So Canyonlands is 3 separate areas
separated by "The Rivers"--
The Needles, Island in the Sky, and The Maze.
The Maze requires a permit to hike--
it's a huge maze of slot canyons and structures
that is really easy to get lost in.
We explored The Needles our first day.
So guess what--
today we headed to Island in the Sky.
We did all the work for our Junior Ranger badge
on Monday,
so we stopped to get sworn in to start our day
Dad found a "Perfect Day in Island in the Sky"
hike planner online with lots of hikes
exploring all the areas of the park.
It looked like our kind of itinerary!
First up: Mesa Arch
It's know for the way it glows at sunrise.
We aren't sunrise people
but we still thought it was beautiful
even in the late morning light
The views in general were awesome--
lots of mesas and cliffs
carved out by the rivers below
We did feel a bit like we were on an island
Next up,
we ventured down to Grand Overlook.
Definitely deserved some pictures
We shimmied down a little path
to an outlook that hung out over the canyon a bit
It was a great place for a snack
And a picture
Not pictured--Jack.
He didn't like the heights
It was rather high
So we wandered back up to a "safer" spot
for a group pic
One of the lesser-known trails in this part
was the White Rim Overlook trail.
It was about 2 miles roundtrip
and many hikers swear it had better views than Grand Overlook.
Sounds good to us!
The views definitely did NOT disappoint
See??
Mema, Pappo and Jack
stayed a bit higher up,
away from the cliff
It didn't take long until we reached the end of the trail
Pappo stopped to marvel
and so did Mom
and Dad wandered allllll the way out
to see this
Pictures don't capture it
But we tried
Some stayed back from the edge
but Dad, Beck and I went
all the way out
THAT was a good hike!
Our next stop on the itinerary
was a quick stop at Green River overlook
for some lunch
and then a short 1 mile hike
to Upheaval Dome
Cool, huh?
They don't know how it got here--
either a salt dome that bubbled up
or a meteorite that crashed down.
We like the meteor theory.
Our next hike was the most anticipated hike of the day--
Whale Rock
It's theoretically a 1 mile hike
to the top of the sandstone dome.
We weren't sure that we'd go all the way up
but it was worth a try.
It started innocent enough
and then us boys decided to ignore the cairns
and blaze our own trail up the side of the dome.
Can you see us?
Wes is above the arch,
Beck is in the shadow in the middle of the picture
and I'm trying to figure out how to follow them up.
Weston made it up this way
but Dad may have had to rescue Beck and I.
But eventually,
we got there
Eventually,
we ALL got there
(Mom said the cairns were really easy to follow)
and wow, were we glad we did.
Again, it's hard to capture this.
It was AMAZING.
We felt like we were at the top of the world.
For some perspective,
can you see the tiny white dot
to the right of center in the picture?
That's our truck.
A long way down there
and we had it all to ourselves.
The view was breathtaking
A bunch of us
decided to venture over to the next hump of the whale.
It took some scrambling!
It was so cool.
We needed some top-of-the-world
action shots!
Beck
Wes
and me
How about all 3 of us?
We enjoyed our jumping and scrambling
while Mom, Pappo, Mema and Jack
just took in the view
And what a view it was
After a bit,
we shimmied back down the dome
and headed for our last stop,
Shafer Point
to watch the sunset
This time,
we watched its rays move down the canyon,
making the cliffs glow as it set
Another good spot for a hard earned drink
Not as spectacular as Arches's sunset,
but still worth the stop
and the awe
What could possibly top off another
unforgettable day of hiking?
An unforgettable night of stargazing
from the hot tub.
We may never go home.
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