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| Running Path |
After giving the seedlings a good drink of water, I head to
a running/mountain bike trail that Chris told me about. I had a great time running (very slowly) on
the twisty, rocky path! It has breathtaking
views of mountains and rock formations the whole way (well at least for the very
few miles I was able to cover)! Trail
running is definitely a little different from road running! It takes a lot more focus to keep yourself on
your feet! I think I could definitely get
used to it though!
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| Upheaval Dome |
After my trot, I headed to the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands. When I was there in September, I wasn’t able
to find a parking spot at the trail head for Upheaval Dome, so that was my
first stop on this trip. This time
around I was the only person in the parking lot and on the trail! After a short hike I got to the first
overlook. Upheaval Dome is unlike anything
else in the area. It is a large dent in
the ground that is grayish instead of the orange-red of most of the sandstone
around here. From my understanding,
there are two main theories as to how Upheaval Dome came to be. The first theory is that there was an inland
sea that dried up. Then, rock formed
over the salt. Then, the salt started to
push its way to the surface through the rock.
After it surfaced, the salt eroded away leaving what we see today. The other theory is that a meteorite hit that
spot about 60 million years ago. I prefer
the meteorite theory! After a slippery
and somewhat treacherous hike down some wet and snowy slick rock (aptly named)
I got to the second lookout. It was an
even more dramatic view and delightfully sheltered from the wind, which made it
the prefect sport for lunch! After gazing
at Upheaval Dome and the vast and breathtakingly beautiful views surrounding
it, I headed back up the slippery section (luckily it’s much easier to go up
than down on this particular surface).
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| View from my lunch spot next to Upheaval Dome |
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| View from Whale Rock |
After Upheaval Dome, I headed back to a favorite place from
my Moab adventures in the fall. I took
the short, but amazingly scenic hike up onto Whale Rock. I must say, this is may be my favorite spot
in the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands! Once you get on top of the “whale’s”
back, there are totally unobstructed, awe-inspiring views in every
direction! It’s an extremely peaceful perch
from which to marvel at and contemplate the vastness of this wild and beautiful
land!
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| Delicate Arch |
After stopping at several overlooks (that really made me
want to go down into the canyon and explore the features I had a bids eye view
of), I headed back towards Moab. I
decide to hike to the upper Delicate Arch viewpoint (in Arches National Park)
at sunset. I had the pleasure of having
a private show of the sandstone lighting up as the sun set! It’s amazing how a little detail, such as the
angle of the sun, can make an already stunning view even more glorious!
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Island in the Sky
section of Canyonlands
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Island in the Sky
section of Canyonlands
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