canyonlands

After a delicious early lunch at the Quesadilla Mobilla (a food truck with the most delicious quesadillas ever), we set off to explore Canyonlands National Park. I have to say, I liked it a lot better than the Grand Canyon. There were spectacular views, like you might expect, but it wasn't nearly as crowded, and there were plenty of things to do that weren't just standing at the edge of a really big hole (though there was plenty of that as well).

We visited the Island in the Sky section of the park, which is the closest to Moab. Our first stop was the visitor center, where we looked at exhibits and talked to a ranger and used a bathroom with funny signs intended to keep non-Americans from pooping on the floor (seriously). Just across from the visitor center was an overlook with a spectacular view, so we climbed around a little and even saw a lizard.

Next stop was the Grand View Overlook, probably the most crowded place we encountered in the park. Again, really great views, and we could see for a long way. We climbed up on a rock and took pictures, and we even got some other random tourist to take a family picture.

After a couple more stops at overlooks, we finally got to get out and stretch our legs on the half-mile trail to Upheaval Dome. A word about national park trail signs: They lie. Case in point: the trail to Upheaval Dome. Half a mile, right? So we had gone for only a few minutes when I saw this sign saying the overlook was .3 miles away. Yay, I thought, this won't be so bad after all. HA! Maybe it was .3 miles as the crow flies, but for us it was half an hour of climbing and zigzagging and climbing some more. It wasn't easy, but eventually we got to the top, and the views were totally worth it.

The last stop of the trip was another hike, this one to Mesa Arch, which has a — you guessed it — fantastic view. By this time, we were dragging a little, by which, of course, I mean that I was dragging. Mike was fine (naturally) but the boys were pretty tired too. Apparently we weren't moving fast enough, because these two women in their early twenties passed us twice (once on the way there and once on the way back), but instead of just passing us on the left (we moved over to the right side of the trail to get out of their way) they took a wide berth off the trail, which is very, very bad because a single footprint can destroy dormant plants that have been there for hundreds of years. Mike and I were irritated, but Liam was incensed at their callous disregard for the nature they were ostensibly there to admire. The only time they weren't in a hurry was at the arch itself, where they kept everyone else waiting while they took slow panoramic shots of each other posing on rocks. Sigh.

In the end, being really tired (hiking at high elevation is hard!) and getting sunburned (sun at high elevation is hot!) was worth it, because we really did love the park. I would say it was definitely Mike's favorite, and is tied with Mesa Verde in my mind.