Skip to main content

Day 48 - Dead Horse Point

Cowboys used to corral horses beyond the narrow neck of this high point overlooking the Colorado River.  They would then fence them in and when they returned take the strongest horses and leave the weaker ones to die without water at this to-be-named Dead Horse Point State Park. Terrible name and story, great views. 

500 feet higher in elevation than the just-across-the-canyon Canyonlands Island in the Sky, Dead Horse Point does have a must-see view of the mighty Colorado and vast canyons behind. I arrived mid-afternoon and hiked the east rim trail a mile and a half to the far point, meandered along the west rim a bit and then hiked back along the road. 

Knowing sunset time was special in this canyon country, I decided to wait a bit for the sun to fall. I drove this time to the far point, then walked around in search of the best vantage point. 

Before the sun actually set, I drove on, first to a full closeby campground and then on an hour to Moab, to the campground from the prior days. Surprised that this 128 unit campground was full and disappointed as it was definitely dark, I pulled up a free campsite location on GPS down the highway outside of town and drove. I arrived at this dirt open space just off the highway, just before a gate leading to an off-road track. I didn't love the spot as it was exposed and near the highway, but it would have to do for the night.






Labels:

Comments

  1. @estheribrownMay 12, 2015 at 5:28 AM

    Not sure if my last comment posted --- just wanted to say I love these photos and am inspired by your adventures!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LeeMay 20, 2015 at 4:09 PM

      Hey Esther- yes, comment received! I'm glad you enjoy the blog. I remember you said you had a things for small spaces living- a passenger van fits that bill!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet!  I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception.  I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton.  The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district.  Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 106 - Seattle

My July 4th started with a drive from Vancover to Seattle, arriving at the Museum of Flight by 11. The museum tour began with a display of the 27 U.S. Flags, made interesting by announcing the history of the states entry into the union.  This B-17 is similar to the bomber my grandfather flew in WW2. A former Air Force One plane that Kennedy road on was another highlight.  I stayed all day at the museum enjoying the history of aviation exhibits and finally space! I drove into downtown Seattle to checkout the city parks reserved for fireworks watching. These neighborhoods were crawling with people and would make horrible stealth street camping sites. I called several hostels and all were full... but then I found one with one bed left. I reserved the spot and drove to the hostel to find it in walking distance to the fireworks. I joined a group waking down to see the fireworks. We were joined by a few others.  Two skydivers with fire flaming behind their path were followed by...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 93 - Calgary to Banff

After a very pleasant morning at Dave's house spent photocopying trail and scramble guide routes, enjoying a great breakfast and coffee, meeting some of Dave's extremely kind family members and chatting more about adventures, I set out for downtown Calgary.  I thought a walk around a museum would be a nice change of pace, so I toured the Glenbow Museum. Two highlights were a Blackfoot Indian describing the meaning of their Tipi decorations and the Gun Scupture. The history of Alberta section was also quite interesting: fur trappers then cowboys then railroad builders then oil drillers.  I then walked down to a nearby waterfront park, along a pedestrian only shopping street where a Christian pride rally was taking place, and then down quiet side streets to the park. Seeing people out jogging and playing on this Sunday afternoon reminded me of the real life I must one day return to. But not yet! Hungry and ready for mountains, I walked back to my van and left Calgary heading wes...
Post a Comment
Read more