Ken & Diane Travel

March 24, 2024

Captain Log, Day 78

This past week was exciting as we ventured out to Canyon-land National Park. We have never been there before and did not know what to expect. We entered park around 10:30 am and took the first dirt road to the left , not knowing were it would take us. It did not take long to realize we were on (for the most part) a single lane road crisscrossing back and forth down the mountain side. We later found out it was a 1400 foot drop to the bottom. Our worst fear was to meet someone on the road. If you saw them in time there were wider spots to accommodate two vehicles. I was in 4 wheel low most of the way down to preserve my brakes. Of course you don't need them if you go over the side.

This is the way down, keep in mind that one road lies directly below the other. The picture doesn't do justice to the sheer drop.

Once at the bottom, the road is fairly flat and circles around the rim of the lower canyon which was another 1000 foot drop.

We also came up this road to get out at the end of our day.

Once we got to the bottom we continued to navigate the rock and dirt roads. There were a number of view points we stopped at and took pictures but honestly every where you looked you saw the beauty. We continued onto White Rim road which took us around the cliff edges of countless massive canyons which were in the shadow of the towering buttes and rock formations.

We stopped at the Gooseneck Overlook to take in the view then came across a side road leading down to the Colorado River. As we approached, a vehicle was exiting the road and we talked and they said it was worth the drive down. It was 4 miles in to a dead-end so we knew how far we had to go and off we were. Down we went, across washes, over rock and sand roads. We knew when we were close to the river and the vegetation was well over the top of the jeep. The road was just big enough for the Jeep.

This older fellow was found by the river.

Diane saw some kids on this rock in the Colorado River and had to make her way there also. Kids!

This was the end of the road by the river. There was a family there and we found out they were from Madison, WI on spring break.

It is amazing how you can drive under the stone ledges.

You will find a lot of stone like this with weathered holes in.

Once we left this area it took us 40 minutes to make the 4 miles back to the White Rim road. We continued on the rim road and stopped at the Musselman Arch for a photo op.

Arch in the background. You can actually walk out to it but the sign say Stay Off.

You will see a lot of pillars like these some going hundreds of feet up.


Another look at the arch. Not much left of it.

We continued along the rim trail until running into another vehicle some time later. We stopped and talked with the couple that came into the rim from the opposite end of the trail. We asked how far to the end and they said 71 miles. I think we both filled our pants hearing that as it was after 3 and we had only gone, at the most 25 miles in the last 4 hours. We decided it was in our best interest to turn around and follow the couple out the way we came in. This couple entered the park at 8 am and averaged 10 miles per hour.

Jeep has performed well on these trails. Glad I got the Rubicon with the 33 inch tires.

Heading back we moved a bit faster as we did not need to stop and take pictures. We got back to the base of the mountain around 4:30 pm and had to decide if we wanted to drive the 4 miles back up the switch-back road or take the Potash road on the flat 20+ miles out.

We knew what the switch-back was like and decided to drive the narrow road back up the mountain. I have to say it was easier going up than down. I think it was about 5:30 when we got back to the campground, a long day.

Also this week we headed on the Potash Road. On the way there we came upon the large Potash fields. Potash is used in fertilizer and many other things.

Potash evaporation fields.

As we kept driving we ended up, at the point, where the movie filmed the final fatal shot of Thelma and Louise going over the cliff.

The dirt trail took up 9.5 miles into the lower rim of Canyon Land National park. We shot a few pictures and turn around and ended back to the campground.