Canyonlands National Park is near Moab, Utah. It is in the place where the Green River and the Colorado River meet. The rivers have made many branching canyons.
We had a permit for 3 nights at 3 different campsites but the government shutdown meant that the national parks were closed. Things did open up, but the trip was up in the air for so long that the majority of people didn't come and it was just me, and brother and sister Howard. We made the most of a shortened trip and camped 1 night and biked for 2 days, taking turns driving the "support vehicle."
We started at "Island in the Sky" and looked down the cliff we would drive down. Many people go down on their bikes, but we eased down in the truck. Above you can see the narrow canyon rode that goes along the edge of a cliff. It is a long way down. See the road in the distance at the bottom of the canyon? We went down there.
On the first day we drove down White Rim road to a place called Musselman Arch, and then rode about 11 miles to our campsite at Airport Tower. When we rode out the next day we rode back to this sign (about 18 miles) and then we went down Potash Road for a while, but I'm not sure how far. Below is Musselman Arch. It is a natural bridge about 4 feet wide.
Here are some things we saw along the way to the campsite:
This was our campsite at Airport Tower:
And this was our view as the sun set on the desert landscape:
As the sun began to set, it also began to get cold. Once camp was all set up we went and looked out over the edge of the canyon. It was so quiet. There was no noise at all. No sound of wind, no sound of animals, no sound of people, just soft stillness.
After a lovely dinner of stir fry and veggies, with hot chocolate and popcorn for dessert, we stayed warm in the tent and watched a movie on the computer. In the morning we rode back
And made a quick stop in Arches National Park because I had never been there.
