Canyonlands

Canyonlands

From Aspen our journey takes us westward. After an overnight stop at a lovely little State Park in Fruita, where the escarpment gives a hint of things to come, we take advice from a number of folk, and follow the sign pointing to Cisco and immediately wonder at the wisdom of the decision. Cisco is a deserted collection of derelict buildings and abandoned pieces of machinery, the road is narrow and potholed and the surroundings barren and deserted, except for the oil pumps working away to bring their ‘liquid gold’ to the surface.

However, after turning towards Moab, our destination for the day, things change dramatically for the better. The road is much improved, numerous prarie dogs stand guard to witness our passing, a group of pronghorns graze unconcernedly beside the road and the scene ahead begins to change rather spectacularly. Very soon we find ourselves once again joining a now much bigger Colorado River as it descends through one of its many gorges en route to the Grand Canyon.

The river at times passes below towering, colourful cliffs while at other times through broad, open valleys sporting spectacular rock formations as it meanders rather placidly past the south eastern boundary of Arches National Park. The river here provides a gentle introduction to rafting and kayaking and we see a group which specialises in adventure activities for the less able launching five well laden rafts for what appears to be an overnight expedition.

Moab…a town that grew out of the mineral boom, died as the minerals ran out, rebirthed on the establishment of the National Park.  Now, you just name your adventure…canyoneering, hiking, renting a jeep or an A(ll)T(errain)V(ehicle), go rafting, rockclimbing…someone in Moab will have the equipment and the people to get you going.  Don’t worry if you haven’t brought your gear – you’ll find it somewhere along the shopping strip.  That’s if you can get past the restaurants and souvenir opportunities! It’s a great place to meet like-minded folk, all of whom are here for an adventure of their choosing.

 We are now entering into the sandstone country of the Colorado Plateau which takes in large portions of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico - some 208,000 square kilometres in all. These sandstones were formed many millions of years ago beneath a huge inland sea, by sedimentation in large lakes, or from massive compacted wind-blown dunes which were then thrust upwards by up to three kilometres by massive tectonic plate activity. From there varying forces of nature have shaped them into features such as Arches National Park, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon.

 Arches National Park sits upon a bed of salt up to one kilometre thick in places which, under pressure from overlying sediments, became liquid and thrust rock layers upwards into domes which were then fractured by faulting. Wind, water and ice then joined forces, entered these fractures and eroded away the softer layers creating thin, vertical fins, portions of which then further eroded to form the arches, pinnacles and balanced rocks seen today. The processes of erosion are of course continuing and while current arches are eroding away, new ones are constantly being formed.

 From Moab it is only a short drive to the Visitor Centre and entry to Arches National Park and we join the throng of eager visitor vehicles on the steep climb below imposing cliffs to the plateau above. We had planned to begin at the end of the tourist road and work our way back towards the entry but fortunately, following a brief stop at the overview, we are enticed to walk through 'Park Avenue.' By starting early we enjoy the cooler conditions and softer light as we amble leisurely downwards, experiencing many 'WOW' moments which we share with just a few other early birds. If anything, we both find this walk even more intriguing than the famous arches as we sit and gaze in wonder as the towering walls colour up in the early morning sun.

 What we are able to see is largely dictated by where we can find a parking place for our RV - in many places the designated bus/RV areas are full of cars!!! We are able, however, to visit Balancing Rock and a number of arches, including the famous Landscape Arch - an amazingly thin rib of rock which spans one hundred metres. In 1991, a slab twenty metres long, three and a half metres wide and a metre thick fell from the underside of the arch possibly leaving it fatally cracked and emphasising how these features are constantly changing.

“Do you walk for someone at Relay For Life?”  I realise I’m wearing my Cambridge UK RFL t-shirt. Ýes, I do.”  So we chat, the lady from Nebraska and me, about all things Relay, about hiking in the National Park, and other bits and bobs, and then go our separate ways, promising to “remember you at our next Relay.”

 'Island in the Sky' in the northern section of Canyonlands National Park happens to be celebrating its fiftieth birthday on the very day we visit, just in time to enjoy a very entertaining talk by one of the rangers who outlines the political wrangling and local opposition which took place over many years before the area became a National Park in 1964.  'Island in the Sky' sits high above the confluence of the Colorado and Green rivers - which many thought would be the ideal location for a massive dam and this formed the crux of the opposition.  Sadly, we are just a tad too late for a piece of birthday cake! 

 We find Canyonlands, if anything, more varied and interesting than Arches, although to make such comparisons is probably unfair as they are so very different from each other. Perched high above the rivers, atop vertical cliffs which are interrupted at intervals by wide ledges formed by layers of more resistant rock, we join many others in gazing at the vista of canyons, plateaux, mesas, buttes, fins, arches and spires spreading out below as far as the eye can see. All of this is set against a backdrop of pine-clad mountain peaks up to 4,000 metres in height. Wherever we look, our shutter fingers itch irresistibly.

 A popular destination is Mesa Arch, where we hold our breath and wait for twenty minutes for photo opportunities while a busload of German visitors take it in turns to have their ‘look at moi’ photo taken on top the arch which stands above a sheer drop of several hundred metres. 

Geologists still debate the origins of perhaps the oddest geological feature in the park, Upheaval Dome. Was this four kilometre wide depression formed by a massive meteor strike and subsequent rebound of the surrounding strata, or was it perhaps due to the forces exerted by the underlying salt layer as in Arches? The answer may never be known.