Canyonlands...take 2!

Hello from Canyonlands National Park, the north section, Island in the Sky! Last year when we went here we were naive in thinking we could see the whole park from the south side (Needles section). Well duh, there is a big river that divides the park making it a challenge to get from the south section to the north. It is a huge park, larger than Arches, Bryce & Zion National Parks put together!

Speaking of Arches, we stayed at the same campground in Moab as we did last year when we went there.  A little better planning on our part and we could have done Island in the Sky from there. For those of you planning your trip from ours, learn from our mistake. :) It is a nice campground though with pretty views. 

Only about 45 minutes away and we were in the park in the north section Island in the Sky. We went to the visitors center as now is our custom, watching the video presentation. Another one of those "I've become my parents moment!" 😁

We hiked to the Mesa Arch and had company from another couple from Michigan. Always nice when you meet people along the way, plus we can get a picture of the two of us together!

 

 

We then hiked to the Upheaval Dome overlook and back to just single pictures again.  The view was just amazing from the overlook! The picture just doesn't do it justice.

 

Me taking the above picture and then a panoramic of the Green River overlook below and Dave taking a picture. LOL, we take LOTS of pictures...

 

...including selfies with the upheaval behind...

 

...and creatures along the way!

 

Time for a little snack after all that hiking!

Check out this winding road! Islands in the Sky was a really cool section of the park, I am glad we made it back to see it!

Across from the campground was this cool city park we also didn't make it to last year. So since we had time we wandered a bit around Lion's Park.

 

It had this great bike path and beautiful bridge with art work on it going over the Colorado River.

It was such a spectacular view we decided to jump in the kayaks and take a little paddle!

 

The water wasn't as pristine as other places we've been but the views made up for it!

On to the next campground at Sand Island Recreation Area. It was a first come first serve, which always makes us nervous as we are not exactly "early risers" (well, at least one of us! 🙋) but we found a spot, no problem.

In fact, we were the only ones there until about dinner time when several van campers came in. I think the fact that it was Sunday night and after Labor day helped.

In addition to the lovely views the campground had some protected petroglyphs, or as Dave calls it, "old graffiti".  I think it's cool to see the stories they told, the original travel blog! We'll end ours this time with another view from the road heading to Arizona. Life is good!!