Utah - Day 27 - Arches National Park and the drive to Monument Valley

Monument Valley KOA, Monument Valley

Wednesday, 27 October 2021

today's drive

As you can see, I covered a good chunk of the state today.

Yesterday I checked the National Park Service website for Arches National Park and learned they advise people to arrive before 8:00 or after 3:00 to avoid being refused entry.  So we left the campground today the same time we left it 2 days ago and got to the national park at about 8:02.  

Arches National Park

We stopped at the visitor center so I could walk the dogs and consult the park's map I'd gotten at the entry gate.  And it was there I realized the road into the park ran along the cliff directly in front of us and almost said forget it right then.

Later in the day I took this photo and this video trying to show what that drive was like.

This cliff sits above the visitor center, and there's a road
zigzagging along the face of that cliff you see in the photo.
That's the road I had to take.
The video below shows someone else making that drive more smoothly than I did.

But not even a video can convey the sheer terror of that drive, because I was driving up a steep winding hill (2 hairpin turns) INTO THE RISING SUN.  I couldn't stop - people behind me.  I couldn't pull over - I was too blinded to be able to see if there was a space.  I could scarcely see the road a few feet directly in front of me, so I didn't have any warning before the road went around curves.  And my lane was on the downhill side so if something went wrong I wouldn't be running into a nice comforting mountain but instead plummeting down a steep slope from which none of the 4 of us would survive.  I hope I never have to go through a situation like that again.

But once I was up the cliff, I saw some fascinating rocks.

These are called Courthouse Towers.

I took that photo because it looked like these rocks were too thin to be standing on their own.  But see them from the other side, below.

The Courthouse Towers from the front.

As you can see, they really are thin, but not exactly freestanding.

Across the way I saw these, which probably have names though there wasn't a sign telling us so.

The Courthouse Towers are on the right side.
But see below for a closer view of those rocks directly in front.

Look at the way those rocks are balanced
on the tops of these other, narrow rocks.

Doesn't this look like an Egyptian sphynx-like character?

Nature sculpted these rocks into an
intricate pattern that a human artist
would have to use glue for.

I was heading first for a formation called Balanced Rock.

Balanced Rock, in the center.
I hope, despite the awkward angle of the sunlight, that you
can see how narrow the platform it's balanced on.

It really changes appearance
from a different angle, doesn't it?

National Park Service explanation

Total height: 128'
Height of the Balanced Rock: 55'
Weight of the Rock: 3,500 tons
This NPS photo shows a smaller version (at right) that
finally succumbed to gravity about 45 years ago.

From there, I turned a corner to go to what they call the Windows Section.  Honestly, I'm not sure which of the Windows I saw, but these are the photos I got.

This and the next photo are different angles of
the same rocks and arches.

Note how that semicircle at left doesn't look
like an arch until you see it from the angle
above.  And the smaller one next to it isn't an
opening at all above, where it clearly is at right.

With the sun's angle, it's hard to see that these are
arches, not just shadows.  But they are.

Maybe you can see a little perpendicular line at the base
of this arch?  That's a person.  And there's another
in the left side of that arch.  That's how big it is.

Despite how early in the day I'd come, the place was already full of people and I couldn't find a parking place, which is why these photos aren't more definitive.  I even saw a busload of elderly people at the Balanced Rock.  They'd all gotten the Park Service's message that I had: come early, come late, or don't bother to come.

And on the way back, I got a different angle on the Balanced Rock:

Remarkable defiance of gravity.

I took these other photos as I was driving back to the entrance.

I think the swoop of colors in the rocks indicates
how the water flowed, back when there was water here.

More balanced rocks.  Look at these things!

I doubt if anyone would want to bother visiting this park based on my crummy photos, so I'll show you what the Park Service hands out, both to show what's here and to explain why it's here.

Landscape Arch

Delicate Arch (at left) is on Utah's license plates.
Turret Arch is at right.

North and South Windows
I think my photo was of the South Window.

Similar graphic but not a duplication of the info above.

Considering the transient nature of these formations (albeit in geologic time), I'm glad I had the chance to see what I did.  If you go, and I recommend it, plan on going early and spending an entire day.  Take water and comfortable walking/hiking shoes (which I didn't have) so you can get closer to some of these marvels.  

And don't wait too long.  As they say above, it was as recently as 1991 that a gigantic rock slab fell from the Landscape Arch.  As thin and as delicately balanced as it is now, well, who knows how much longer it'll be there.

Back on the road

Not far south of Moab I came to Wilson Arch, which is easily visible from the road.

Wilson Arch

As you saw with the formations in Arches National Park, this arch appears much smaller than it is.  It measures 46' high and 91' wide.  There's some decent parking nearby and people were hiking up to it while I was there.  And, unlike the national park, this one is free and obviously easily accessible.  I lightened the photo as much as I could, but the sun's angle still takes away from the impact of this rock formation.  I was glad to be driving this way, to be able to see it.

US-191, and US-163 which it joins near the Arizona border, is the only real highway in the southeastern part of Utah, as you can tell from my route map at the beginning of this post.  South of Moab, there's a series of small towns - Monticello ("Land Above the Canyons"), Blanding ("Base Camp to Adventure"), Bluff and Mexican Hat.  

There's not much out here besides Nature, so these towns are trying to capitalize on their access.  And that access is significant: roads lead to Canyonlands National Park; Glen Canyon National Recreation Area; Natural Bridges National Monument; Bears Ears National Monument; Hovenweep National Monument.  And it passed several state parks, rivers and mountain ranges.  The land looks nearly empty as you drive south, but I'm guessing there're a lot of rewards for someone who wanted to spend more time than I had to poke around here.

Part of this highway has been designated Navajo Code Talker Highway, which makes sense since at Mexican Hat the road enters the Navajo Indian Reservation, which takes up an enormous area of land in southern Utah and northern Arizona and New Mexico.  In fact, it's because Monument Valley sits on Navajo land that it hasn't been designated a national monument or park.  The Navajos have protected it as a park, charge an admission fee and operate some tours in the area.  I understand they're worth the cost.  But I found plenty to fascinate me just from the highway and from my campground.

Once near Navajo land, the road started to include some steep grades - 8% down into a narrow canyon filled with yellow cottonwoods; a 5% grade that included a hard right turn between high red rock walls that suddenly opened up into a sheer cliff on my left side as that right turn became some s-curves so I could barely glance at the scenery, let alone take the photos I so wanted to take.

These photos were taken sort of in that area.

Note how the road disappears down that hill, and then you can just see it farther along.

This photo is from a little farther along the road - you can see some of the same scenery
here as in the other photo, just from a different angle.

Someplace out here is an area called Valley of the Gods, which I understand is sacred to the Navajos.  I think it was included in Obama's designation of Bears Ears National Monument, then taken out when Trump undesignated 85% of the monument, then added back in again when Biden redesignated it.  I decided not to try to make the trip because access is via an unpaved road, which isn't so comfortable in an RV, though apparently an okay road for other vehicles.

The town of Mexican Hat is surely named for the nearby rock.  I'm showing 2 photos here, because I was at least as fascinated by the surrounding rocks as I was by the formation.

Can you see the red patterns in the rocks behind?
And I think their sculpting is stunning.

Mexican Hat Rock, as it's called.

As soon as I drove through the town, I came to an 8% grade leading directly down to a bridge across the San Juan River, where the road made a sharp left-hand turn before climbing again.  Very dramatic.

This whole area was seamed with canyons, some I suppose from creeks and riverbeds, others maybe from mountain formation?

I understand part of Forrest Gump was filmed along this road.  I didn't see the movie so can't tell you, but apparently there's a pull-off specifically so people can get their photos of that scenery.

Here are my photos of other scenery, instead.

You can see how wide open this country is, and how dramatic these rock formations are.  The road in that bottom photo is curving off to the left, but out of sight it curves back around to the right and runs on this side of that formation in my photo.

The Navajos have thoughtfully created a dozen or so pull-outs along this road for people to take photos, and include signs warning drivers of pedestrians on the road.  Those "pedestrians" consist of idiots who decide to plunk themselves down in the middle of the highway to get just the right vantage point for their stupid pictures, and when I wanted to pass by were less than willing to move over.  Really makes you wonder whether Darwin was right.

Also at some of these pull-outs a number of people, who I assume were Navajo, had set up tables to sell crafts - it looked like they had silver jewelry from the way the sun caught it, though I didn't stop to see.

My campground is just 2 miles inside Utah from the Arizona border, and there was plenty of scenery around.  An amazing country.