I have to say that Canyonlands was my favorite park so far - a completely different experience than Arches, at least for people like us who aren't capable of serious backcountry excursions. Arches was more about getting up close with a weird and otherworldly landscape, but Canyonlands is about jaw-dropping desolate vistas on an unimaginable scale. At Green River Overlook, I was completely overwhelmed by the layers upon layers of rock levels cascading off into the distance. Canyons so far away and so large that it becomes completely impossible to measure distance and scale.
We were limited to just the "Island in the Sky" section of the park, but that was enough. Steph and I made a half-mile jaunt to "Mesa Arch" which is an arch on the edge of a cliff - look through it and you see the canyonlands beyond. Again, very cool to be able to go right up to the edge. After a nicer picnic lunch (outside this time under a little shade) I took the short but very tiring walk up to the Upheaval Dome overlook - long story - it's a big hole in the ground with fantastically jagged rock and scientists can't seem to agree on how it got there.
Pictures can't do any of it justice. It was all just too big for the mind to process, let alone a little digital camera.
Faithy wondering why we can't go back to the RV and watch TV
Green River overlook
Steph at Mesa Arch
Shafer Canyon/Shafer Trail Overlook - look closely, in the center of the picture is mom!
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