Arches National Parkis one of those places that you have to see in person to really grasp how amazing it is. There are over 2,000 natural Entrada Sandstone arches, in addition to all of the other magnificent rock formations.
This is an easy park to get to; it’s only four miles from Moab, Utah. Get there early, though, because the parking lots fill up fast. We were fortunate to be on a bus and not have to worry about that.
The explanation of how these arches were formed over 300 million years is too involved to explain in this post, but it is quite interesting. Check it out here.
For now, I will just leave you with my favorite photos from the day, beginning with a hike we did on Park Avenue. No, not that Park Avenue!
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
This was the most unique bathroom stop ever! And, yes, it really is carved into real rock.
Continuing on our journey, we stopped to see John Wesley Powell Museum, in Green River, Utah. Powell first explored and mapped the area in the 1870’s. The museumis located on the river, and they had a lovely walking path we wandered along to take in the views of the river.
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
Shot from the bus window on the way to Dead Horse Point State Park
Dead Horse Point State Park was our next stop; and, yes, the “dead horse” was delightful! The park gets its name from a rock formation that looks like a horse, when viewed from up above at a distance. We took in the spectacular views from the visitor center, which had an attractive walking path with beautiful blooming cacti and trees all around.
Can you see the horse? It’s a profile, and the ear is in the upper left quadrant.
On a clear day, the visibility from the viewpoint can reach nearly 100 miles. It was hazy off in the distance, but we could see snow on the mountain tops. There were also a couple of bright blue pools that seemed completely out of place. They were solar evaporation ponds for a mine owned by Intrepid Potash, Inc. Potash is potassium chloride, a salt found in the Paradox Formation. Salt deposited from ancient seas made up this formation as it evaporated and was buried by other sediments.
Off in the distance, you can see the bright blue pools.
Water is pumped down into the formation to dissolve the salt. This salt water is then pumped into the shallow, vinyl-lined ponds. A blue dye is added to speed up evaporation.
Finally, twenty-ton scrapers, guided by lasers, harvest the dry salt. A local refinery transforms this concentrated form of potassium chloride into plant fertilizer.
I was truly baffled, seeing this in the middle of a state park. I didn’t know what to think…
Green River Overlook was our last stop in Canyonlands. At 6,000 feet elevation, it provided a great perspective of Green River down below – especially since we had walked along the riverbank earlier in the day.
We continued on to Moab, our base for the next two nights. Moab Diner had good ratings on Trip Advisor, and I enjoyed a tasty, fresh salad there; so, it deserves a shout-out and my last photo of the day.
Elaine-iaK's Travels: A Traveler's Tales of People, Places, Photos, Pools... and CHOCOLATE! 