Day 47: Arches and Canyonlands National Park

Today would be a day of over 300 pictures. I won't put that many here. 

It started with sunrise in red rock country. We camped just north of Moab was BLM land but is now managed as the Utahraptor State Park. Utahraptor is a relative of velociraptor, and was recently discovered in this area, so they are naming their newest park after the dinosaur. The area will have 80 campsites in the future with flush toilets and electrical (rolls eyes). I guess this is the first and last time for this campsite. We like the less structured camp spots but the amount of people over the years is taking its toll so they need to gain control to protect the area. 

BLM also had a dinosaur trail nearby that allowed dogs so we went for a walk to check it out. Although not a National Park, many areas nearby have equally stunning landscapes. We saw many fossilized dinosaurs. The signage was informative. BLM has done a nice job on the displays.

 Unfortunately our appointment for getting into Arches NP was quickly approaching. A new reservation system is in place for Arches NP. Ours was at 11am so we got moving so we could be there on time. When we arrived the line to get in was so backed up. It was a 30 min wait. The reservation system charges a processing fee so even though we have one of those lifetime passes, they still got a few bucks out of us and we got the priviledge of waiting 40 min to get into the park. 

I have to say though that it was not crowded and made for a more enjoyable experience. It was worth the two bucks. I am so glad that I checked the park info a couple of days in advance. About 15 people an hour are turned away at the entrance because they did not get a reservation. 

Once we got in, we were not disappointed. The stunning, massive, rock formations rolled out before us. Delicate Arch was fairly busy with buses rolling up every few minutes. It is, aferall, a very recognizable image.

 We snapped a few pictures and headed for The Windows which were more impressive. Still the parking lot was filled. Kasey went on up to the Arches, about a mile walk, and I drove around until a parking spot opened. I stayed with the dogs with windows down. You can still see a lot from the parking lot. Double Arch was very prominent. 

After Arches, we headed to Canyonlands NP. It is almost 30 miles from Arches. It lies on the Mesa separating the Green and Colorado Rivers which is essentially the headwaters of the Grand Canyon. There is a crazy switchback road that that is called Shafer Canyon. We did not drive it, it looked too much like work. We also didn't have 2 hours to spend on it, but got a good look at it from above.

Canyonlands did not disappoint. It was less crowded and no wait to get in. After seeing all the overlooks, we headed back to our motorhome, fed the dogs and went to town where we bumbled into another brewery. Moab Brewery was very busy, but we were seated right away, got a drink and ordered food. Our food was delivered quickly and was excellent. We were out of there in less than an hour.

Our camping area is quiet and has amazing views of the stars. What a day. 1000 miles to go and we will be home.