NatVenturesUSA

The View from Green River Overlook

Canyonlands NP is in Utah, USA. It is known for its amazing views of the Colorado River. It was amazing, and even better at sunset. There are 3 separate sections to Canyonlands (Island in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze), but the only way to get to each section is from the outside. There are no bridgesin between. It took us 8 hours to get here from Great Basin NP.

We stayed at Willow Flats Campground for 1 day and 2 nights. We were in site #1, for $10.00 per night. I really liked this campsite, but it had no water. It was around 100 degrees F, and we had to get up early (like 6 in the morning) to beat the heat and sun. Oh, and I forgot to mention that my dad and I were also camping with my cousin (I’m not quite sure what the relationship is, but I think she’s my cousin) Nancy.

From our campsite, we drove (although we could have easily walked) to Green River Overlook. We went at sunset, and it was stunning. The sky was bright orange, and the cliffs shone. We stayed there until after dark, and watched the night sky and the stars. There were large, smooth rocks to sit on and look at the sky. It is a must-see.

Murphy Trail
note- my dad is the tiny blue dot in the middle of the photo.

We hiked the Murphy Trail, which I didn’t think was really all that enlightening. Murphy Trail goes from the top level (where the Visitor Center and our campsite were) to the bottom level (where we looked down onto at the Green River Overlook)  We had to beat the heat, and there is no point in going all the way down, because even if you hiked down in the shade, you would have to hike back up in the hot sun.

Mesa Arch is a short 5 minute hike (one way). It is fun, because once you get there, you can stand on top of this (maybe 7-foot tall?) arch, and take pictures with your family. Whatever you do, don’t fall, because you could possibly go backwards, and fall to your death. And that would not be good, because we would all miss you very much. Anyways, moving on.

Upheaval Dome

The next hike we did was Upheaval Dome. I think it would have been fun, but I was tired, and it was hot, with really high winds. The Upheaval Dome is really cool, and there are many theories about how it was created (I don’t remember what they were, but its something about volcanic activity). It was a medium-length hike, and you can go farther than the Dome, but because of the wind, we didn’t.

After that, we visited Grand View Point Overlook. It had almost the same view as Green River Overlook, but from a different angle. It was okay, but I guess this is sort of a “if you see one view, you’ve seen them all” kind of park. I don’t know. Maybe the reason why I liked the first overlook so much was that it was my first view, or that we saw the beautiful sunset. Either way, I liked the other one better. And if you hike further…

Yet another overlook! This time it’s White Rim Road Overlook (WRRO, since I don’t want to write it all out). I would have liked this overlook, but there was no shade until you reach WRRO. That really killed my experience of this hike. Once you actually get to the overlook, it’s one of those very similar views. There are several large rocks there that provide shade.

Well, that pretty much wraps up our trip for this park. Adieu, friends, and join me for the next post, on Arches NP!

The “glorious” 100-mile view from the Visitor Center.

 Great Basin National Park is in Nevada, USA. Great Basin  NP is known for its spectacular 100-mile view. Well, its supposed to be spectacular, but I didn’t think it was all that great. In my eyes, it’s a view of 100 miles of “a whole lot of nothing”.

Our campsite.

Anyway, we drove there from our home, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It took us about 11 hours. We stayed in Baker Creek Campground in site #18. It was $12.00 per night. I really liked site #18 because we were right across the road from a water spicket, and was a bit removed from the other campsites. We stayed there for one day and two nights.

It was about 80-100 degrees F out, but cold because of the wind. Our freeze-dried dinner almost blew over in its plastic container. We were planning on hiking to Wheeler Peak and Glacier, but it was too windy. we drove partway up the mountain to get to the trailhead, but we decided against hiking because our car was rocking from the high wind! However, we did hike to the Alpine Lakes, (Teresa and Stella) via the Alpine Lake Loop Trail. It was beautiful, but too cold for my taste.

One of the Parachutes at Lehman Caves.

I think that the highlight of Great Basin National Park was the Lehman Caves. It is a must-see. I really recommend the long tour, as opposed to the short tour.      It is definitely worth it. There are all kinds of rock formations, and you get to hear about the history of the caves as well. You can sign up for the tour in the              visitor center. Make sure to bundle up, and bring a flashlight, because although there are lights in the caves, it is still rather dark.

Me at one of the Alpine Lakes, with Wheeler Peak and Glacier in the background.

After Great Basin, we traveled to Canyonlands National Park, in Utah, USA.