Canyonlands aka. Island in the sky visitor center. It's a small one but i get all the information that i need
view right in front of the visitor center
we started early, they ranger suggested us to do some hiking trail while the weather is still cool with the morning breeze
so we did, we went to Murphy Trailhead and did the easy trail which is the Murphy Point overlook which is 1.8 miles which is not too bad
the trail is 90% flat land so it;s not so tiring
we were the 1st hikers of the day
after a 30 minutes hike in we finally saw some view of the canyon
desert lizard
plants that grows in this desert area.
Plants here endure poor soil , infrequent rain, intense heat, strong winds and because of these challenges , seed only grow every few years
This means the desert plants recover very slowly from any disturbance. So leave as less print or mark as you can when visiting national parks!!!!
getting near. the temperature get high real fast, luckily we brought enough water and my scarf
as we gets nearer to the Murphy point the path was less visible but luckily there are stone cairns
to lead the way
we built a few too...hehe
took us about and hour to reach Murphy point
the view is slightly different from the Grand Canyon, where you see valleys but here it was more vast
finally, we found a spot with shade to sit, relax and enjoy the view
a moment of peace, the view of ours and ours alone
if you don't like crowds and noise, this is the place to be...away from tourist
another place where u can get nice view without having to hike for hours is the Grand View Point
it looks like a giant print of a very very big dinosaur
ranger explaining the geographic of the land,
i was biting my lower lip, looking at him so animatedly and standing so near to the edge of the cliff
this overlook area also does not require any hiking
beautiful panorama of Buck Canyon
next is Upheavel Dome, another place where the ranger suggested us to check it out.
We just went to the 1st overlook which was only 0.5miles but was tough because it's a uphill all the way
we kind of missed the 1st overlook and walked slightly future which was the way to the 2nd overlook an additional 0.4 miles
we turn back when we saw someone at the 1st overlook......i'm too tired to hike till 2nd overlook
for the almost same view
i guess we overlook this giant stone cairns
@ 1st overlook
Scientist propose that Upheavel Dome is either the remnant of a salt dome uplift or the site of a meteorite impact
going down
our last stop Shafer Canyon
the road going down is Shafer trail, travelers can descend to these 100miles White Rim road that continue a legacy of exploration and survival as they follow historic pathways through the desert canyons
long time ago the native people likely used this route to travel from Mesa to the Colorado river.
then in 1950s the uranium boom changed the face of canyon country forever. The Shefer trail was upgraded to accommodate trucks hauling mining equipment and ore.
Abandon mining road can still be seen in narrow scar across the desert floor
one last look
We only had half day in Canyonlands before we have to drive back to Salt Lake City before night fall and leave the next day.
There was another hot spot that we skipped which is Mesa Arch, we decided that we seen enough of arch :) now looking back i guess we should at least did a quick stop. oh well can't see all!
overall i am so happy that we decided to visit 4 national parks for this 1 week trip, the time we had was just nice and we explored all the places that we set out to see. There is just too many things to see in Utah alone 360 degree of places of interest. I guess we just need to do multiple trips.
i think we enough of national parks for this year. ill our next adventure
~ bye ~
