It took quite a bit of driving just to get to Canyonlands. There are three sections of the park; I came in from the east to Island in the Sky. Once you get past the entry station and gift shop, there's a T intersection where you can go south and look over the Green River Canyon and out to Abajo and Lasal; the north road ends at a crater which might have been from a meteor, or a salt dome collapse, or something. Getting to the crater is a bit of a hike, maybe a mile or so on a fairly steep slope; with the altitude, the slope and the sun, it took a bit to catch my breath after getting to the top. You get to the rim and look down into a bowl with a center peak, all greys and whites, and wonder what could have caused it. There are plaques illustrating what would have happened for the salt bowl and meteor theories. It doesn't show the Mysterious Ancient Mine Pit theory, but you never know; maybe the Anasazi Aztec Atlanteans were into organic mountain salt.
The south end is more impressive, and could be called "Utah's Grand Canyon"--I suspect the main reason it's not as well known is because the Grand Canyon is an short drive from Flagstaff, while Canyonlands is a short drive from nowhere. Just like the Grand Canyon, there are cliffs, then slopes, then another layer of cliff and another slope, ending in a river cut. I stood out on an overhang and held my camera over the cliff, the sort of experience which makes you dizzy even when you're clinging to rock.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment