On Tuesday, April 7, we visited Canyonlands National Park. The NP is broken up into three districts. We decided to start with the most southern district called "The Needles". Canyonlands was created by many different forces, but the main one is the waters of the Colorado and Green Rivers. As you drive into the park you begin to see rock formations and then you drop down into a valley and "WOW!" the scenery just gets awesome.
There was a parking area for something they called Newspaper rock. It is a place that people have been leaving messages for a thousand years or more.
We then drove a bit farther and the views just kept getting better:
We were not even in the actual NP yet. Here is the sign picture:
We went to the visitor center. There were very few people in this park. Maybe it was because it was a windy day, but it may also be that this is not a famous park and you have to drive a ways to see it. Either way, it was nice that there were no crowds.
We stopped at a number of places and took hikes. They ranged from just a few feet of pavement to some fairly steep rocky trails to some interesting formations and viewpoints.
Kim enjoyed the hikes on the rocks and the spring flowers.
The views just kept coming. I ran out of “WOW’s” on this day.
Here is a shot of me climbing on the rocks and Kim finding a place to sit and enjoy the view:
We really enjoyed the day. We walked over 5 miles of some pretty rugged terrain. Maybe we will get in better shape living like this. I have to include a few more shots. See the wooden shoe arch on the right?
Well, that is half of Utah NP #1. I can’t wait for the rest of them. The cool part is we have plenty of time and we can even go back for a second visit if we want. How cool is that?
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