Another Planet

*New critters we’ve seen on our 2009 trip so far: beavers, groundhog, prairie dogs, big horn sheep, buffalo (bison), white tail deer, chipmunks, pronghorn, burros, pika, moose, Uinta ground squirrel, mountain goats, mule deer, fox, moose, black bears, elk, grizzly bear, wolf, longhorn beetle, otters, northern whiptail lizard, jackrabbit
*New birds we’ve seen on our 2009 trip so far: wild turkeys, osprey, western meadowlark, mountain bluebird, sandhill cranes, Canadian geese, American white pelicans, trumpeter swans, killdeer, bald eagles, golden eagle, common merganser, great blue heron, raven, yellow-headed blackbird, Brewer’s blackbird, brown-headed cowbird, double-crested cormorant, Clark’s nutcracker, common goldeneye
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2009 trip so far: 21
*State Parks visited on 2009 trip so far: 2

We have made very few changes from our original itinerary that we put together back in Jan. Unfortunately, the need to arrive in St. Louis a week earlier than originally scheduled led to some last minute changes to our trip. We were originally scheduled to go to Mesa Verde NP and Arches NP after visiting the Grand Canyon and returning to St. Louis through Colorado via I-70. We now plan on heading to St. Louis via I-40 after leaving the Grand Canyon. This unfortunately required the cancellation of our trip to Mesa Verde NP and decreased the number of days we will spend in Arches NP and Bryce Canyon.

The drive from Salt Lake City to Arches NP (http://www.nps.gov/arch/) was enjoyable and uneventful. We pulled in to Arch View Campground after our 228 mile drive at about 3pm. Our campsite was a long pull-in affording a spectacular view of the Windows section of Arches NP (photo at right). After setting up camp and having a bite to eat, we decided to drive to the Arches Visitor Center to gather literature, maps, and information. We were shocked by the bright red canyon and vertical cliffs that we found ourselves in almost immediately. We commented that we felt like we had landed on Mars. It may not be what Mars actually looks like but sure looks like the perception that we grew up with of the big red planet. We gathered the info, took in the park movie, and decided to drive into the park and enjoy some of the short hikes and numerous lookouts. We ended up driving about 10 miles into the park and enjoyed the scenery until dusk.

The next day we drove the entire 20 mile length of the park road stopping at Petrified Dunes Viewpoint, Courthouse Towers Viewpoint, Fiery Furnace Viewpoint, and Panorama Point along the way. We did the short trail around Balanced Rock, another short trail leading to a view of Delicate Arch, and a 3 mile roundtrip trail leading to Landscape Arch, a 306 foot long span arch. We spent most of the day in the park, returning to the RV for dinner, and then again to the park at sunset to do some stargazing. With an elevation of nearly 5,500 feet and no nearby city lights, the opportunity for stargazing in this area is second to none.

On Tues. we headed 25 miles west to Canyonlands NP (http://www.nps.gov/cany/). This is another one of a kind geological gold mine. We spent the day in the Island in the Sky section of the park, one of three distinct sections and the most easily accessible. After checking in at the Visitor Center, we headed out to Grand View Point Overlook and took in a ranger talk on the geology of the area. In spite of the heat, we took four different short hikes totally about 3 miles enjoying beautiful overlooks at Buck Canyon, Mesa Arch, and Upheaveal Dome.

That evening was again spent stargazing and preparing our rig to move on down the road to Torrey, UT. With our visit to Arches and Canyonlands, we are now Junior Rangers at 3 national parks!