Our first stop on the way to Moab was the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument Visitor Center and Museum. This museum is worth a stop. It is what the Mesa Verde museum should be. They had a lot of exhibits about the native people, the migration routes, the different tribes and languages, and even some exhibits about how the white settlers moved into the area within the last 200 years.
After that, we headed north. This is Church Rock, right on the highway. It was one of the major landmarks for the Old Spanish Trail.
It is important to note that Canyonlands is really split into two parts, separated by the Colorado River. The Needles Visitor Center, on the south side of the river, is pretty isolated. We had to drive about 40 miles down a county road to get there. (We did pass Newspaper Rick, which is a large stone wall with a lot of carvings, some old, some pretty new...)
Our faithful steed - we put 2400 miles on the rental car. However, on the drive on the county roads, the car felt a little jittery. I checked the tire pressure (on the dashboard - they keep track of those things) and it read 45 psi on all tires - it was supposed to be 33. So, I got to purchase a tire pressure gauge (souvenir) and play with the pressure until I got it where I wanted it. Other than that, the car performed admirably.
We took a short trail in the park where the directions consisted of "follow the rock cairns". Pretty normal around there....
We couldn't see the Colorado or Green Rivers from where we were, but were told they were down in the canyons, about 2000 feet down.
Then we drove on to Moab and we "discovered" a brewpub for dinner. But be aware, Utah only sells 3.2 beer...... (for now, anyway)
Link to the next post: 6/10 - Arches NP
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