An island in the sky...
Feel like you are on top of the world:
Plan a few extra days when staying in Moab, Utah to visit Canyonlands National Park. The park is amazing.
We took two days and toured the "Islands in the Sky" section of the park, about a 45-minute drive from Moab. Think of a 20-mile (ish) mesa, high in the sky looking down into deep canyons on three sides and you get the picture. With nothing higher for miles, you fill like you are on top of the world and loving every minute.
We took a second jeep excursion with Adrift Adventures into Canyonlands and what a thrill! Our first excursion with Adrift was into the nearby Arches National Park. This excursion was also amazing. We jeeped from the "bottom-up" to from the Colorado River, past Thelma & Louise Point up the nail-biting Shafer Trail. (Look at the pic of the winding narrow dirt trail with sheer dropoffs on one side and crumbling boulders on the other here.) And yes, Thelma & Louise Point is where THE final scene of the movie by the same name was filmed. We were told that the wrecked white jeep that years ago careened off Shafer Road was not from our tour company.
The plain and simple promise:
- Wide open spaces
- Natural beauty
- Great hiking, with foreign tourists everywhere
The surprise:
There is a meteor crater not too far of a hike from a parking lot, do it!
If you go:
- Canyonlands National Park is located in south-central Utah with a population of a few sheep and other critters.
- The park entrance is located about 11 hours from downtown Palm Springs and 4 hours from Salt Lake City
- Open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day weather permitting
