In the Direction of Moab

 Who deserves a little out-of-state break between holidays? This gal!

I had promised the red moose a road trip and unlike last December, I had all the confidence in the world that icy roads and blowing snow would not be much of a setback. We set off before the clock struck 6 and enjoyed sunrise while winding our way west on I70 toward Utah. 

Bighorn Sheep... with his family just the other side of the barrier.

And just like that (six hours later) I arrived and entered Arches National Park. There was time to meander, picnic, photograph and even hike for the rest of the day.

Sunrise the next day was... not happening. But not to be outdone, I pivoted and acted on Plan B. Just over 2 hours from Moab is Disappointment Valley. Home to one of the wild horse management areas of Colorado, in the Spring Creek Basin. This very thing had been on my 2025 bucket list, so why not?! 

I found the sunrise, just in time. Sweet!

I think I found wild horses too. I mean, I found horses. And they were eating trees not hay, and wandering in the vast valley, so I'm calling that a success despite putting a call in to the universe for a "band of horses" and "kicking up snow as they galloped along" but clearly not getting exactly that! ;-)

Along the way, I shared plenty of my 20 mile dirt road with other animals too. 

Young bucks and butchy ladies.... It's all good.

Day 3 - No sunrise today either. It had snowed overnight, cloud ceilings still hovered around 300' and flurries graced my path. We headed off to "Newspaper Rock" in Bears Ears National Monument instead. 

The road was loaded with deer - which as you know, makes me pretty happy.

The road got a bit spicy. Probably wouldn't have hurt to stay in bed a tad longer and wait for the plow truck to make one pass first... oh well. I passed that plow guy coming up the steep and winding road as I headed down in second gear, hoping a little sideways slippage on the thick ice wouldn't see me upside down in the ravine. 

The petroglyphs of Newspaper Rock. Impressive!

From here it was an easier 20 miles or so into the less well traveled end of Canyonlands National Park. 

They told me at the Visitor Center that since I arrived, they could officially say they had as many visitors today as Park Rangers on duty! Hahaha.... But it kinda makes me smile to hear they haven't been laid off. I enjoyed the chat, the map and the bathrooms - plus did a little check in with work using their wifi - and none of that is possible without a couple of hardy winter Rangers keeping things going.

Back at the hotel, I told myself I'd take a wee rest then head out for a sunset hike. Apparently because I said that yesterday then stayed in my PJs the whole afternoon, I lacked credibility... Fair. But today the forecast seemed more accurate and word was, the sun would make an appearance just before setting. 

Off I went!

And it was LOVELY!

Delicate Arch is a 3 mile round trip. Steep up and down, on a "trail" that is basically a hard rock surface with few markers. Long gaps of no footsteps to follow in, is not very reassuring. I knew this one was not for me in the dark but if I left the arch just after the sunset, I had enough light to find my way down, right? True that!

Check out the pics from the top... The cold and windy top!

I'm a deer magnet today! Yay!

The full moon shone brightly as I exited the park. It does wonderful things to the color of the formations in the blue hour and I couldn't help but do one more quick stop, camera in hand, for a few shots before the light was pretty much gone.

Finally, day 4, sunrise was a go!

I entered Dead Horse State Park around 6:30am. Alone in the freezing cold and somewhat dark, I found my way partially down the rocky cliff to a place that held promise for me and my tripod. To my right, the full moon was setting and it was AWESOME! To my left, first rays of the new day were still hiding but the pre-dawn colors were magical. 

There was no wind. No people. I was having one of those moments in life where everything feels so perfect and blissful. You know... when happiness takes your breath away and you know that this experience, like all the best ones, are fleeting so you lean right in and inhale each second with gratitude. Writing it to memory - and hoping that the recall is even half as good as the experience itself.  

Did I nap back at the hotel?  - yep. The order of things was A) hot shower to chase the cold from my bones B) curl up in the plush blanket on my bed and fall unconscious for an hour or two and C) eat my raisin bran breakfast, finally!

Canyonlands National Park awaited.  First stop, Mesa Arch. What a beauty! 

I had it on good authority from the random man I met on the cliff after sunrise, that late afternoon sun at Green River Overlook would be totally worth it. However, as usual, I got a bit sidetracked and instead found myself doing a hike along the rim at Grand View Point Overlook - also quite lovely near sunset. 

I enjoyed my walk with another new friend.

Before I share the final stop of my Moab journey, a little background might help: This morning while chatting with Ranger Dan at the Canyonlands Visitor Center, he educated me about the unpaved road that is featured in many of my pictures (especially the ones from Dead Horse Point). The Shafer Trail starts near the top on Island in the Sky, where I was located. It drops down via winding, narrow trail and splits into the White Rim Trail (back into the park) and the Potash Trail (out to Moab). The White Rim Trail is for backcountry camping. It requires a permit and 3 days up your sleeve... and you must be driving an appropriately capable 4WD vehicle.  I realized while chatting that I wouldn't have time to really do the Potash Trail before dark either. 

Now fast forward back to me driving out of the park around sunset:

I remembered Ranger Dan had told me with the right vehicle, some people just do the Shafer Trail to the bottom and then back up the same way. He mentioned reports of it being "a little wet" but never said much else about the condition. With no time to really plan this section of my adventure, I way too hastily decided the last thing I would do in Canyonlands, was a little off-roading... alone... just before dark... without telling anyone where I was going. (I know, I know. You can stop rolling your eyes now.)

This is the Shafer Trail:  Its narrow, winding, rough, 2-way and HAS A GIANT DROP OFF on one side!!!! But wait, there's more! The road is literally undercut too - in case the aforementioned was not enough to panic you. And by the time I figured out it was icy/snowy to boot, I was committed. There was no way to turn around and reversing off a cliff was not high on my list of things to do!

(Not super surprisingly, this was triggering PTSD from the Spooky Canyon debarcle of January!!!)

The universe provides. As the light faded and I became increasingly concerned (a.k.a remorseful) about my choices, a little widening of the road appeared. It was my first and only chance to turn around and I don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Photo of the Shafer Trail courtesy of the NPS

I celebrated my return to the paved road with a mini photo-shoot of the full moon. 

Lots to be grateful for today. What I never thought would be on the list, was gratitude that I didn't go over a 1500' drop in my car!  :-)

Final Thought: I did have vague musings about another sunrise attempt at Dead Horse Point before I left for home Friday but with a pattern of being awake at 3-ish these days, I conceded in the wee hours that trying to eek out another few hours sleep, at the expense of sunrise, was probably the more responsible move, given the long drive home ahead of me today. (FYI, the two dreams I remember from those 3 hours of extra sleep were super intense and thought provoking. Time well spent!)