Traveling Through Utah

 

Colorado Postscripts-I must have used the word stunning multiple times to describe the scenic beauty of Colorado. The ginormous (yes there is such a word)  tree lined mountains, bubbling streams and rivers,  yellow leafed aspens and steep canyons were just breathtaking. It was good to see Bryan as he shared his "little piece of heaven" living there.  

And he gifted his dad with his favorite Colorado hat. 

And yes I do need to mention food all was good, especially Red or Rainbow Trout, a popular menu item. 

Utah-Plan A 

We started out with good intentions to drive to Arches National Park in Moab. Driving through Utah certainly is a stark contrast to Colorado scenery. The landscape is rocky with more of a desert terrain. The elevation is much lower than Colorado at some 4,000 feet.  We got to the park at noon and found out it was closed for two hours. Seems so many people were there they ran out of parking places. We heard for last 40 days straight this has occured. Guess a lot of people are not sheltering at home. 

So after a bit of research we went with Plan B  Canyonlands and wow what a great decision that turned out to be.  

Canyonlands National Park located in southeastern Utah is known for its dramatic desert landscape carved by the Colorado River.

Island in the Sky is a huge, flat-topped mesa with panoramic overlooks. The area is popular with tourists for hiking and camping. Enjoy some of these stunning images. It was hard to even capture the real beauty of these massive rock views  As we drove through the extensive area I imagined this is what it might be like to drive along the bottom of  the Grand Canyon. 

Needles 

Petroglyphs dating back some 2,000 years. Rock etchings were very detailed.

It was interesting to note depending what direction you were facing the color of sky was a different shade of blue.

Rabbitbrush Desert Chyrsothamnus

Plan B was a winner in our book! perhaps Arches was overrated anyway:)

UP NEXT A brief last stop in Sedona, AZ