A Kid at an Ice Cream Smorgasbord

Friday, August 5

Today I planned to recon both Canyonlands and Arches national parks. Since I have never been to Canyonlands and it was closest, I went there first. I expected to take a few photos for future reference then move down the road to Arches. I didn’t get to Arches. WOW! Is that place amazing? You bet it is. I have one word to describe today:

StupendouslybreathtakingviewsofaweinspiringvistasofMotherNature’shandiwork.

 

 

 

Some fun turns

At least 1000 feet down.

What is the pucker factor of that dirt road?
Rex no go there, maybe I'll bring Mack here and try it.

Apparently an innocent graffiti, these rock cairns abound.

I considered using the metaphor like a kid in a candy shop but felt my description needed to be more extreme. So, like a kid at an ice cream smorgasbord, I couldn’t stop taking photographs. It begins just across the road from the Island in the Sky visitors’ center. I was hooked from the first press of the shutter button, pulling into every turnout for more photos as I went on.

One particular formation was so enticing I hiked seven-tenths of a mile and 300 vertical feet in 95-degree heat just to see it and get MORE photos. Today’s final tally was over 275 photographs. Geez, at this rate I will need another terabyte. Don’t worry; I won’t bore you with all of them. I was able to edit these down to 48 images I really like and pare those down to 11 for this blog.

Oh, and the ride was fantastic also, offering smooth, clean roads with lots of sweeping, high-visibility turns. Please enjoy, for I surely did. Tomorrow it is Arches! (the Pie Shop)

Looks like Monument Valley.

The only local resident I saw.

This tree has been added to my 'gotta come back' list.