Today is a grand day, or at least I hope so as programmed. I believe that you can recognize a good hotel chain by the cure and the cleanness of the rooms, but also of the quality of their breakfast. The Sleep Inn lodges are really good for what concerns breakfast quality, spacey room full of choices, and the classical TV on CNN. The TV always on is typical of Americans, anywhere you go. Its time to get ready, this morning we’re going to Canyon lands National Park, precisely in the section of Island in the Sky. Finally after being at Moab many other times in the pasted years and never managed to go; why for the short time, or for my ignorance. After seeing the photos of this park on internet and on the guides, today finally I will for fill this lack.
The park itself is enormous and for this reason was divided in sections: Island in the Sky at north, The Needles at south and the Maze at west; to these you could add the section of Horseshoe Canyon; with its ancient petrologic. Each part has a different entrance, far away one from the other which dose not permits you to do all within a day. The north side is the most touristy with its entrance a little passed the Arches National Park.; the other section are further away from Moab and to be appreciated you must take aimed excursions. We take our ranch rover and take off along the Main Street; it is impressive to see so much traffic in this lost city of the far west. Since I have last been here, in far 2002, the boarders have been further up widened; a real location built appositely for tourist and there needs. A little gas oil, so we don’t pass the afternoon pushing the car; the gas in the states really costs nothing, to bad that the cars waist so much the convenience is zero. I don’t understand why the cars are so high powered, and if you’re lucky, you can ride a highway at 60 miles an hour.
Fortunately even today is a bright sunny day with a clear visibility; I am already enjoying the panorama of the high mesa of the park. Traveling threw the US191 until we reach the exit of the Arches National Park, this afternoon we will direct along the trail that takes us to Delicate Arch. Finally the exit for Canyon lands a long, curvy, slow street. This takes to the top of the mesa. Along the trail I notice a detour to Dead Horse Point State Park, another pearl of the southwest. In a half hour we reach the parks visitors point where we get the brochure of the park, it seams as you walk in that you are visiting a boutique of natural beauty and this makes them a big honor; always clean and well kept, and mostly quiet and reserved. Nothing to say, there is a very well organization. A quick look at the map to realize there are not many trails in this section of Canyon Lands, but many visit points; this morning we will not walk much. The first panorama that we will meet is in front of the visitor center: the Shafer Canyon Overlook. Quit alarming, with a dizzy precipice; in front of us the opening of the universe while under our feet we see the Shafer Trail winding to the vet.
A small street of dirt that seams hung to the side of the mesa; it’s frightening to think of crossing it, even more to imagine passing near to the border to let another vehicle coming from the opposite side. The particularity of Canyon lands is hat the visit points are almost all free, in the sense that you rarely fine a railing or banister, and the ones present are so low that makes every move a small chill. Getting back in the car and after a few minutes we take off for a short walk that brings us to one of the most suggestive view in the whole southwest, Mesa Arch. It is an excursion of a few minutes on red dirt and smooth red rocks made so by the daily passing of visitors; but once reached and passed the small hill the view is splendid. The pictures and the fantasy are nothing compared to the emotion the reality reserves. a giant arch over us as a frame to the spectacular Canyon lands. On the left well visible Washer Women Arch and cam I say never was a name more appropriate; on the background the tall mesas of the park while the low part you can see indistinctly the White Rim Road and the Colorado River. Just a noisy tourist to interrupt the silence and the spectacular that winds around Mesa Arch; besides that the rest leaves you without breath, amazed of so much beauty. A few steps ahead and the precipice reminds of how we are all uncertain.
It hard to leave this marvelous view; we take our way by car stopping at other overlooks as the Buck Canyon and the fantastic Candlestick Tower. But the real dive in the heart comes at Grand View Point; it is like being on the prow of a ship and you are extended in the middle of a painting made of canyons and mesa, with on the background the Colorado River and Green River on the right. It is devastating and humiliating how the sense of how small we are, the wind in this point is deafening. To bad that the point where the two rivers meet can not be seen, the famous Confluence, the terror of who does rafting because of its strong stream. Time is flying, and this afternoon I have an appointment I can’t miss. We go toward the most famous overlook of the park, the Green River. Situated at the same height of the Grand View it offers tough a marvelous visit on Soda Springs Basin, made of many duct the seams as a hand designed.
e have almost reached the end of the Island in the Sky; the last stop is Upheaval Dome, a type of crater which origins are still being studied; meteor or eruption? The fact is that it’s a small, short rapid trail that takes us to a promontory were you can see strange rocky formations. It’s nothing that great to be honest, but it would have upset me to jump this point so unusual. Well its time to get back. My only regret is that I did not touch with hand all that grace. Meaning that taking nice pictures is always making the same speech: seeing only the overlook creates and insufficient exploration of the park. It would have been better diving in the Shafer Trail or even better the White Rim Road with a stop at Mussel man Arch, it is to say that they are routes only for expert travelers and guides meaning that it is a dangerous territory. It is certain that in a future trip, in this part of Utah, a few days at the Needles section will be a must!
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