Scenic Highlights: ARCHES NATIONAL PARK
Arches National Park is located just four miles north of Moab. The park was a National Monument until 1964
when it was designated a Park. Immediately upon entering the park you begin an eight hundred feet ascent
through a series of switch backs cut into the Navajo Sandstone. Upon
completing the ascent you arrive at one
of the most beautiful viewpoints in Red Rock Country.
The viewpoint, right and below, is known as Park Avenue because the sheer walls on both sides of Courthouse Wash reminds you of New York. This small “canyon” is
filled with a number of interesting formations, and one that seems impossible. This one is a huge rock
weighing many, many tons. It looks like the head of a wolf. Its base is broken and the huge head has
slid until little more than half of it is resting on the base. As you look down through Courthouse Wash
you see Courthouse Towers at the far end. This is a beautiful monolith of Entrada Sandstone. Most
of the hundreds of arches found in the park are formed in the Entrada Sandstone, a
reddish-brown formation of very hard sandstone.
At this location you will see excellent examples of the three major rock formations found in the park, the Navajo
Sandstone, the Carmel Mudstone formation and the Entrada Sandstone. Let me say here that geologist
argue whether the mudstone formation in Arches NP is Carmel or the Dewey Bridge member of the Entrada.
A beautiful time to take pictures at the Park Avenue viewpoint is between 3:00 and 5:00 P,M, in the
early spring or fall. The sky then are likely to be extremely deep
blue, which makes a fabulous setting for the coral red sandstone.
After leaving Park Avenue the next "scenic" observation will be on your left after about four miles. This is the famous Whataman Formation as shown in the photograph on the left below. It is reputed that after Delicate Arch, this is the second most photographed formation in the park. However, I must admit I have removed some background rocks photographically to make it "stand out". The photo to the right is of Courthouse Towers from Courthouse Wash.
At the junction take a right and go over to the Windows section of the Park. On the way
to the Windows there are numerous viewpoints. One such place gives you a very interesting view of the
Colorado River Gorge. There are numerous arches of varying sizes in the Windows section. Time permitting,
go up for a close look at the North and South Windows. These are very large arches. When viewed from certain
points on highway 193, they look like eyeglasses, and are therefore sometimes referred to as
the spectacles.
Your next stop will be Delicate Arch. This is certainly the most beautiful arch in the Park, and probably in the world. Utah has been using Delicate Arch as one of its state logos for many years. There are three ways to see the arch, from a parking lot, which is a very distant view; a better view point after a one fourth mile, one hundred foot vertical climb; or up close and personal. The hike to the arch is one and a half miles with an elevation increase of about four hundred feet. This is a strenuous climb, but well worth the effort. The views on the way up are great; don't miss the hanging garden off to your left. Allow as much time as you can to enjoy the arch. The scenery at the arch is truly fantastic. You can venture out and "go through" the arch and see the sheer wall behind the arch. Since Utah is the Beehive State, don't miss all the beautiful "beehives" in the vicinity of the arch.
Your final stop in Arches will be in the Devil's Kitchen. From here you can make round trip hikes ranging
in length from half a mile to six miles. It's less than a mile from the parking lot to the longest
know arch in the world, nearly as long as a football field and at it's thinnest section the thickness is less
than six feet. From Landscape Arch a primitive loop trail takes you to wonderful views of Finn Canyon and Double O
Arch. The return trail is extremely interesting; beware, there is a spot that can be tricky after a recent rain.
As I said at the beginning, this is just a listing of the highlights of Arches NP. There are numerous other sights
that you will see along the way. On days when you can get a car to the Klondike Bluffs, you will find
this an interesting area with unusual formations and several enjoyable trails. Remember, always carry water in Red Rock
Country if your hike will be over an hour and the temperature is above seventy-five degrees. And, of course, the photo to the right is the world’s most beautiful arch, DELICATE.
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Scenic Highlights: CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK
There are three very distinct sections to Canyonlands NP; The Island, The Needles, and The Maze. To drive from the Island to the Needles is 110 miles, from the Island to the Maze is 160 miles and to drive from the Needles to the Maze is an astounding 210 miles. Yet, if you were George Washington, you could throw a silver dollar from the Needles to the Maze. This gives you an idea of just how rugged Red Rock Country can be. It would be impossible to say which of the three sections is the most beautiful because they are so distinctly different. The Island is the only section which can be toured by car. You can enter the Needles section by auto, but to see the most beautiful portions you will need a sturdy pair of legs, and unless you are a hardy backpacker, a Jeep will come in handy. The Maze is extremely remote and can only be entered by 4WD. I visited Canyonlands NP for over thirty years, before I finally made it to the Maze for a six day exploring and camping trip. I still consider that the biggest thrill of my life.
Let us start with the Island. You enter the island on a hundred foot long rock neck only about forty feet wide
with thousand foot drops on either side. The Island is a strip plateau one to six miles wide and
twenty miles long. From the island down to the next lower level in the park, called The White Rim, averages
1200 feet. The Island's paved road takes you to numerous viewpoints along its twenty mile stretch. A fabulous
view is the Shafer Trail overlook. This old cattle trail is now used by Jeeps to travel between the Island
and the White Rim levels. It is an amazing sight to see it zigzagging down the sheer cliff of Kayenta and
Wingate Sandstone and ending in the sloping Chinle sands of Painted Desert fame. Other exciting and
beautiful stops are at the Washer Woman (a natural arch) from where you can see the Colorado River;
Monument Canyon, with its rock spires, at the tip of the Island; Green River Overlook, from where you can
see Cleopatra's Chair in the Maze’ and Upheaval Dome, one of the most fascinating and colorful events in all
of Canyonlands.
The debate still rages over whether Upheaval Dome was formed when a salt plug pushed up
from 10,000 feet below, or the fury was caused from above by a large meteor striking the high plateau. Whichever
the case may be, the beauty lies there for everyone to see along a scenic half mile walk. Another beautiful sight
to behold is a glorious sunset from the western side of the Island. A grand trip to make on another day is around
the Island at the White Rim level, by Jeep. This is a 155 mile round trip from Moab. While I have made this
trip several times in one day, it's a real push. It's much more enjoyable to take two days and spend the night
camping on Murphy's Hogback. The drive along the Green River and then up the switch backs of Horsethief
Trail is something you will long remember.
The next section of Canyonlands NP we’ll explore is The Needles. This section of the park is in much older rock formations. It contains two arches that are second only to Delicate Arch in the rival park. The first
is called Angel Arch and was reached by a fifteen mile Jeep trip down Salt Creek. I recently read where the
extreme environmentalist obtained a court order to close Salt Creek to Jeeps. Now most humans can no longer enjoy a major
piece of natural park beauty, which of course was the purpose of the National Park in the first place.
Most of us believe the National Parks were established for all citizens, not just a select few, who rarely
work, and therefore have time to make extended backpacking trips. However, to my knowledge, the kooky ones have not
yet made it impossible for us to view the fabulous Angel resting against her harp, but only on a post card.
The second famous arch in the Needles is Druid Arch, below right. This arch is so named because it resembles the
famous Stonehenge on the Plains of Salisbury in England. Back in the early 1950s when Bates Wilson discovered this arch it was believed that Stonehenge was built
by the Druids. It’s a 5.4 mile trek back to Druid Arch, first going up and over famous Elephant Hill, and then dropping into Elephant Canyon for the remainder of the hike. Take lots of film along, some of the views along this path are nothing short of breathtaking. Four of the twenty-five photos I took on my last hike to Druid are shown below. If you have a Jeep, another fabulous way to hike to Druid Arch is start by Jeeping to Chesler Canyon, then hike through the Joint Trial to Chesler Park, then down to Elephant Canyon and slowly up it until your reach The Arch.
If you are lucky enough to have a Jeep, you may want to take it over challenging Elephant Hill. This will be a real
thrill. After The Hill, two major destinations are Chesler Park and the Confluence Overlook. Chesler Park is
beautiful and if you have a little time, hike to it through the Joint Trail. This is a two to four foot crack in a
rock about 60 feet deep and about one-fourth mile long. At the Confluence Overlook, where the Green and
Colorado Rivers come together, you can look across the river and see the Doll House in the Maze section of
the park. I’ve been describing the beauties within the park, but even if there weren’t a park to enter, the last
fifteen miles of Utah route 211 would be worth the trip. Don’t miss Lavender Canyon and the North and
South Six-shooters on your left, as you travel northwest on route 211, and again on your right when you leave the park.
The final section of the park, The Maze is the section of the park which relatively few people have ever seen.
The Maze section itself is extremely varied with all kinds of formations to suit everyone’s taste. If you are
hungry you can enjoy the “Chocolate Bars”; if you are tired you can sit in Cleopatra’s Chair (it truly looks
like her chair); if you like music you can listen to Bagpipe Butte; if you are brave you can try navigating the Maze (please don't get lost as many have); if you are tired you can sleep in the “Doll
House”; and if you feel ambitious, you can hike an old Indian trail 1200' down to the Colorado River near Spanish Bottom.
As you Jeep around on the Big Ridge seeing the sights below, be prepared for a thrill a minute as you descend down Flint Trail past Bagpipe Butte, and have your teeth rattled on some really rough going in Teapot Canyon on your way to the Plug, the Wall and finally the Doll House campground. If you cannot afford the time and money to make a week camping trip into the Maze, you might want to give some consideration to a scenic flight over the area from Canyonlands Airport. Maybe the pun is intended, but the Maze is truly an amazing sight from the air. All Red Rock lovers should have the opportunity, at least once, to see such things as the Buttes Of The Cross, the Chocolate Bars and most of all, the namesake, the Maze of canyons themselves, from the air. |
Endless Beauty: The Sights Surrounding Moab
Capitol Reef National Park & Escalante Country
Valley Of Gods, Monument Valley & Antelope Canyon
Canyon De Chelly & The Grand Staircase
Lake Powell, Cottonwood Canyon, Paria River Wilderness
Supreme Beauty: Zion National Park
Not Truly RRC, But Children's Fairyland: Bryce Canyon N.P.
Great Web Pages & RRC Travel Planning ~ Dirt Cheap
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