Goodbye Utah

After Canyonlands Island in the Sky we had a choice. We could go down to the Needles section of Canyonlands or head back to Colorado. There was a chance since it was Thurs. that we could get into our favorite Rifle Falls campground without reservations whereas if we came back on Fri. we would almost certainly not get a spot.

Colorado this year was spectacular. We are having one of the best falls ever. Long, lazy, warm and loads of color in the trees. As a result we voted for Colorado and said goodbye to Utah.

Packing up at Horsethief.

The dogs enjoy a last hike on the trails.

View point on the road.

Scenic drive out on 128.

More of the 128 scenic drive.

Dead Horse Point State Park

As we left Canyonlands we decided to check out Dead Horse Point State Park even though it was close to sunset. I am really glad we did. I loved, loved, loved Dead Horse Point State Park and it wasn't just because they had flush toilets with running water at the sinks. :-)

The visitor center was excellent. The employee who answered our questions at the end of the day was cheery and helpful. She made us feel very welcome and gave good tips. The trails all over the park were open to walking the dogs. The only ones they weren't allowed on were the dedicated mountain bike trails but still plenty of options with good scenery.

Our neighbors at Horsethief campground gave us the brochure for this place and highly recommended it. We also highly recommend it, especially if you have dogs or want to see alot of great scenery without spending the day driving through the national parks.

Canyonlands - Island in the Sky

Canyonlands National Park has three sections. We did the Island in the Sky portion and rented the audio CD tour from the visitor center. I thought it was better than the one for Arches.

 We were pleased to start off our day with overcast skies. The temp. was very pleasant.

 View from the area across from the visitor center.

Bird that is trained to wait for human's to fail and fall down. Then he eats.

Area where bird was waiting for human's to fail at. Steep stairs that they must ascend in the heat when it is hot.

 There is a 4 wheel drive road that takes two days to explore for those who would like to.

 This arch was great. It looked like you could stand under it when you approached it but when you got close you saw it had a steep drop off to the other side.

 View out the other side of the arch.

 

Approach to the arch. A mother sent her kids up here to get a photo. After the photo when she walked up she was horrified at the drop off and called them back immediately.

 Really interesting sunken areas in the valleys.

 The air was very clear so you could see for many  miles.

 Blossom enjoys some time out at a picnic area.

The sun was out as we took one last picture before leaving the park.

Horsethief Campground BLM Utah

Lucky for us Nina from Wheelingit (one of our favorite RV blogs) had been to the area before. They recommended Horsethief as their favorite campground in the area. It is also a BLM campground and in a very convenient location for Canyonlands and Dead Horse State Park.

We got a great site from many great sites.

They have hiking trails out into the desert right from the campground.

Sometimes they were easy to follow. (Notice the cairns along the trail.)

Blossom did pick up some cactus spines that we had to pull out.

She didn't let a little thing like cactus keep her from exploring.

The dogs think critters went under these rocks.

Sometimes there was no trail and you had to navigate by the cairns. It was a little challenging but loads of fun.

SR 279 - Indian rock art

We decided to transition to a new campground for Canyonlands but the drive wasn't very far so added in a scenic drive along state route 279.

There was some very accessible (right along the road side) Indian rock art on SR 279. It was a pretty drive for the rocks and other scenery also.

 The rock art was located in two locations, both with big signs so easy to find. This last panel above was a little hard to find with all the contemporary graffiti around it.

Scenic drive.