Grand Junction, CO-Arches National Park- Canyonlands National Park- Dead Horse Point State Park- Monticello, UT

View Larger Map

Grand Junction, CO-Arches National Park- Canyonlands National Park- Dead Horse Point State Park- Monticello, UT

After the trimming of the day, everyone's spirit much better 7:50 departure, when the sun has been very enthusiastic.

We rest one day yesterday. Today we are heading to Arches National Park & Canyonlands National Park.

Arches National Park contains the world's largest concentration of natural stone arches. This National Park is a red, arid desert, punctuated with oddly eroded sandstone forms such as fins, pinnacles, spires, balanced rocks, and arches. The 73,000-acre region has over 2,000 of these "miracles of nature."

Around 12:15pm, Rachel and I starting climb  to see Delicate Arch, 3 miles each way, we spent two hours climbing without covering and temperature around 105 F, we made it.

After return to parking place, I decide take the shortcut (unpaved road) to next destination Canyonlands National Park

The Green and Colorado rivers separate Canyonlands into three land districts in addition to the Horseshoe Canyon detached unit. Each destination within Canyonlands offers different opportunities for sightseeing and exploration.

We visited Island in the Sky hundreds of canyon seems to be at the foot of "endless", and then stopped by Deadhorse Point State Park.

Flaming Gorge Reservior, Utah-Dinosaur National Monument, Dinosaur, CO-Colorado National Monument, Fruita, CO-Grand Junction, CO 286 miles

View Larger Map

To get up early in the morning already feel unbearably hot,, 8:55 departure, continue along 191 south highway going south. After one hour driving, we reached Dinosaur National Monument. This placed was discovered in year 1909, which is the largest dinosaur site in North America. Dinosaurs once roamed here. Their fantastic remains are still visible embedded in the rocks. Today, the mountains, desert and untamed rivers flowing in deep canyons, support an array of life. Petroglyphs hint at earlier cultures. Later, homesteaders and outlaws found refuge here

we left the Dinosaur National Monument at noon, going south along Highway No. 64, approaches the town of Dinosaur. 14:30 Go to 70 Highway, in the small town of less than seven miles from the Colorado National Monument, we had lunch at McDonald's, after few days driving, lunch, the phone is only able to receive the signal here. The afternoon sun burning to let people feel dizzy, people have slowed down.

Under the scorching sun after a short break, we came to the Colorado National Monument (Colorado National protected areas), here is one of the most famous American landscape, known as the pocket of the Grand Canyon, and covers an area of ​​32 square miles, six or seven protected areas colored sandstone canyon where they stand, these canyons are the forces of nature by wind, water, and glacial formed slowly over millions of years.

Colorado National Monument has two entrances, we enter Fruita entrance, See a stretch of mountain canyons are gorgeous and the rock of the mountain is not smooth, but very layered layers. Rugged mountain road in the park, S-shaped curve road.

There is a famous place call Independence Monument, Geographic magazine will take the landscape here as the representative works of the Colorado Canyon. Old days, before the Independence Monument and the next rock could have been with a rock wall, due to the long-term erosion, loss of both sides of the rock, the rest of this independent rock.

After two hour hard working and study, Rachel joined Junior Park Ranger program and she has the badge.

Driving along the main road, and saw the rain clouds approaching from afar, bursts of lightning in the sky. We live in Grand Junction for a night, a nice town with many hotels and shopping places.

Dillon, MT – Periodic Spring, Bridger National Forest, Lincoln, Wyoming - Fossil Butte National Monument- National Forest Flaming Gorge Reservior, Utah

View Larger Map