Moab Day 1- 7/10/12

Our hike to Dead Horse Point

View from Dead Horse Point- this is the canyon at Canyonlands

We arrived in Moab, Utah safely! Wow, what a difference a day makes. We went from swimsuits all day and frolicking in the water to hiking shoes and Camelback backpacks right away. First of all…Moab is really beautiful. It is full of red rocks towering above the side of the freeway and you just know there is so much more to see on the other side of those rocks. We drove by Arches National Park on the way to our campground which is at Dead horse Pointe State Park. I must admit, it is a little more secluded and remote than I thought it would be. It is only 3 miles from the entrance to Canyonlands National Park but it feels far from everything else. Also, all of the scenic overlooks and canyons that I thought would be right at our campground are actually miles away. The campground is small though with only 20 sites. The visitors center was closed so we just set up camp quickly, ate dinner and then noticed the sun was about to go down. Even though it was 8:00 at night, we were determined to see Dead Horse Pointe, the namesake of our campground so off we went on our hike. The map made it seem like it was only 1 1/5 miles away but when we got going, the signs said 2 miles…then we felt like we were lost because the trail was not marked and we kind of meandered for a while. I think around here, the trails are marked with cairns (stacks of rocks) instead of signs. And of course it wouldn't be a hike without Leah crying over something…this time it was her shoes hurting her. But the views were very rewarding! We are 2000 feet above the canyons of Canyonlands and the Colorado River is below. It is similar to the Grand Canyon but not nearly as deep. Unfortunately, I have no pictures because by the time we got there, it was 9:00 at night and it was too dark for the photos. We then walked back and decided to stay off the trail and just walk on the road…in the dark…with Leah wearing no shoes. We must have looked crazy! Tim did have compassion on her and put her on his shoulders the last mile or so…what a great dad! Finally we were back at 9:45 at night. The latest hike we have ever done! After that it was a quick game of UNO and bed. Tomorrow we head into Moab for some white water rafting on the Colorado River. 4, 7