The 1st thing you notice about the Moab environment is how hot and dry things are . It’s super dry . The air has a sandpaper like effect on the skin . Your nose is super dry , the corners of your mouth are constantly textured , fury and rough . Your eyes are always watering . By the end of the day it feels like your skin has been stretched hard . Extra water is needed but it’s pretty hard to drink too much when you are constantly out sightseeing , the need to pee at every stop gets tiring . It doesn’t take long before you sense that you are actually starting to cook if you are exposed for too long . It’s as dry as I’ve ever felt and it’s like that everyday .
To add to the heat and low humidity is the elevation . You are constantly above 4000 feet . A persistent low level headache affects both Emma and I for the 1st 3 days . It’s like a vice has been clamped across the temples , wrapping around the side of the head . On the 4 th morning and last day in Moab we both notice the head ache has disappeared.
Canyonland is the least revered of the 2 national parks in Moab but certainly shouldn’t be missed . It’s about a 35 minute drive back out of Moab and can easily be done in a few hours with little need to walk too much . The drive to Canyonland slowly sees us climb further . It’s high plains territory We detour into the aptly named Dead Horse point reserve for our 1st drive by look . The trap here is this is a State Park and not a National Park , so our prepaid National Park permit ($80)doesn’t apply . $20 gives us a 3 day pass , it won’t be needed as we’ll be out in an hour , but don’t be dissuaded as the time is well spent .
We drive a few miles in and officially enter the Canyonland National Park . This section is known as Islands In the sky . Most spots up here are vantage points to amazing views . The one walk we did do was to Mesa Arch . It wouldn’t be much more than a mile round trip but Mesa Arch is a must walk , even if your kids are whining . Soon as you reach it they’re more than happy to climb over everything and more than happy to throw rocks into the abyss . There are some heart pounding cliff edges to venture up to . I did creep out to a ledge myself . I thought with all my past experiences in construction on high rises and swing work would keep me in good stead , but no . At one stage an almost involuntary stomach drop and need to relieve myself overwhelmed me . Laying down relieved the situation . Ive been to the Grand Canyon , flew over it too but I hesitate to say it but Canyonland has to be close to its equal . Yeah , big statement but I think the accessibility of Canyonland , the sense of vastness and a drop off from most view points that feeds into the horizon gives this place a sense of scale that is dramatic . It’s big up here and it really makes you feel insignificant in the scheme of things .
Canyonland was hard to beat but Arches National Park is on another level . Just wait to you see Arches , it’s insane .
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