Canyonlands NP

Today we hit Canyonlands in our quest to visit a few National Parks during – Parks week.  Unless I forget some, we visited Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands this week.

There is quite a variety in the way each park handles the free admission.  In Zion, I was greeted by a Ranger in the gate who issued me a free, week-long pass for Zion – normally $25.  In Bryce, the ranger in the gate gave me no permit, but gave me the requisite maps and brochures.  In Capitol Reef, there is no gate, I drove right through without stopping.  In Arches, I got a special looking pass, good for the week, but expiring the next day.  In Canyonlands, a handwritten sign in the gate!

Oh well, free is free, and who am I to complain.  Next year I will likely buy an annual pass.

I took the obligatory photo of the park sign, but I much prefer the one I took the last time I was here – where Harley was along to pose on all the signs we encountered.

Previous visit.

The scenery had not changed much either, and was still stunning.

The weather was good and I hiked the mile trail at Grandview lookout in shorts and sandals, the way it is supposed to be done!  

The local wildlife was on duty, and this guy wanted to play hide and seek with me!

 

Even the author got into the picture.

     

I drove through the campground and could not resist a photo of this rig!

Then, like many of my recent days spent in national parks, I decided that it was time to go 4 wheelin’.  And you can do that legally in many of the US parks.  Yay.

Here’s the road I chose.  Not for the faint of heart.

It starts out gently, driving on a teeny ledge for about 3.5km before it even starts to get serious about going down.

Don’t look now!

Made it to the bottom (of this section) and then it was later in the day, so time to go right back up again.

The road follows along that ledge.

    

Good times were had by all.

No trucks or lizards were harmed during the production of this blog episode.