Canyons and Arches

Thursday 6^th June – The weather is warming up now and we head off in bright sunshine. Our destination is Moab in south-east Utah, nearly 250 miles, so we press on with few stops. We drive through the Wasatch Mountains via Price River Canyon. There is coal here, and we are in an area of prominent sedimentary strata, with fewer trees. The vegetation cover is known as PJ forest – pinyon-juniper forest, with lots of sagebrush. From here there are many interesting features to see -  Beckwith Plateau, Book Cliffs, Roan Cliffs and Green River. Rob, our tour manager, has set the scene of the palaeogeography and geology of this area, stretching down to the Colorado Plateau.

By about 2pm we have arrived at our first destination, Canyonlands National Park, and it’s very hot (90 F?). There are several roads through the park leading to viewpoints and notable landforms. We go first to Island in the Sky, a promontory from which there are panoramic views. 

Before us unfolds a land of red sandstone cliffs, weathered slopes, rock pillars and deep canyons. Partway down the succession of strata a white rock layer gives rise to a shelf known as White Rim. We can see the Green River, winding its way south to meet the mighty Colorado. We are mesmerised.

No time to wilt. Our final destination today is Arches National Park, the highlight of our tour – the one park Tony was yearning to see, after several previous visits to the US. It is now 4 pm, and we have got on and off the bus for numerous photo stops, but it is slightly cooler. Although the rocks are similar -  bright red, massive horizontal sandstones – they have weathered into numerous arches and other weird edifices. The arches form at various heights by weathering along a bedding place at the base, and then develop upwards in an arc. We saw Delicate Arch from a distance, 

the Windows,  Balanced Rock (a monolith) and Petrified Dunes. Finally we walked up to Double Arch, where two arches combine – like looking up into the ceiling of a huge cathedral. 

Many of the arches are inaccessible from the road and can only be reached by trails, but Tony was reasonably satisfied by what he saw. The park would benefit from at least a day’s visit.

It was nearly 7 pm before we reached our hotel in Moab, a busy town surrounded by huge red cliffs. It is a beautiful hot evening and we have a good meal and welcome beer at a restaurant and brewery, Eddie McStiff’s.