Today I'm going to take it easy and just explore the last of the National Parks I wanted to see here, Canyonlands N.P. I pick up UT-191 in Moab, UT again and go South to enter the "The Needles" section of the park. Along the way I pass the "Wilson Arch", equally beautiful as those in Arches N.P> and with the sun rising in the East I could not resist to wait for it to break through the arch. It is just my luck this morning that the exit to UT-211 leading to the Park is closed due to severe wash out from the recent rain storms, and a detour south to Monticello, UT and then through the mountains of the Manti-La Sal National Forest is advised. And so I go the extra miles, climbing to almost 9000 ft in elevation and being rewarded with a stunning view over the entire plateau. This detour is worth every mile of those deep slope and winding road, a trip one would easily miss if there wasn't a flood closure. After the run-off basin I pick up UT-211 again and make my way to the park entrance, passing the the Bear Ears National Monument and "Newspaper Rock". As there is certainly some prehistoric markings which scholars are not yet sure what is represents i.e. some doodling, story telling, clan symbols, or ancient graffiti, there are also some modern day markings on the rock which can be easily identified. I enter the park and make many stops enjoying the vistas, the next more stunning than the previous one. Unfortunately it's the same way out as I came in, and joining UT-191 again I pass Moab, UT to enter the Canyonlands N.P. from the north side to view the "Island in the Sky". My first stop is Shafer Canyon overlook, and what a view that is. I refrain from taking the road down into the canyon as I don't have my trusted helper with me in case I drop the bike. So I continue along the Grays Pasture to Buck Canyon, Orange Cliffs, to the Grand View Point overlook. From here to can look to the canyons shaped by the Colorado River over the White Rim in the East, and to those shed by the Green River over the White Stillwater Rim Canyon. Unfortunately are also the sign from early uranium mining exploration and herd grazing and farming still visible, even though nature is doing its best to erase those traces. Also here I have to trace my way back the way I came in.
Even though that this was a day of way in = way out, it was a very spectacular day with lots of surprises. Tomorrow I will finally leave this area, but with the promise that this was not the last visit.
Here some pictures form "The Needles" and on the way to it:
