Stardate 2016.414

Island In The Sky And A Dead Horse
Snowcatcher and I continued our adventure with a trip to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. Dead Horse Point, which is on the way, always gets a visit too. In fact, we were going to mountain bike some of the Intrepid Trail System while at Dead Horse Point. Disappointedly, the weather put the kibosh on that plan. On the other hand, we enjoyed playing sightseer for the day. The below shot is a view to the southeast from Dead Horse Point.



Dead Horse Point legend is a bit gloomy. So, either read on, or skip this paragraph. Local lore has it that cowboys rounded up wild horses and herded them across a narrow bit of land out onto the point (Dead Horse Point). Being only 30 yards wide and surrounded by cliffs, the narrow neck was easily corralled with wood and brush. The cowboys would select their wild horses and leave the non-chosen penned up without water. Eventually the penned horses died of thirst. On a brighter note, the views downriver are outstanding! The Princess Plume (Stanleya albescens) was in full bloom as well.



Dead Horse Point and Island in the Sky tower 2,000 feet above the Colorado River. Farther south, the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers lies deep within the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. From Dead Horse Point, Island in the Sky has many views, including a windowed portal.




Thunderstorms began approaching from the south by mid-morning.



This is one of the numerous Colorado River goosenecks found throughout canyon country. The river flows left to right. The road at the bottom of the pic is the Potash jeep road. It connects with the Shafer Trail Road from below. Shafer Trail is accessed from the top. Either road provides access to the remote reaches of the White Rim 4x4 Road.




The storm inched closer...



The storm quickly overcame us, and we drove an hour down to Moab to grab a bite to eat at Zax's Wood Fired Pizza. Better yet, Snowcatcher and I enjoyed our first date at this restaurant after a road bike ride through Arches National Park years ago. We enjoy eating here when in town, but the first date anniversary makes it a specially nostalgic locale. After lunch we took on a poppymallow excursion. The poppymallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea) was at peak, and we savored numerous massive patches of orange all across the desert.




Here's today's parting shot from Moab — enjoy!




I have one more blog post to go on this most recent adventure.

Adios