will visit again and spend much more time in this amazing park.
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