Dead Horse Point State Park

Continuing my backblips

September 21

Jen was working for the next three days, so they graciously loaned us their car, and we went off on our own to spend two nights in Moab, in southern Utah, near Arches National Park, about a three hour drive from Salt Lake City. However, once we arrived at Arches National Park, we found it was full - they weren’t letting any more cars in for the next couple of hours. It is a very popular park, and parking is at a premium, so when the car parks fill up they are forced to close until later in the afternoon when some people are leaving. I remembered seeing some of Jen’s pictures of Dead Horse Point State Park, and I had seen from the sign posts it was only about 23 miles away, so we went there for the afternoon instead. Dead Horse Point State Park is one of Utah’s most spectacular state parks. The view from Dead Horse Point is possibly one of the most photographed scenic vistas in the world. From the prominence of Dead Horse Point, 2,000 feet above a gooseneck in the Colorado River, the vast landscape of Canyonlands National Park unfolds before you, ever changing with the light and weather. Immense vertical cliffs meet with canyons carved by ice, water, and wind creating a breathtaking scenic masterpiece. The legend behind the name of Dead Horse Point states that in the late 1800’s the point was used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa top. Cowboys herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck was then fenced off with branches and brush. One time, for some unknown reason, horses were left corralled on the waterless point where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River 2,000 feet below. There were two trails following the east and west rim and we did part of one of them, stopping many times for photographs. I definitely hope to return some day and see it in hopefully clearer visibility and different lighting conditions, and hike further than we did today! We then drove into Moab, checked into our hotel, freshened up then went out to eat at an excellent Thai restaurant.