Canyonlands National Park, Moab, UT

This is the first 2 day stay on the trip.  It was really nice not to have to pack up and check out before heading out to Canyonlands.  Of course, we stopped for our lattes at a drive-thru espresso bar.  It was a small shack in what used to be a parking lot.  No way to go inside, 2 windows - one on each side - to order coffee.  The owner offered us free coffee if we bought a T-shirt.  None interested us, so we had to pay.  But the coffee was fabulous!  What a way to start the day!

Next stop was the Visitor Center at the Park.  It's amazing how much construction is happening in this part of the country.  Judging by the number of tourists we've encountered, I guess that the visitors to all the parks are up.   The visitor center was smaller than normal because they are adding on.  I like to buy gifts and things at the visitor's center because the money goes directly to the parks, and they can use any help they can get.

We bought a CD for a self-guided car tour, and started on our way.  Canyonlands is pretty different from Arches.  There are lots of sheer cliff walls and canyons to view.  Also, along the road was a wonderful high mountain "pasture" where domestic animals used to graze.  Since that is not allowed anymore, the native grasses are coming back for the deer and bighorn sheep, as well as all the little chipmunks, birds, etc.  It was quite a site!  We began the drive, stopping at view points and doing the short hikes to the overlooks.

OK, today I realized I'm out of shape...  How do I know?  Well, breathing like Darth Vadar was my first clue :-)   Some of the hikes had steep inclines or steps to get to the overlook, and of course, we didn't want to miss the sites.  So, up we went... Dave did much better than I did.  He was taking lots of pictures, I was scanning the horizon for bighorn sheep (when I wasn't gasping for breath).  I didn't have much luck although there were some fantastic sights.  About 3:00 PM, we started talking about food, so we knew it was time to leave.  Came back into Moab to a little Mexican restaurant for a margarita and wonderful Mexican food - not Tex Mex, which I've never gotten used to.  Cheese enchiladas, rice and beans.  Hmmmm... maybe that's part of the reason, I'm out of shape!

Today was the hottest day so far.  I think the temps were in the low 90s, and it was a clear beautiful blue sky.  It's still clear and hot at 7:15 PM.  I forgot that last night was the full moon, so I need to get out tonight and see it.  I'm sure it's spectacular here because the night skies are so dark... I'll give you a report tomorrow.