20/08 – 06/09/2023
We continued our tour through the National Parks & National Monuments in Arches National Park. On its plateau, made of predominantly red sandstone, there are over 2000 natural arches and countless other stone formations. Among other things, we hiked to the Delicate Arch, a free-standing rock arch on the edge of a gorge, the landmark of the park.
Then we visited the nearby Canyonlands National Park and first looked into Upheaval Dome. Scientists still disagree about the exact origin of this round crater, which is untypical for the area. Then we “inspected” the so-called granaries, storage rooms built by the Pueblo ancestors underneath a rock overhang. Most breathtaking, however, were the views into the Green River Gorge and Shafer Canyon.
After the Megane had received new tyres in between, the road took us to two highly interesting places of the indigenous people of this area. The first was Mesa Verde National Park. The ancestors of the Pueblo people became more settled in this area and even built their settlements below rock overhangs during the 13th century. We were even able to experience two of the most impressive sites up close during a guided tour.
Hovenweep National Monument was the other destination in the area. Here, too, we admired the architecture of the Pueblo ancestors during a short tour along the edge of the gorge.
On the following crossing we passed another USA highlight, Monument Valley. And since we arrived there right on time for lunch, we enjoyed our meal with a view of these famous sandstone monoliths.
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, the full name of the world-famous “Grand Canyon”, was next on our agenda. However, to avoid the large crowds of tourists in the southern part of this national park, we decided to visit the much “quieter” (and 344 metres higher) northern rim of the canyon. The imposing dimensions of this river gorge, which is up to 1.6 km deep & in places up to 15 km wide, left us standing speechless at the edge and gazing in disbelief at this landscape.
We then spent two days in Bryce Canyon National Park and hiked through this impressive valley basin full of pink limestone towers.
A little later, Zion Canyon in the national park of the same name presented itself differently again. Steep sandstone mountains and a relatively narrow valley bed characterise this canyon.
With a few impressions of our current campsite in the Red Cliffs near Hurricane, UT we want to say goodbye for today. See you soon.
