Canyonlands-Needles District

We weren't too pleased with our lodging accommodations in Moab this time; so we were glad to leave it behind on the morning of October 13, 2018, after two days there. Our ultimate destination for the day was Blanding, Utah, from which we would travel to Monument Valley for a tour of that area the next day. The route to Blanding passed the entrance to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, so we turned in and spent several hours there.

First, though, we had to stop for pictures of Church Rock, a very picturesque rock formation located near the entrance to Canyonlands. If you've been a long-time reader of this blog, you've seen this beautiful rock before. Today, the weather was perfect, and the snow-capped La Sal Mountains provided a beautiful backdrop for the photo.

Church Rock

In Canyonlands, we took a short hike to the Roadside Ruin, pictured below. A sign at the beginning of the trail dates the ruin about 700 years ago and attributes it to ancestral Puebloans. The use of such structures is thought to be for storage or for ceremonial purposes.

Roadside Ruin

Next, we took another short hike on Cave Spring trail. Interesting features along this trail include a Cowboy Camp, tucked under a rock ledge; a small spring, or seep, tucked under another rock ledge a short distance from the Cowboy Camp; and some pictographs on the rock wall near the spring. The trail passed several clumps of prickly pear cactus, which I found interesting, as well.

Cave Spring Trail

The collage above shows the ledge under which the Cowboy Camp is located, the Cowboy Camp itself, Cave Spring, pictographs of hands, a rusty pictograph of something, and a clump of prickly pear cactus.

An interesting rock formation in this part of Canyonlands is Wooden Shoe Arch, pictured in the collage below.

Following are assorted images from a driving tour through this national park:

Next up, Monument Valley, with iconic landscapes seen in numerous western films. 

Canyonlands-Island In The Sky

On Friday, October 12, 2018, we spent the day touring Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky district. We have visited and documented this park before, so I won't try to include pictures of everything we saw, just some that are representative of the park.

A short hike leads to Mesa Arch, a must-see feature of Canyonlands. You may have seen photos of this arch on calendars or even as a Windows wallpaper, but those photos were always taken at just the right moment of a sunrise. It would be a glorious sight to see. Unfortunately, sunrise occurs way to early for me to make it to Mesa Arch to experience it.

The above collage shows Mesa Arch and the view through it, as well as the view from a scenic overlook a few feet to the side of the arch. (If you want to see these individual images in their full size, just click on the collage. That will take you to the album where they're stored.)

Green River Overlook

Buck Canyon Overlook

Grand View Point

Doug and me at Grand View Point

Our first stop of the day had been at Shafer Canyon, and it was also our last stop of the day. I liked the late-afternoon lighting better, so that's the image that I chose for the blog.

Shafer Canyon

Doug and me at Shafer Canyon

The next day, we toured Canyonlands National Park, the Needles District. Stay tuned.

Canyonlands Needles District: Landscapes

These photos are again from our visit to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in Utah, on September 25, 2013.

We spotted this Moonflower shortly after leaving the Cave Spring area.

We also saw this interesting rock formation in the distance.

Later, we came upon a sign telling us that the rock formation is known as Wooden Shoe Arch.

This is a section of the Needles that are visible from Elephant Hill Spur Road.

Here's a little closer look at one section of the panorama shot above.

We almost drove right past that Needles overlook on Elephant Hill Spur Road, without taking any pictures, because the Needles were so far away. We thought we'd just wait until we had closer views. But, the old adage of "a bird in the hand..." came to mind so we stopped for a few shots. As it turned out, that was the only time we saw the Needles for which this section of Canyonlands is named. Apparently, other views are possible only by long hikes or off-road vehicles.

 

The next three photos were also taken along the Elephant Hill Spur Road:

And the final four photos were shot near where the road ended at Big Spring Canyon Overlook:

We enjoyed this part of Canyonlands National Park, but we were disappointed in not being able to see some of the beautiful places pictured on the promotional information. When I asked at the Visitor Center, they told me that many of those features can be viewed only after lengthy hikes or by off-road vehicles.

 

Still, we definitely enjoyed the beauty of the landscapes and our hike on Cave Spring trail.

 

Next up on our Trip West 2013 will be Monument Valley. Stay tuned.

Canyonlands Needles District: Cave Spring Trail

One of the first things we did on our September 25th visit to the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park in Utah was to take a short hike on the Cave Spring Trail.

Doug and I both enjoy stories of the Old West, and we have read almost every book written by Louis L'Amour. We knew we had to take this hike when we saw that there was, not only a spring, but an old cowboy camp on this trail.

Canyonlands was extremely remote when livestock were first brought into the area around 1890. Just to get to the pastures often required a ride of two or three days, and cowboys frequently had to stay in the backcountry with the herd for months at a time. To make life a little more pleasant for the cowboys a series of camps were established throughout the area; and, in the Needles District, the Cave Spring Camp was one of the most important. The camp is still largely intact and  offers a fascinating insight into what a cowboy’s life was like in the early 1900s. 

The trail took us around a large rock formation that was narrower at the bottom than at the top, resulting in a large overhang, with alcoves underneath that created cave-like spaces. It was sort of like walking under a large mushroom.

 

Cave Spring Trail

Outside of the Cowboy Camp

Part of the inside of the camp

This picture shows the large overhang sheltering the camp.

This grain bin was situated near the cowboy camp; and there was actually grain in it.
I half expected a rat to scurry out of it when we lifted the lid. Thankfully, that didn't happen!

Looking back toward another small cave.

Cave Spring is one of the area's few year-round water sources.

When we were there, it looked more like a seep than a spring.
Ferns grew on the rock wall above the spring.

This picture again shows part of that large rock overhang.
(It made for pleasant walking as it provided shade from the hot sun.)

Past Cave Spring, two ladders ascend to the slickrock above, providing panoramic views of canyon scenery. Doug climbed the first ladder, just to look around; but we decided to return to our car by the way we had come.

Doug at the top of the first ladder.

Canyonlands Needles District: The Entrance

On September 25th, we explored Canyonlands National Park, the Needles district. Most of the pictures I'm sharing today were taken along the road leading to the national park.

Church Rock is at the junction, where you turn to drive back to the national park.

These next photos were taken along the road that leads to the national park entrance:

This last shot was taken shortly after entering the park:

We had amazing weather on the entire trip, but it was quite windy on this day. The winds were gusting to 50 miles per hour! I'm glad I wasn't wearing contact lenses.

I'll have more from the Needles district in future posts. Until next time...

Canyondlands: Mesa Arch & Shafer Canyon Overlook

Wrapping up our visit to Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky, on September 23, our final two stops at this national park were Mesa Arch and Schafer Canyon.

Our first look at Mesa Arch as we approached it on the hiking trail.

At Mesa Arch, enjoying the view through the arch.

View from Mesa Arch area

This is a closer look at the rock formations that can be viewed through the arch.

 

That's Doug's shadow...sort of a self portrait, shot with the camcorder.

Our last stop before leaving the national park that day was at the Shafer Canyon Overlook:

A view into Shafer Canyon. How would you like to travel that road?