The next door neighbor to Arches, Canyonlands, is a National Park with a completely different geology. While the park does have a couple of solitary arches, Canyonlands is more known for its jaw-dropping terrain, where birds-eye vistas are meant to be laced with superlatives to describe the vast landscape with towering cliffs rising from the depths of the Colorado river exposing the geological history in its strata.
Hence Canyonlands was an obvious next choice to visit after Arches. Moab, which in those days was a sleepy town geared towards the occasional recreation traveler, proved to be an ideal base to explore both these parks (though I would have preferred to camp under the stars of Canyonlands). And compared with Arches, I was more enthralled by the monumental scale of the landscape in Canyonlands, replete with enough hiking trails and wilderness regions to last a lifetime.
Here is one such view of the vast open and yet geologically rich landscape of Canyonlands during a midsummer day.
Canyonlands National Park
UT USA
A National Park Journey - Grand Canyon National Park
They say never to visit the Grand Canyon in the peak of summer unless one had a deathwish. And yet, that was exactly what I had done. Lacking any travel experience in the desert southwest and foresight to temper my hubris, my foolish brain assumed that Grand Canyon would be perfectly ok to hike in June. It took a deathmarch down and back up the canyon to realize the foolishness and audacity of what I was attempting.
My first glimpse of the giant gaping hole was jaw-dropping. In front of me was a canyon larger than what I had imagined, gouged by a excavator of stellar proportions. It was only later I realized that this impressive geological spectacle was the the result of flowing water acting on a land that was rising slowly over millennia. My brain tried and failed at making sense of the immense number of sandwiched layers that formed the terra-firma over which I was standing.
Hiking down the canyon helped provide an even better sense of perspective, primarily because the slow slog back up gives you plenty of time to admire the layered terrain on which the trail was laid down on. It can be easy to get lost ensconced in the rich topography, but the stench of fresh mule dung fermenting in the hot sun will snap you back to real life, and you will discover newfound energy that will help you scurry past those unforgettable droppings.
On my return visit to the park, I carried with me those experiences, and that helped me time my hikes properly, including setting up at the right location for sunset. This is one such view from the rim of the Grand Canyon, looking down at the river still carving its way down the canyon.
Grand Canyon National Park
AZ USA
Island in the Sky
I stood on the edge of tall sandstone mesa, peering down onto the undulating valley below. In front of me, the White Rim canyon cut a jagged scar on the dry plateau, while, in the distance, towering mesas rose a few thousand feet above the landscape. The evening light caught it all, adding red rimlight and dark shadows to the sharp features of this geological marvel. I was watching history in the various strata, dating back 320 million years ago, each with its own unique distinguishable feature.
To witness the immensity of the American Southwest landscape from this tower in the sky is perhaps one of the most awe-inspiring experiences. There are very few other places in this country that can inspire the same sense of grandeur one gets here: the vista from the Grand Canyon, the graceful U-shaped canyons at Glacier National Park, the never-ending tundra landscape of Denali. And that is what makes this place so memorable.
This is a panorama that captures about one-half of the spectacular vista from Green River Overlook in Canyonlands National Park, a lookout best visited at sunset. Coupled with a telephoto lens, I was able to capture intimate details of this rugged National Park
Canyonlands National Park
UT USA