Part 8: Hiking Professor Creek

Part 1: Road to Arches
Part 2: Arches Galore
Part 3: Delicate Arch
Part 4: Hiking Dead Horse Point
Part 5: Canyons For As Far As The Eye Can See
Part 6: Waking Up At The Crack of Dawn To See Dawn
Part 7: Into The Fiery Furnace

With two national parks so accessible from Moab, it’s easy to ignore the rest of the surrounding area. But do so at your own loss! There are so many interesting sites and activities in the Moab region. From kayaking, to bike riding, to paddle boarding, to more hiking – there is something for everyone.

Our last day in Moab, we decided to wander off-the-beaten track. Our google research turned up the Professor Creek Hike (AKA Mary Jane Canyon), an 8 mile out-and-back hike through a small stream bed, deep into a canyon, and ending at a waterfall. When I say through a stream – I mean that literally. You WILL get wet. We found it impossible to stay dry, and 10 minutes into the hike, just gave into to the adventure.

At the same time, I recommend wearing some kind of sneaker and/or hiking shoe. The stream bed is very rocky and requires some maneuvering. You do not want to expose your toes to open rock, and some ankle support is helpful. We wore our regular sneakers and threw them in the wash when we got home from our trip.

Our sneakers at the end of the hike.

As we started hiking, we marveled at the natural beauty and the sense of solitude we felt. The cold water sloshing on our feet was refreshing as we melted under the hot sun.

This incredible structure overlooking Castle Valley is called the Priest and Nuns, for the obvious reason.

About a mile and a half into he hike, the canyon walls start to rise. They continue to rise until you are hiking through a narrow slot which provides generous shade.

The hike ends when the stream bed collides with a sputtering waterfall. At that point the water is quite high.

Part #6: Waking Up at the Crack of Dawn to See Dawn

Part 1: Road to Arches
Part 2: Arches Galore
Part 3: Delicate Arch
Part 4: Hiking Dead Horse Point
Part 5: Canyons For As Far As The Eye Can See

We were determined to see sunrise at least once on our Utah trip. Really, really determined.

So we set our alarms for 4 a.m. We snoozed once, cracked our eyes open, and groaned.

“Do you want to get up?” I mumbled.

“Whatever you want,” my sister mumbled back.

I contemplated closing my eyes and falling into an oh-so-tempting sleep. And then I thought of those magnificent pictures of Utah’s arches ablaze in the rising sun you see in every gift shop, and I said, “let’s go.”

Spoiler alert: My pictures do not look like the famous photos you see in National Geographic. Sigh. I think we misjudged exactly where the sun would be relative to the arches. That, and I’m not actually a professional photographer. But waking up at the crack of dawn is a good way to get pictures of Moab’s famous arches without a throng of tourists in the way.

You can see the moon!

In order to get a shot Turret Arch framed by the North Window, I had to do some tricky climbing to a spot behind the Windows. Probably not the smartest thing, but I survived in one piece.

And of course, goofy, I’m-exhausted-and-can’t-be-held-responsible-for-my-actions pictures.

Part #5: Canyons For As Far As the Eye Can See

Part 1: Road to Arches
Part 2: Arches Galore
Part 3: Delicate Arch
Part 4: Hiking Dead Horse Point

Canyonlands National Park is home to, well, canyons. It is much larger than Arches and much less populated. The park offers many hikes, mountain biking trails, and off-road routes. But we were dead tired after our hike around Dead Horse Point State Park, and all I really wanted to see was Mesa Arch. Mesa Arch is one of Utah’s famous arches, dressing the walls of many a Moab hotel (including our own).

You might be wondering, how many pictures can one person take of a single arch? Wonder no more. The answer is: A sh*t ton of pictures. That’s how many.

It’s a short quarter of a mile hike to the arch. Calling it a hike is a bit generous, but it is uphill. And then all of a sudden – bam – there it is. Miraculous and captivating. By mid-afternoon, the sky had turned a stormy grey/purple which made for a dramatic scene through the window of Mesa Arch.

After Mesa Arch, we made a short stop at Grand View Point Overlook before heading back to our hotel. I’ve seen a lot of canyons in my travels, and sometimes, they blur one into the next. But Grand View Point Overlook offers a unique view of Canyonlands. We were exhausted, but it was definitely worth the drive.

Part #4: Hiking Dead Horse Point

Part 1: Road to Arches
Part 2: Arches Galore
Part 3: Delicate Arch

On our second day in Moab, we headed west of Arches National Park to Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park. Dead Horse Point State Park is a hidden gem. It’s not one of the major national parks advertised in all the magazines, but it’s beautiful and feral, and we had it all to ourselves.

Once we entered the park, we got a map from the visitor center and settled on a five-mile loop around the park. The hiking is easy to moderate at an altitude of 5,900 feet, but little elevation change. The most difficult part of the hike is the constant maneuvering from cairn to cairn, with the occasional rock scramble. As we hiked, we were rewarded with vast and stunning views of the Colorado River as it winds its way through never-ending canyons.

As we set out, the first thing we noticed was the electric blue water in the distance. It looks supernatural, almost like an alien colony. Sadly, it’s not that exciting. The blue water is a potash mine. Miners pump water into the ground, bringing potash ore to the surface in a potassium-filled brine. As the water evaporates,  salt crystals form. The water is dyed a bright blue to speed up the evaporation process, which takes about 300 days. Dark water absorbs more sunlight and facilitates evaporation.

That’s a lot of science when I really mean to say, the views were amazing. The electric blue water contrasted brilliantly with the deep red canyons and the occasionally stormy clouds.

My love affair with Utah’s stark, half-dead trees continued. As did my sister’s teasing laughter.

A little less than halfway through the hike, we reached Dead Horse Point – the point where the Colorado River curves around the canyon. The sweeping views are breathtaking. (As an aside, “breathtaking” describes pretty much every single sight on our Utah trip to the point of being utterly trite.)

A picture of our faithful cairns. There’s a very good chance we would have hiked straight into the canyon without our trusty cairns guiding us. They were not always easy to spot!

Dead Horse State Park is a short 37 minutes from Moab and on the way to Canyonlands National Park. If you’re looking for a strenuous calorie-burning hike, Dead Horse Point will fall short. But if you want to have a massive canyon to yourself while getting some moderate exercise, this park will hit the spot.

 

Next Trip: Arches Here I Come

It’s been a couple of crazy weeks in the day job. For a while there, my next trip hung in the balance, a casualty of the political calendar and court decisions. I kid you not. On the bright side, everything has ironed itself out, and my Memorial weekend plans are still a go.

My sister wanted to go to Iceland, but the stress of an international trip was overwhelming. So we settled on Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in southeast Utah. I have already been to Zion National Park in southwest Utah, but have always wanted to see the magnificent arches in the east. I also liked the idea of planning a trip around exercise, instead of coming back from vacation feeling like the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Arches National Park

Canyonlands National Park

Can you say AMAZING???

Grand Junction, Colorado is the closest airport to Arches National Park, but it can be quite pricey to fly in and out of. And those prices jump up around a holiday weekend. No surprise there. I managed to find a flight from Reagan National Airport to Grand Junction on United for only 12,500 points. This was a steal considering flights were three-hundred dollars-plus for one way.

On the way back, I decided to cash in my Citi Thank You Points which can be redeemed on American Airlines at 1.6 cents a piece. I found a $415 flight that cost me only 25,975 Citi points. Not only will I earn miles on this flight, I’ll collect four segments on my path to Gold status on American.

We plan on doing a bunch of hiking in Arches and Canyonlands, including the ranger-led Fiery Furnace hike. Fiery Furnace is a three-hour rock scramble through beautiful terrain in Arches National Park.  The ranger-led hikes through the unguided labyrinth is limited a small group of people per day. We booked our tickets months in advance, and our tour date is already sold out with three months to go!

Some of the stunning rock formations we’ll get to see on the Fiery Furnace hike

There are no lodging options within Arches National Park. All lodging is located in the anchoring city of Moab. The choices are not overly exciting – a range of low-end, overpriced hotels. My sister and I both applied for the Marriott Chase credit card, now offering 80,000 points per card. We’ll use these points to book four nights at the Residence Inn in Moab.

It’s still three months away, but I’m so excited to go hiking out west again. As much as I love traveling to far-flung locations, a low-key, outdoor trip is exactly what I need after an intense political season.

My excited dance, special for all the Pretty Little Liar fans out there