Packed up and said goodbye the Moab KOA and headed out to the Needles
District of Canyonlands. On the way we stopped at Newspaper Rock, which is on the road that leads into the park’s south entrance. This is an area of rock where you could see petroglyphs that are estimated to be 2,000 years old. Petroglyphs differ from Rock Art, in that the symbols are “pecked” into the stone with another stone or tool and hammer, and Rock Art is painted onto the rock surface.The road into the Needles District is very long, but the scenery is really different than most of the parks. One side of the road has high sheer cliffs that form a wide banded ridge. The texture of the rock reminds me of a cake that has been frosted in strokes from the bottom up.
The other side of the road has vast plains, with gigantic red sand dunes topped by a mesa and rock formations. As you travel further into the Needles, you get to the formations for which this section is named, that being the red and white striped fins, mushrooms, and needles. The only way to get closer to the needles is to take a 4x4 road or a very long hike.
We stopped in the Visitor’s Center to get our passport stamped and for the kids to hand in their Jr. Ranger booklets. The Ranger on duty asked them many questions about what they learned while in the park, and about why the National Parks must be protected. They received their 4th Jr. Ranger badge without much fanfare (as compared to other VC’s) and had to state the ways they were going to help protect the parks.
Now it was off to the short (.6 mile RT) Cave Spring Trail, which was really neat and featured an abandoned cowboy camp and a couple of examples of rock art under one of the rock overhangs. The trail also features two wooden ladders that you have to climb to get up on the top of the rocks. Even though it was hot, the kids agreed they liked this trail.
Driving to Big Spring Canyon Overlook, we soaked in the vistas before heading back out to the Pothole Point Trail. This trail takes you over slickrock that is pocked with depressions called potholes. There were thousands of potholes, and they were all dry. There was a wonderful breeze up on top of the rocks, and the views are amazing.
We don’t have Potholes like this in NY!! Potholes are formed because the rock erodes unevenly, and depressions are made by windblown sand grains and pebbles, which continue to scour the surface deeper. Rainwater collects and continues to dissolve the cementing material. In the early spring and late summer, rain fills the potholes and allows life to spring back. Eventually some potholes trap enough sand and organic matter to allow plant life to grow.
On the long drive to the South Rim we got to see Mexican Hat, which is a balancing boulder on top of a rock formation that resembles just that. The hills in the background were very pretty, with large wavy stripes of color.
Monument Valley offered some interesting views, and is used a lot for the background in many western movies. The day was really hazy, and a balmy 102 degrees, so some of the pictures will probably reflect that.
Rather than stop at the KOA, we shot straight to the Grand Canyon to check it out and catch the sunset. Managing to make it to the South Rim by 7 pm, we parked at the Desert View observation area which is the first area when coming in the park off of state road 64. Located at Desert View is a 70 ft. stone building called the Watchtower, which was designed by Mary Colter after the towers found at ancient pueblos such as Meda Verda and Hovenweep. Climbing to the top, we took in the views at the highest elevation point on the South Rim at 7, 522 feet. There were fires burning on the North Rim, and the smoke filled the whole canyon with a haze. Hopefully not all the detail of the canyon will be lost, but surely the panoramic vistas will look hazy.
Hopping in the car, we drove to Lipan Point, where we caught a glorious sunset, despite the smoke from the fires. The weather here is so much more reasonable, right around 86 degrees at 8pm. We may even be able to have a camp fire tomorrow night!
We finally rambled into the KOA around 10 pm. Another days travels over.
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