Arches and Canyonlands.
The campground is in a great setting amongst the red rocks with sand and plants between each site, and one of the nicest I have been to !
Although we had secured another night here, we had to move sites as the one we were on had already been booked out for tonight, so we decided to get up early[ish] and hike from the campground so that we could return in time to vacate the site by 10.30am.
The Trial to Broken Arch starts at the campground and it was nice to leave the RV where it was and go exploring. On route we took a detour to an Arch that was sign posted, but not on the map and the name escapes me. It appears to be a new one in the making, as you cannot walk right through it, but there is daylight between it and the rock that is behind it.
It's a lovely Trail that is marked out by 'Cairns', little piles of stones to guide you. They come in handy to, as it seemed to be a lesser used trial and at times was confusing.
It was a beautiful morning with blue sky's and it was comfortably warm at 8am. A wonderful, quiet, sandy Trail, we had only seen one other couple as we approached
Broken Arch.
It was quite a steep descent out the other side of the Arch.
We continued our walk to Sand dune arch, where you walk through a narrow rock cut with thick golden sands beneath your feet, a wonderful spot.
This led us to another remote trial up through a canyon overlooking the Campground as we made our way back. It was now 11am so we had a quick 'cuppa' in the RV and worked out our plan for the day.
We decided Canyonlands was on the agenda and the best thing to do is head there now, so it was off we went. We admired the views as we drove out of Arches to the 191 and a short trip North, untill we turned onto the 313 towards the 'Islands in the sky' section of Canyonlands.
We continued on the 'Grandview point Rd' along the top of the Mesa, at this point it was wide and flat, offering no clues as to what lay ahead.
As we arrived at the Grand view point parking lot it was a few short steps before all was revealed !
To try and give you an idea of scale, the light bit of ground you can see to the bottom right of the photo above [near the rounded part of the canyon] is seen here being tackled by some off roaders, using 24x zoom.
The Mesa sits 1200ft above the Plateau below, and the canyon below that where the Colorado has cut a path is a further 1000ft, quite remarkable.
You can take the mile [or so] hike to the end of the 'Island in the sky' mesa and we did so. The views were amazing and we took many pictures along the way, pointing out various land marks to each other. When we reached the end of the trial, instantaneously the chatting, pointing and camera clicking stopped we were awestruck, each of us sat on a rock and just admired the view for a while, soaking it all in.
Below is the confluence of Green river and the Colorado and the view goes on for miles and miles, totally unspoilt. There is not one "blot on the landscape" to be seen, and for a while I am lost in time, sharing the same view that the earliest settlers here had seen. Quite possibly there thoughts also, as I wondered what secrets the "New world over yonder" had to reveal. Sorry, I got caught in a trance again, here are some pics I finally took although they can't get anywhere close to giving the credit this place deserves.
We wandered back to the RV for lunch, enjoying more great views to the other side of the Mesa where the Green river runs through, before heading back towards Arches.
We had considered turning off to Dead Horse point but the clock was against us, we did however make a couple of stops on the way.
Mesa Arch with 'Washer woman rock' in the background.
And the washer woman from under the Arch
And then we stopped at the 'Shafer trial viewpoint'.
I want to drive that so bad, it hurts ! Not suitable for a 30ft RV and not enough time to rent a jeep, so it goes on my "bucket list".
Getting back to Arches late afternoon gave us the opportunity to enjoy a sunset, so we made our way to the upper "Delicate Arch" viewpoint Trial and walked to the edge of the rim opposite the Arch. On arrival the skies were turning grey and it looked as though we were not going to get the sunset we had hoped for, but the view was fantastic as we made our way there.
As the sun broke through, the clouds retreated but gathered into a large black mass, threatening to retaliate, it was quite some sight.
Having been here for 45 mins or so, we decided to 'sound the retreat' before we got a soaking. As we made our way back the evening sun made the colors look wonderful.
We head back to the campground and our new site for the night, where we once again enjoy a meal and a couple of beers before turning in for the night.
Fortunately those clouds didn't follow us and we had a quiet, relaxed evening.
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