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 #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.

 

Utah #1: The Road to Arches

Why on earth do I live on the east coast?

This is the question I was asking myself as my sister and I made our way to Moab, Utah. From the moment we left Grand Junction, Colorado we could not stop gasping and squealing in awe. The west is magnificent. As we rolled along Interstate 70 and then the Upper Colorado Scenic Byway, we left our stress behind and simply enjoyed the view. Perhaps, we stopped too many times for pictures, but what is too many times?

I made my sister take a picture of this truck.

In a short while, we crossed over into Utah.

A fellow traveler pointed out this burrowed owl. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be excited about this.

I don’t know what this is, but I found it fascinating.

The open road turned along the Colorado River.

As Route 128 winds its way into Utah, it’s called the Upper Colorado Scenic Byway. With few other cars on the road, we had the luxury of taking silly shots like this one.

And this one.

The drive west took us deeper into canyon country, with gorgeous red cliffs rising around us. Sometimes I had to force myself not to stop or we’d never make it to Moab. 

Arches, Here We Come!

It’s been a very busy month, and I am a negligent and very out-of-shape blogger as a result. But that’s going to change soon (I hope). This Tuesday, I head to Utah to hike Arches and Canyonlands National Parks with my sister.

We planned this trip months ago – back in 2015 – and it turned out to be a very good thing. Nearly every hotel in Moab, Utah is sold out. Apparently, we are not the only ones who thought hiking Southern Utah over Memorial Day Weekend was a good idea.

Here’s how we planned our trip.

We are flying into Grand Junction Colorado Tuesday night, the closest airport to Moab, Utah, the hub of activity and lodging just outside Arches National Park. We found a cheap Courtyard Marriott near the airport for $125. We are renting a car from the airport and will drive the stunning one-and-a-half hour drive to Moab Wednesday morning. We are staying in Moab for four nights, our base to explore Arches and Canyonlands through Sunday evening. In Moab, we chose the Fairfield Inn and Suites because it is the closest hotel to the park and one of the nicer options. Even back in December 2015, the rooms at the Fairfield were going for $250 a night so I signed up for the Marriott Chase credit card and used 50,000 points to pay for my half of the nights (25,000 points a night). Sunday night, we will drive back to Grand Junction, where we will sleep in the same Courtyard Marriott before our crack-of-dawn flights Monday morning.