Geology Rocks! - Arches and Canyonlands

I'm going to warn you up front - there are entirely too many pictures in the photo album for this post. I just couldn't help myself.  You should go here and look through them all.

I left off last time with our departure from Mesa Verde and our drive north toward Moab, UT.  Over the course of the next 2.5 hours, we passed out of the mountains and lush green of irrigated wheat fields and into the multi-colored rockscape that would be the backdrop to the rest of our trip.

   
Near dark, we turned into the driveway of the Castle Valley Inn, our home for the next three nights.  It's not often that I recommend a hotel or B&B, but this place was amazing.  We would go back to Moab just to stay here again.  The drive up the Colorado River Canyon from Moab to Castle Valley is worth the trip even if you don't stay at the Inn.  If you do decide to stay, get a bungalow.  The view from our porch was spectacular.

We spent the next day exploring most of Arches National Park (map).  We started at the south end of the park at Park Avenue.

Then, we worked our way to the very north end of the park stopping for photo opportunities and short hikes.  Along the way, we stopped at Balanced Rock,

Turret Arch,

the Windows,

and the Fiery Furnace

before ending at the Devils Garden Trailhead.  There, we started a 2-mile hike to Double O Arch

with stops at Skylike Arch,

 Pine Tree Arch,

and Landscape Arch.

We also had great views of the surrounding valley from the ridge-top trail.

The only stop we didn't make during our day at Arches was the hike to Delicate Arch.  We wanted to enjoy a night back at the Inn watching the sunset from our balcony, so we headed home from the park early with a plan to come back the next day to finish.  We picked up a few groceries for supper, then settled into our patio chairs to watch the sunset agains Patriot Mesa.

The next morning, we ventured out to Canyonlands National Park (map) at the recommendation of our Inn keepers.  As always, the recommendations of locals are always the best!

We made our way to the Grand View Point (good name, huh?)  There, we went on one short hike, of which I would recommend the first half.  The views from along the trail and from the numerous viewpoints were breathtaking, especially with the snow-capped mountains in the distance!  We took several breaks from our hike to sit at the edge of the canyon and just enjoy the view.

We managed to sneak in a stop at another arch, Mesa Arch, while in Canyonlands as well.

We headed back into Arches at about 4 pm.  We figured this would give us enough time to slowly make our way to the Delicate Arch trailhead with plenty of time left to make the 2-mile hike before sunset. We made a quick detour to stop at Double Arch, which we had missed the day before (oops!).

Then, hit the trail for Delicate Arch.  The landscape along the way was spectacular, and the storm brewing over the mountains in the distance just added to the scene.

We made it to our destination just before the sunset and staked our our spot in what was the perfect natural auditorium.  All we needed was popcorn!

We each took turns walking around the area.  Chris even rescued a terrified Chinese lady that had gotten stuck on the wrong side of the arch!  Such a good guy.

Once the sun had set, we took our time getting back to the car, and had a little photographic fun along the way.

 

The next morning, we took our time getting packed up, enjoyed a cup of coffee

and a stroll through the grounds of the Inn, and relished one last home-cooked breakfast before we hit the road for a LONG drive through Utah.