Canyonlands, UT (by Sylvio)

1/23/12

Sunday we awoke in Dove Creek, CO in our motel room.  There was about 4 new inches of snow covering the truck.  We got on the road quickly after filling up our thermos' with free coffee in the lobby, under the glaring gaze of the miserly motel owner.   

Soon we crossed the state line into Utah.  We were then leaving the Rocky Mountains and entering the Canyon Lands.  This is an incredible area of red rock canyons, creeks and craters out in the desert.  We stopped at another roadside attraction: this one was a giant stripped mountain sticking up into the air, but what really set this one apart was the cave opening that we could see from the road.  So, we stopped.  After jumping the cattle range fence, entering the cave and taking Marcie’s requisite multitude of pictures we started to walk back to the truck.  As we walked we noticed that there was a police cruiser parked next to us.  Oh shit!  If there is one thing that ruins a good time it's a cop.  Luckily, it was only coincidence that Officer Porky was parked there trying to catch speeders.  So away we sped...

... Into The Needles section of Canyonlands National Park.  This remote part of the park was unstaffed and thus free!  The drive in was about 40 miles of breathtaking scenery until we got to the Squaw Flat campground where our hiking trail started.  At first Marcie did not want to start a 7-mile backcountry hike that late in the day (11am).  But, we went anyway.  The hike was through Squaw Canyon, up over the mountain separating it from Big Spring Canyon and looping back to our truck.  I have to say, I’ve done a lot of hiking and this one was right up there with Half Dome at the top of the list of my outdoor experiences (See Photos).

So back at the truck we drove back out through the park stopping at Newspaper Rock where there are magic symbols inscribed into the rock by ancient man.  These petroglyphs are over 2,000 years old and still as clear as they were on the day that those prehistoric Picassos carved them.  So significant!

Almost forgot... on the way out, near the park boundary, we saw a western mule deer on the road ahead of us.  As we slowed down to let it get off of the road we noticed that there was a bunch of deer in the bushes.  The more we looked the more we saw; 10, 20, 30 deer, until there must have been around 100 deer in a giant herd up on this high desert mesa!

Then, on to Moab, UT.  Stopped at the Moab Brewery for dinner and drinks with an old friend, Hot Karl Krebs!   Portions were huge, service was slow, beer was excellent, especially the Black IPA.  After dinner Hot Karl invited us back to his place at the Outward Bound house for more beers, dominoes, and a bed to sleep in.  Thanks Hot Karl!