Dead Horse point, Canyonlands, and Arches.
Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands and Arches
Upon our arrival at our campsite, setup was quick. We had access to electricity only. We were really looking forward to being in one place for three nights. The first thing we did was put our bikes together and ride the one mile to the end of Dead Horse Point. The park has done a great job setting up safe viewing areas as well as many picnic tables.
We rode our bikes back to camp and cooked a fish taco dinner. We drove the distance for sunset at the point. We had to bundle up a bit as the temps were dropping fast. We enjoyed a nice sunset.
The next morning, we cooked eggs and hash browns before heading into Canyonlands National Park. We took a few short hikes/walks to take in the incredible views of the canyon. We visited the famous Mesa Arch along with a steady crowd of folks. We took a lesser-traveled trail back to the car and basically had it to ourselves. We ended our time in Canyonlands collecting stickers, park stamps, and postcards.
Mesa Arch (not at sunrise!)
We went back to the trailer for lunch, rested a bit, and then drove over to Arches National Park. This was our fourth trip to Arches, so we made a special point to stop at the spots we hadn’t seen before. We hiked a short one-mile uphill trail to a viewpoint of Delicate Arch from the backside (we had hiked the front side in 1992 and then again with the kids in 2002). We then visited Devils Garden Campground. These sites are truly special, and if we return to Moab, we will try to get a campsite. We ended our time in Arches high up on a sandstone overlook, where we enjoyed cold chicken and grapes for dinner while waiting for the sun to set. It was cloudy, windy, and chilly, so we moved on before the sunset. We played a quick game before calling it a day.
Saturday was our day to just relax around the campground. We did a three-mile hike along the east and west rims of the point. It was a nice walk with multiple stopping points and overlooks. We enjoyed turkey larb lettuce wraps for lunch and griddled pork chops, sweet potatoes, and steamed broccoli for dinner.
Sunday morning was our departure day. We had to delay our departure until noon to avoid some predicted snow on our route to Salt Lake City. Luckily, none of the freezing precipitation manifested during our drive. We had some heavy rain and low visibility in areas, but overall it was a good drive.