Day 2

Day 2 - Monday, September 18, 2017

We leave our hotel in Moab and venture a short ways to the north on Hwy 191 and then turn west on Hwy 313, the Dead Horse Mesa Scenic Byway. This is a very scenic 30 mile drive full of some nice curves and twisties!

A slight detour to the southeast leads us to visit Dead Horse Point, a small Utah State Park ($10 entrance fee per vehicle) covering just a few square miles of land at the edge of the plateau just north of the Island in the Sky region. The main overlook of Dead Horse State Park has a 270 degree vista over the Colorado River and its side canyons, from the bright turquoise tailing ponds of a potash mining complex in the northeast, along the river and south across vast areas of eroded ridges, buttes, pinnacles, and cliffs with the La Sal Mountains in the far distance, then west to the near side of the Island in the Sky mesa and northwest along several branches of Shafer Canon. Plenty of the Colorado River and its corridor of greenery is visible, 1,900 feet below, including one big gooseneck meander close to the viewpoint. The morning sun should be illuminating the rocks to give us some fantastic views and memories. (The scary rock climbing scene with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2 was filmed here)

When we complete our exploration of this small park we venture on to explore a portion of the Canyonlands National Park. This scenic Park is divided into three regions, the Maze is the least accessible region of the Park (which we will not be visiting due to the area's remoteness and the difficulty of roads and trails), the south portion (which we also will not be visiting due to time restraints) is known as "The Needles", and the northern area, which we will explore, is known as the "Island in the Sky".

This northernmost part of the Park is a sheer-walled mesa with commanding views across many miles of deep red rock canyons to the west, south, and east carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers. A scenic curvy drive follows the rim of the mesa, with many pullouts at vistas where we will get amazing views of the surrounding country either beside the road or along short paths, and a good selection of hiking trails. In many places the surrounding country is over 1,000 feet straight down from the top of the mesa.

The scenic drive along the flat land on top of this mesa becomes narrower towards the south as the river confluence approaches. The first viewpoint is over Shafer Canyon to the east. This is a steep drainage containing a rough 4WD track that descends to the Colorado River below. To the west, the land drops away at the head of Taylor Canyon, leaving a narrow strip of land in between (The Neck). The mesa widens again for the next few miles as the road crosses a flat meadow known as Grays Pasture. The next canyon on the east (Trail) causes the mesa to split into two forks, as does the scenic drive. The west road leads past the main campground and an overlook of the Green River, both at Willow Flat, then descends gradually to the end of the mesa at Upheaval Dome. Also near the road junction are two short trails, one trail leads to Mesa Arch, a graceful span of sandstone which frames distant canyons to the northeast, and the other trail to some ancient granaries on Aztec Butte.

The remaining 5 miles of the main road cross a rather narrow plateau, past several overlooks, including Buck Canyon, Candlestick Tower, Murphy Point (requires a 1.7 mile hike), Gooseberry Canyon, and the Orange Cliffs. The scenic drive ends at Grand View Point, which offers magnificent vistas across the Colorado Canyons and the spires of Monument Basin, and the distant La Sal mountains in the east and the Needles district to the south. A further one mile, 20 minute hike southwards along the Grand View Trail leads to the very end point of the Island in the Sky plateau, where the cliffs drop away in all directions, and the canyons of both the Green and Colorado rivers can be seen.

The White Rim is a wide flat plateau halfway in height between the Island in the Sky and the Green and Colorado Rivers below. The best viewpoint of the rim, and of Monument Basin, is by the short White Rim Overlook Trail.

Like Day 1, there are no facilities within the park to eat, so we will have to travel back to Moab for lunch or pack some food with us. Water is available only at the Visitors Center.

Lodging in the Moab area was considered again but it was found that the next day travels became too long so the Caineville, Utah area was selected for the second nights lodging. Caineville ins't far as the crow flies but we need to take a round about route to get there so it is about a 150 miles ride from Moab (or a 2.5 hour ride from Grand View Point within Canyonlands National Park). This will require us to leave the Moab area before sunset and eat dinner on the way to our hotel as there are no dining facilities near our hotel. We head out of the park and head north on US Hwy 191, take a short jaunt west on I-70 and then head south on Hwy 24.

The ride on Hwy 24 between Green River and Cainville is very barren landscape of red rocks and desert and almost looks like you're on Mars... apparently others think so too as a Mars Desert Research Station has been established just northwest of Hankville which is used to train astronauts to live on the red planet! This looks like it would be an interesting place to visit however during the months of September through May they typically close the facility to tours due to the staff isolating the crew within the facility to conduct experiments, etc.

(If the Day 1 weather forecast is for storms or overcast skies I suggest switching the order of the Day 1 and Day 2 travels, as Canyonlands National Park is better viewed during such weather while Arches tends to lend itself better to sunny clear days. Dramatic cloud formations, along with the shadows that they can cast, can add real depth to our photographs. If we are lucky enough to be there during a passing storm we should count our blessings as a storm can produce some spectacular photographs in the vast space of Canyonlands National Park. The vast panoramic views are truly spectacular when a sunbeam bursts out of a cloud. In addition, the color of the sandstone can really intensify when it is wet.)

Twilight: 6:36 am (MDT)

Sunrise: 7:02 am (MDT)

Sunset: 7:23 pm (MDT)

Twilight: 7:48 pm (MDT)

Day 2: 217 miles 4 hours saddle time

Day 1 or Day 2 Option Rides

If we want to do a bit of scenic motorcycle mid-day ride on Day 1 or Day 2 we can take a side trip up the very scenic Hwy 128 northeast of Moab and follow the winding Colorado River for a short ways through some beautiful canyons and sweeping curves. The road opens up at Castle Valley where the Priest and Nuns rock formations and Castle Rock are visible. At the Castle Valley Junction we take the La Sal Mountain Loop Road, which is a 60 mile loop which will bring us back to Moab. The loop ride is a mixture of winding and hairpin curves which give us breath taking vistas as the vegetation changes from pinyon and juniper trees to large pines and towering aspen. This loop would add about 61 miles and another 2 hours to our saddle time for the days ride.

Another interesting short motorcycle ride for the Saturday evening before Day 1, Day 1 itself, or on Day 2 is Hwy 279 (Potash Road) (shown as a red line on the map below) which leaves Moab and heads to the southwest towards the Potash Mining area. The Potash-Lower Colorado River Scenic Byway 279 takes us through a narrow canyon as we twist and turn along the banks of the Colorado River through the Colorado River Portal. This scenic 17 mile route (one way) offers many opportunities to stretch our legs and enjoy sights such as Indian petroglyphs, dinosaur tracks, and arches. After passing Jug Handle Arch, the canyon walls open as we near the Moab Salt-Potash plant, above which the sheer cliffs of Dead Horse State Park can be seen. Taking this ride in the late afternoon rewards us with the sun setting on the red sandstone cliffs as we make the return trip. Choosing this option will add 34 miles of riding and about an hour (plus stops) to our day.

Continue to Day 3