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| Canyonlands National Park |
We enter Canyonlands National Park about 9 am. As usual, we
stop at the Visitors Center for any information that might be helpful and then
drive through the park. As the name suggests, Canyonlands is a park with many
canyons. Our first destination is the end of the twelve-mile scenic drive,
Grand View Point. The road runs along a long, narrow plateau with the canyons
on either side. We hike an additional 0.9 mile to the furthest point for better
views.
It is difficult to imagine how the forces of nature could erode
and carve out the vast areas that they have, even considering the length of
time it has been. Freezing and thawing causes cracks, rain washes the loose
material away, in addition to erosion is caused by running water, such as rivers
and rain and runoff.
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Canyonlands National Park
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At the end of a side road is Upheaval Dome, a large crater
whose origin is debatable. Some think it is a salt dome that collapsed, others
think it is the result of a meteor that hit the earth.
Soon after we are in the park we meet a couple from St Louis
and engage in conversation about where we have been, where we are going, etc.
They say they were in Arches National Park yesterday, we say we are not going
there because we visited Arches several years age, besides we have not pre-registered
for timed entry. They say they went after 5 pm when the park officially closes,
but the park never really closes. They say they went in without being stopped.
And Arches is only a few miles from our way to Canyonlands.
Knowing that, we decide to visit Arches in the evening if we
finish Canyonlands in time. So that is how we came to visit Arches National
Park, even though we had not planned to. After leaving Canyonlands we drive to
Moab. Our plan is to eat dinner in Moab, then go to Arches. But first we had
another matter to take care of.
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| Canyonlands National Park |
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| Arches National Park |
Our rental vehicle began to display a message that
maintenance is needed, and the message covers part of the dash information that
we want to see. I google the task but do not understand the instructions. So I consult
Google maps to find a garage. I walk in, it is about 4:30 pm. There are three
men sitting in the front “office,” one with his feet up on a desk, just
chatting. I greet them and tell them my problem. They don’t know either how to
turn off the warning. Finally one of them comes out to the car with me and gets
in the driver seat to see if he can find a solution. He is not getting very
far. I step into the shade, because the temperature is in the mid 80’s, and I decide
to google the problem again. There is a YouTube video about it so I bring it
up, but I can’t get the sound to work. I watch the video for a short time without
sound, then I walk over to the car to show the video to the mechanic, maybe it
will be helpful to him. He says, “I think I got it.” I hear someone talking so
I ask, “What is that voice?” He says, “It is from your phone, you just googled
it.” It turns out, the audio is connected to the car radio by Bluetooth. I have
the video, he has the audio and is already following the directions. Sure
enough, the problem is solved.
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| Arches National Park |
After a delicious dinner in Moab at a Thai restaurant, we head to Arches. The gate is open
and no one is in the fee booth. The park is no exception with its interesting
and impressive formations, all of them red sandstone. We note the difference
with the parks we have visited that they tend to consist of huge canyons and cliffs
whereas Arches seems to have more individual formations, and many of them have been giving names, such as Balanced Rock, Three Gossips, Garden of Eden, Parade of Elephants, etc. We drive through the park and return to
the hotel as night was coming.
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