Tuesday May 28, 2024 we were up at 5 am and out the door at 6 am to drive to Canyonlands National Park. As I mentioned in our first post for this location, Canyonlands National Park was just to the west of our campground. If we could have entered at the canyon wall next to us, we could have walked into the park. However, the ENTRANCE to the park was about a 45-minute drive from where we were camping. We had to make a horseshoe-like drive to get to it. As my dad used to say, “Going around your elbow to get to your nose.” Or something like that.
As usual, we were glad we arrived early as the place was filling up by the time we left there around 10 am.
Canyonlands National Park
On September 12, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation establishing the Canyonlands National Park. But as you look at the photos in the album for this post, I want you to imagine that instead of the beautiful and awe-inspiring rock formations…you see the area covered in water. Because that’s what COULD have happened if not for one man’s vision.
On a flight over this area in the early 1960’s, Bureau of Reclamation Chief Floyd Dominy showed Interior Secretary Stewart Udall where he wanted to build the next big dam. It was just below the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers. The dam would have filled what is now Canyonlands with water, covering all these beautiful sights, views and rock formations. Thankfully, where Dominy saw a reservoir, Udall saw a national park.
Canyonlands National Park is the largest of “The Mighty Five” in Utah with 337,598 acres of land and water. The Colorado and Green Rivers naturally divide the park into three major areas; Island in the Sky, The Needles and The Maze. We toured the Island in the Sky district because it was the closest to us. The other two were just too far and, in the case of The Maze, too desolate for a truck drive.
As with our other visits to national parks in Utah, the mountains and rock formations are just indescribable in words, so I hope you’ll get a little idea of how beautiful and magnificent they are by looking at the photos in this post’s album. And the video below.
On the way back we stopped in Moab and celebrated National Hamburger Day with 1 cent Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers from Wendy’s for lunch. Not great, but you couldn’t beat the price! When we got back to Nomad we turned on the battery-powered fans to try and mitigate the 89 degree temps. Since we’re dry docking we have no power or water except for our batteries and water tank. Thankfully there was also a nice breeze off the nearby lake to help keep us from evaporating.
Wednesday we took the day off. That way we would be rested and ready for our second day of driving/hiking through Arches National Park on Thursday. Please join us in our next post for that and the wrap up of our stay at Ken’s Lake Campground.
