Schmidt's Adventures

 Canyonlands National Park is divided into several sections. Island in the Sky where we hiked a couple days ago; the Maze are which you can only reach via 4wd and the Needles. The Needles is about 1 hour and 25 minutes south of Moab. We drove thru free range cattle land and had a few steer right next to the road and passed a large arch. I have not been able to take a picture of them, but the Jack Rabbits around here are HUGE! We have seen many and they are the size of a small Cocker Spaniel-really. Our hike today was to Lost Canyon. The trail started our across the flats. We walked by numerous blooming wildflowers and cacti. We began to gain elevation and hiked over slick rock. Cairns showed us the way up and over the massive area of stone. We got good at "reading" the ripples in the slickrock to find ledges to us as steps. Up and ever many areas and along ledges. The height provided wonderful viewpoints. We had to use a ladder to descend to the next level of slickrock. That...

Yesterday we decided to raft the Colorado River. We were told to arrive at 8:30 am which we did and found out that there were only two other people going with us. This was great. No large group; no multiple rafts to deal with. We had a very scenic drive up the river to the entry spot. Besides our raft, they also had an inflatable kayak for two.  When asked who wanted to try it out, we immediately took the opportunity. Off we went. We stayed behind the raft per instructions and paddled away. I was a bit nervous when to,d that our first set of rapids was coming up, but we made it thru without a problem. Then the next set. They were much bigger and faster. I was white- knuckling the paddle as Marty kept us perpendicular to the rapids. Up and down we went. Water in the kayak. My heart was pounding. I did not want to flip over. We got thru and when we asked if there was more like this- our guide said yes and there were bigger ones after that. Well, we were done with kayaking. We pulled ...

We made it to our fifth national park- Canyonlands. We went to the upper section called Island in the Sky. It is ahug plateau that has the Colorado River on one side and the Green River on the other; both have carved out deep canyons. We hiked to the Mesa Arch and views great vista through the opening.   We stopped at several overlooks to gaze at the various canyons. It was beautiful. Again, snow capped mountains stood tall in the background. We hiked to a crater like area. They say it might have started millions of years ago when a meteor hit,  formed a crated that remained even after a big upheaval of the surrounding land. This hike took us over slick rock but provided incredible views. Not nearly as scary as yesterday's adventure. Several short hikes to more overlook spots. A variety of small lizards crossed our path on a regular basis or we saw them basking in the sun.  Came back early and took a nap in the hammock at our place. So relaxing! Dinner at the Blu...

A beautiful, sunny morning and early start took us to Devil's Garden. The hike started off on an easy path and took us to several arches. Landscape Arch was the most impressive and is a very long, thin arch. The park newsletter states that this arch could collapse at any time. It had a graceful beauty about it. We saw the Pinetree Arch, Private Arch, Double O Arch, and many more. The trail was then listed as "primative ". This meant we had to scrabble up rocks, traverse sides of slick rock and walk along the top of "fins" which are thin, stone structures that jet out. Some were very high with steep drop-offs. It was an interesting and challenging 8 mile hike. It was a very different backdrop to see desert in the foreground and snow capped mountains behind. On the way out of the park, we took several short hikes to see 5 more arches.  

Today we headed to Arches National Park. As you drive up the switchbacks that take you into the park from the valley, you first see large formations and huge standing slabs of rock. Again, this was so different from what we saw at the other three parks. Many if the formations are just off the road or a short hike away from a parking area. We saw Balanced Rock, Double Arch, two wi does, Turret arch and the iconic Delicate Arch. It was a 1.5 mile hike up slick rock and narrow edges to get to the Arch. What a site! We could view the snow capped mountains thru the arch. There was another section of Petroglyphs which were the best yet. More arches to view tomorrow.

We left the Bryce area and headed up Scenic Highway 12. The road had many curves and blind hills which made me a bit nervous. It is a beautiful ride. We left the hills and mesas, driving through barren, slick rock sections. Capitol Reef is not always the first thought when people talk about the parks in Utah. Is is part of a Waterpocket Fold-the largest in North America. It is over 100 miles long. Some of the Rocky walls remind me of Zion, but they are more colorful and are only on one side. You can see how they were trusted upward when the earth shifted. Early settlers had water and a fertile valley to grow fruit trees. The orchards are still in use today. We took the 10 mile scenic drive. It was beautiful. So far, each park has had a unique feature. At the bottom of these massive formations, you can see the piles of eroded rock forming pyramid like shapes. In time, all of this will disappear. There are formations with names like "The Castle", "The Eygptian Tower"...