GOOSENECKS STATE PARK, Utah 9/9/17

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.

1000 feet below,  this is Part I  of the San Juan River;   

A close up showing the geological structures around the river;  (This is Part II--the middle part)

Part I and II of the San Juan River as it worked its way around those canyons;

I took this picture of George at the rim of Goosenecks  State Park.

Part III (on the left) of the San Juan River  (as I walked farther around the rim)

From another area on the rim,  I took this picture showing both Part III (left) and Part II of the San Juan River.

George took this picture of me at the rim of Goosenecks State Park,  Utah.

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.)

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,

Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah (9/11/17)

Our first view of the deep canyon below --from the East Rim Trail

Dear Friends,  This is my 5th post from our WEST TRIP  to Utah and Arizona from Sept 6-21,  2017.     If you missed any of the posts so far  (Overall Summary,   Antelope Canyon,  Arches,  and Zion),  you can find them by going to my labels on my sidebar and clicking on  WEST TRIP 2017.  (WEST TRIP 2017 is also listed on "My Favorites" on my right side bar.)

We visited 11 National Parks or Monuments,  5  Navajo Indian areas,  took many Scenic Drives and also visited 3 state parks on that trip...   TODAY ---I'm sharing one of our favorite State Parks from this trip...

DEAD HORSE POINT STATE PARK is located near Moab,  Utah  (and not far from Canyonlands,  Island in the Sky National Park).    You may wonder how this park got its name...  WELL--according to legend,  the point was once used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa.   The 'neck' where the horses entered was only 30 yards wide and was fenced off with branches and brush at one end,  with all of the other outlets being high cliffs.  The horses were trapped in there. The cowboys chose the horses they wanted and for unknown reasons,  they left the other horses in that corral.  The horses died of thirst --although the Colorado River was 'only' 2000 feet below!   (Sad story,  isn't it?)

Regardless of that sad story, this park is absolutely GORGEOUS.   Hope you enjoy seeing some of my pictures today from there.

Ten million years of erosion sculpted this land of canyons,  mesas and buttes

Did you see this from a distance in the first two pictures?  What do you think it is??????  We had no idea until we read the sign.  This is a Solar Evaporation Pond owned by Intrepid Potash, Inc.  The potash is used to make plant fertilizer.    (I have never seen anything like this in my entire life.)

Check out this sign for more details.

You can only imagine how happy I was being on top of the mountain with those views from Dead Horse Point State Park.

So much beauty all around

This is the sign telling how Dead Horse Point State Park got its name.

Now we are on the south side of the canyon--heading west to the Point Overlook.  That is the Colorado River.

Look at all of these little roads down there (and in several of these photos)....  Wouldn't it be neat to be down there,  up close and personal with the landscape????   There are roads all over that area  (out of the park) --so I don't know how one would even get to those areas.

Now I am looking toward the west  late in the afternoon.  This is the POINT ---and I am looking toward Canyonlands in the distance.

Beautiful Colorado River --as it carved its path deep into the ancient rock layers

We should have taken our picture together here --but since it was late and we were tired,  we didn't...  SO---you'll just have to enjoy seeing pictures of us individually!!!!!   

A map of the park;  You can see the narrow 'neck' (where they pinned up the horses) and also the 'point' where we had a great view of the Colorado River.  ALSO---you can see 9 miles of hiking trails here.   

Finally,   here is a close up of the Colorado River taken from the Point Overlook at Dead Horse Point State Park 

I hope these pictures have peaked your interest.   IF you get to Moab and/or Canyonlands,  PLEASE visit this state park.   AND --if you enjoy biking,  check out those trails.   ALSO---if you enjoy hiking,  there are LOTS of great hiking trails here....   For more information about this state park,  click HERE.

Have a great week.

Hugs,

ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah 9/15/17

ZION NATIONAL PARK,  taken from the Visitor Center (where we luckily found a parking place --after driving around a bit)

Hello Blog Friends,   How are you?   I am fine --and still going through a gazillion pictures from our West Trip to Utah and Arizona from September 6- 21,  2017.  This is my 4th post from that trip  --and I've only gotten through a few of my pictures....  ha

Today--I will share pictures from  ZION National Park.  We were there on Sept. 15 on a gorgeous day in Utah...  Zion is absolutely gorgeous --and that is why SO MANY MANY people go there.  We love seeing Zion but do NOT like all of the traffic/busses/people, etc.  For that reason,  I never put this one on my list of FAVORITE parks.

Our favorite parts of Zion are NOT the 'canyon' area where we HAVE to ride that darn shuttle bus up and back...   We did do that on this trip ---but we didn't stop and get off at the various places along the way.  We rode the bus all of the way to the top so that we could hike some of the Narrows Trail --which we had read about SO MUCH....    We did that --and hiked all of the way to the end ---where people get in the water (Virgin River) and hike farther into the canyon...  The Narrows area is beautiful and we enjoyed our hike into the beginnings of that canyon.  Needless to say,  I will leave the hiking-in-water stuff to others!!!!! ha

The most gorgeous part of Zion to us is the drive from Mt. Carmel  into the park  on Scenic Highway 9....   We LOVE that area ---so most of my pictures today were taken along that scenic area...  There are many pull-offs ---so we took advantage of that and took many pictures...

The longest tunnel I have ever been in I think is along that route,  about 1.1 miles...   HERE is some info if you want to know more about this unique tunnel.

Hope you enjoy our pictures today of Zion....   Hope you can visit that area someday if you haven't been there....  Go during the OFF-season (NOT in Summer) to avoid a few of the crowds...  AND--go early early early in the morning!!!!

Scenic Highway 9 into beautiful ZION National Park

Scenic Highway 9 --with Zion's beauty all around us

More beauty from Scenic Highway 9

I took this picture of George as we prepared to go through the BIG tunnel.

Once we got out of the tunnel and started heading down the mountain,  we could look back and see one of the openings inside that tunnel which we had just gone through.  (The tunnel is VERY dark --except for a few of these openings.)

While heading down toward the canyon area below,  we could look back at all of the huge mountains around us.

Another view of the vastness of the mountains in this area

A happy lady enjoying Zion!!!

Our hike in the Needles Area of Zion;  That is a very muddy Virgin River  (after the rain from the previous day)

Our trail along the canyon walls,  paralleling the Virgin River

The end of the 'nice' trail;  From here on, one has to get their feet (and probably more) WET....

Wonder if George was pondering whether to get his feet wet?????????? ha

I enjoyed sitting in the Narrows area --enjoying the views around me...   (Don't know why my hands were positioned like that!!!! ha... Maybe I was getting ready to play the piano on my knees!!!!!)

Another picture from the Visitor Center at Zion  (I LOVE see the flag blowing in the breeze.)

Finally,  here is a picture of US taken along Scenic Highway 9 in Zion National Park,  9/15/17

Hope you enjoyed today's pictures....  Zion really is a gorgeous park.  I don't want to discourage anyone from going there because of the crowds....   Just plan your trip during the off seasons (even though it is still busy then --but not AS busy) ---and go early in the mornings....

Have a great week.
Hugs,