The Mighty Five in Utah- 2- Arches, Canyonlands, and nearby

After a good night of resting up, we continued with our drive to Arches National Park. Please read about the other National Parks we visited prior to this here.

Some amazing rock formations greet you as you enter this park. The drive up the mountain is very impressive and you are left awestruck with the size of the structures. 

Dramatic clouds added to the mystery in this photo.

The Broken Arch

Broken Arch

Sand Dune Arch- a short easy hike led to this.

Sand Dune Arch

The hugely popular and famous Delicate Arch!

Delicate Arch

I loved this juniper against the Skyline Arch.

Skyline Arch

Another popular and iconic structure from this park- Balanced Rock!

Balanced Rock

Red Rocks were appearing in my dreams by now! The crimson color is everywhere and it leaves you feeling so earthy and grounded!

Fairly close is the fifth and final National Park on our list- Canyonlands! Each of these parks have such varied landscapes and leave you amazed by the geographical diversity even among the common Red Rock theme!

The earth splits up and offers awesome views of the numerous canyons.

Mesa Arch at Canyonlands- yes, you can find some arches here as well!

Mesa Arch

Another view through the arch- the drop on the other side.

Once again, the canyons, and the terrain around it.

What an incredible planet we live on!

This area is just one part of this huge park. We did not visit the Needles and other areas.

Note the mesas, or tabletops in the distance.

Nearby is the Dead Horse State Park. This is a very beautiful overlook of the Colorado river winding through Canyonlands National Park.
I did not know the story about the history of the park, and on reading it on a plaque at the viewing point, I felt really sad. Wild horses would be killed here by rounding them up to this section surrounded by the river, they would then have nowhere to go, and would eventually die. Why has man always sought to prove his superiority over other creatures by using cruelty as a tool!

More of the amazing landscape!

A lone juniper - so beautiful- this one begged me to draw and paint it, which I did.

Some other interesting sites nearby that were on our list before heading back to Las Vegas included the Newspaper Rock Archaeological Site. 

What a beautiful name to a treasure trove of petroglyphs! I cannot imagine why anyone would vandalize it with graffiti. People, please heed the slogan - Leave it as you found it, or Leave no trace!

Then there was the Natural Bridges National Monument.

Once again, stunning rock formations, this time formed by the action of water on white Permian sandstone. There are three bridges, and here are two of them.

I love these natural bridge formations wherever I see them. Something about the connections bridges form.

We were to visit Antelope Canyon and had a reservation on one of the prime time tours. However, it rained a lot that day and the tour got cancelled. You can see the cloud gathering the previous evening over the classic silhouette of Monument Valley!

We spent a night here at the lodge and enjoyed the views from our cabin.
These structures brought a lot of joy and made us marvel at everything our beautiful planet has to offer!

The Mighty Five in Utah-1- Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef

Last year, close on the heels of our visit to New Mexico, we decided to take on the Mighty Five in Utah! The arid landscape and the rugged red rocks looked really enticing when I checked out online what we should expect and how we should plan the trip. We put together an eight day itinerary packed with plenty of must see places, and made reservations in advance to some popular hot spots.

Arriving in Las Vegas at the end of September, one did not expect the temperatures to touch 100 degrees F. Adding to that, we had some delays getting our rental car. Armed with snacks and water picked up from a nearby Costco, we started out on our road trip.

The first on our list was Zion National Park.

We had to park near the lodge and use the shuttle to get around the park. One of us wasn't feeling great and it was another warm day, so he chose to stay at the lodge and rest. My son and I rode the shuttle all the way to Temple of Sinawava, and took the short hike there along the river.

We saw some rock climbers and greatly appreciated the grit and determination needed for this kind of activity. 

Some lovely wildflowers were along the hiking trail and added cheer to the already beautiful trail.

The river cascades down some rocks at one point, and it was a great place to relax, get hydrated and enjoy some snack bars and nuts.

Checkerboard Mesa, one of the star attractions of Zion National Park. It's unusual line formations give it the name.

After a day of checking out the park, we checked in at our pit stop for the night, it had this gorgeous sitting area to relax after a long day.

Early next morning after breakfast, we headed towards Bryce Canyon National Park. We first encountered this sign- Dixie National Forest, with some lovely rock formations around it.

Cars made their way under this bridge formation.

We finally arrived at our destination!

Natural Bridge, at an elevation of 8627 feet was an attraction outside of the iconic amphitheater area.
Gorgeous Aspens with yellow leaves added to the charm.

The Amphitheater!

The red rock hoodoos are just mesmerizing!

Wind and water have played their role in shaping this rock into these towers and they give an impression of carved structures like the ones you find in ancient stone carved temples in India!

One last parting shot of the amphitheater area!

We decided to call it a day here and headed back to our hotel for the night.

The next morning called for a drive to Capitol Reef National Park, the third of the Mighty Five! On the way, we had to pass through this enormous expanse of land - Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument.

Photographs do not do justice to the terrain in this area. You have to drive through it to believe it!

The landscape opens up to vistas like the one below, or there was one stretch where only the road was the highest point as the mountain sloped down sharply on either side. It was an amazing experience and I did not take pictures! Some things demand that you simply open up your senses and take it all in. Sometimes, the eyes capture moments like no camera can!

We finally arrived at  Capitol Reef National Park!

The filigree work on this rock is a good example of how the elements work on these hard structures and eventually shape them into unbelievably beautiful hoodoos, or spires, or towers, or what have you!

One such wind and water carved out section.

These formations have aptly been labeled as Castle,Temple, etc. This one below is the Egyptian Temple.

As you exit the main section of the park, there is a wall on your left that has some beautiful petroglyphs. I took a good amount of time exploring this area. Prehistoric people reaching out to us through their art that they displayed on these mountains.

The dream of becoming an archaeologist way back when I was in school came back to the fore after spending time here.

I would love to find out what these drawings mean, and I plan to look for more information. 

Please read the next post to catch up on the next two parks we visited along with other state parks nearby.