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| San Juan River at Goosenecks State Park, Utah |
Dear Friends, Hope those of you in our country had a great Thanksgiving this year... I certainly did since I got to see my sons and enjoyed spending time with more family along with eating some great meals!!!!! Life is GOOD!
But today----I'm featuring another beautiful state park which we visited on our Utah/Arizona trip in September. This park is named Goosenecks State Park --and it is located off of Highway 163 between the towns of Bluff and Mexican Hat, Utah. It is north of Monument Valley, Arizona.
From the edges of the cliffs at this state park, we could see 1000 feet down into the canyon below. The SAN JUAN RIVER meanders back and forth as it makes its way through the canyons.... While looking down at the meandering river, I was reminded that it took 300 million years for the river to carve its way through all of these structures... AMAZING.....
Another interesting statistic about that river below: The river flowed over 6 miles in that area yet it only advanced 1.5 miles!!!!! (Sounds like some of my hikes!!! ha ha )
From our viewpoint --we could see 3 parts of the San Juan River as it works its way through the canyon...... The picture at the top shows a wide angle view of all three parts of that river from the overlook. Below are some closer shots of each of the three different views. As you look at that photo, I will call the part of the river on the right as Part I, the middle part as Part II, and the part to the left as Part III... Hope you enjoy these pictures today.
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| 1000 feet below, this is Part I of the San Juan River; |
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| A close up showing the geological structures around the river; (This is Part II--the middle part) |
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| Part I and II of the San Juan River as it worked its way around those canyons; |
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| I took this picture of George at the rim of Goosenecks State Park. |
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| Part III (on the left) of the San Juan River (as I walked farther around the rim) |
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| From another area on the rim, I took this picture showing both Part III (left) and Part II of the San Juan River. |
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| George took this picture of me at the rim of Goosenecks State Park, Utah. |
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| Look at this picture carefully and see if you can tell what it looks like!!!!! (I'll explain it at the end of this post.) |
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| Us at Goosenecks State Park, Utah, 9/9/17 |
Hope you enjoyed seeing this amazing little state park... I do recommend it if you are in that area.. It's a great place to add to a trip to Monument Valley. Or another interesting nearby place which we did not get to on this trip is Valley of the Gods. For those of you who want to see something like this without doing a lot of hiking or walking, Goosenecks is the place!!! The views are amazing!
Now--go back to the previous picture and look at it again.... This was taken on the road to Goosenecks and is near the small village of Mexican Hat, Utah. I read that the population in 2010 was 31..... Look back at that picture.... Can you see it now????? It's a Mexican Hat!!!!!!
If you want more information about his area, check out the website for Goosenecks State Park. Click
HERE.
Hugs,
19 comments:
What an amazing and fascinating place. I didn't see the hat until you mentioned it.
You did a great job showing the beauty of Goosenecks State Park. I love your photos.
Never heard of this park. The topography is much like the Grand Canyon but younger I would guess. Did you drive to AZ and UT? or fly and rent a car? We have another trip to Europe booked for the end of March - another river cruise. This time on the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland. Three new countries for me and two new ones for Dan. We are going with Ama Waterways again.
This is amazing! How do you find these places! All these hundreds of straight lines! And the river is going all the way around! Like someone landscaped it that way. And someone DID...God!
Isn't Nature wonderful? What an interesting path that river took. You go to the most interesting places and lucky for us, you let us tag along. Thank you.
300 million years to get that way - wow. And would you say the river is shaped like a goose neck and that is where the name came from?
Thank you for the amazing photos. This has been added to my list of places to go when Dennis retire. We hope to full time RV for at least a few years and enjoy this great country.
Blessings,
Betsy
Such gorgeous views. Amazing photos!
You really saw a lot on this year's western trip. Goosenecks State Park definitely looks like a worthwhile destination. Your photos are really beautiful. I did recognize the Mexican Hat rock formation but only because I'd seen it before. It's so unique.
You are always showing me the most wonderful National Parks. I didn't see the hat until you pointed it out.
WOW! That's crazy ho that river winds through there. Beautiful scenes and definitely a place I would enjoy seeing.
What a remarkable place to see! Thanks for sharing it.
Those are some awesome photos. What a gorgeous place to visit.
This is why I love visiting blogs!
You get to see some wonderful photographs and see and learn about other places.
Goosenecks State Park really looks a wonderful place, I just love all of your photographs.
May the week ahead be a good one for you and George.
All the best Jan
Now I'm hearing the Mexican Hat Dance in my brain! Awesome pictures.
Hi there Betsy, enjoyed these pictures. I have never heard of this place and I've never been to this area....wow, I can't believe the difference in the scenery/climate/landscape in different parts of our country, it's amazing isn't it? I likely will never travel to this part of the country, so enjoy seeing it through your pictures. That canyon, and that river, is something else isn't it? how was your Thanksgiving my friend--you said you were with family, right?
Wow - what superb scenery!
Its amazing how the river has carved such a deep gorge. Amazing geology. Great shots.
These photos of the canyons are beautiful and so different from the Grand canyon I had seen. Now seeing the winding rivers, I could see how its name Goosenecks came about. Thank you for sharing the fabulous photos.
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