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Arches and Canyonlands NP
Somehow, 5 days in Moab just isn’t enough to see this amazing area. And you better make sure you have a large capacity memory card for your camera since there is an amazing picture every time you turn around. Here are just a few of them.
At Arches, we visited Delicate Arch, subject of a separate post. Then we did an evening/sunset view at Two Windows. It is just amazing how the setting sun colors the cliffs! And yes, it really does get that red.
At Canyonlands, we hiked up Upheaval Dome, a very unusual formation. It is still unknown what caused the unique formation: an eruption? a meteor strike? In any case, a wonderful view. And at Mesa Arch we caught the sunlight shining under the arch, very unusual. Finally, a short walk to Grand View point gave some amazing views.
Two Windows from a distance
Looking through North Window
The sun is starting to color the rocks. And the moon is up…. and I’m avoiding any other comments.
Yes, it really is that bright red!
Looking through South Window, clouds on the horizon
Early morning, looking towards Park Avenue
The sun is starting to light up the cliffs
The three gossips are waking up
The sun is striking the underside of Mesa Arch
A view under Mesa Arch
Romola on her way up to the viewpoint. It’s a 1000 foot drop right and left….
Overview of Upheaval Dome
A closer look at Upheaval Dome
Reflecting the clouds in a rain puddle
Grand view… what else is there to say?
And more Grand View
And even more Grand View
Canyonlands National Park
Although we’ve been to Moab before, we’ve never been to Canyonlands NP so it was high time we went. We left mid afternoon so we could get late light, especially because I hoped to get some sunset pictures. We took our sunset pictures at the Green River overlook, and although the sunset was not the most spectacular, we got some nice pictures.
We started at Grand View, aptly named because the view is just spectacular. You look down into the valley below, and further into the canyons carved by the Colorado and Green rivers. We stopped and hiked at several locations to get as much in as we could.
Another short hike took us to Arch View. Pictures of this Arch are some of the popular sunrise photographs that you will see all over Moab. Although not as spectacular in the afternoon, it still was quite a site to see this arch, perched right at the edge of a 1,000 ft. drop off.
But I think for us the most spectacular view was of Upheaval Dome. To get there, you have to traverse a short but steep climb, at which you are greeted with an unusual sight. Inside a huge crater is a strange upthrust of greenish rock. In fact, popular theory has it that this was a meteor, hence the crater and the strange colored rock found nowhere else.
Anyway, if you have a chance to visit Canyonlands, do it. It’s worth the trip.
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- Finally, the sunset is painting the sky
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- Dramatic monument, sunset, and shadows
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- Every view seem better than the one before
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- The sunset is beginning to color the cliffs
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- The strange upthrust in the middle of the Dome
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- Upheaval Dome from the rim
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- Looking through Arch View to the cliffs beyond
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- Arch view
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- A view of the Grand View wall
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- Different shape rocks make every view unique
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- And, here Romola is viewing the grand vistas
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- Romola is peeping through a gap in some huge rocks
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- I like the look of this solitary tree against the enormous background
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- Another look into the canyons
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- A closer look at the formations in the canyons
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- Looking down from Grand View into the canyons
Our visit to Canyonlands NP was spectacular.
