The Big Five Parks of Southern Utah Tour

In the late summer of 2022 Ken and Virginia needed to use the airline tickets they had purchased way back in 2020 but could not use due to the Covid pandemic. They decided to visit the “Big Five” national parks in southern Utah. Ken developed a plan that hit Arches, two sections of Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. He also tossed in Natural Bridges National Monument since it was near the others.

This shot was taken in the "backyard" of Ken and Virginia's hotel in Torrey, UT where they stayed while visiting Capitol Reef National Park. Ken is using it as the cover photo for this blog since it it is surely among the best of the shots he captured.

 

Overall Map

This map shows K+V’s overall route in southern Utah. The trip began on Monday October 10 with Ken + Virginia flying to Salt Lake City, via a connection in Denver. After arriving in mid-afternoon, they drove a few hours south and stopped for the night in Price, Utah. They hit the local Walmart to stock up on supplies and the next morning continued on southward toward Moab, Utah, which is quite close to both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.

 

Desert Mountain View

On the morning of Tuesday October 11, while driving a tiny section of I-70 eastbound between Price and Moab, V+K stopped at the Crescent Junction Rest Area.  While there they were treated to a view hinting at what was ahead for them.

 

Desert Autumn

It was also a view of the autumnal colors of the desert.

 

Lonesome Highway

 

From here K+V drove down to the Moab area, passing the road into Canyonlands. Their plan was to get into Arches and at least talk to the rangers a bit before the main event exploring the park the following day. The park was closed due to overcrowding when they arrived at about 11:15AM.

The Incredible Shrinking Virginia

Plan B was to drive back to the Canyonlands access road and head into that park. Along the access road were several places to pull out and view the scenery.

 

NOT Pictographs of Elephants

A pictograph is a painting on stone. Although there were not any interpretive signs around, K+V are pretty sure these were not pictographs since they were so large (and elephants are not native to the area). They have no real idea how these marks were formed however.

 

Merrimack and Monitor

 

These two are called the Merrimack and Monitor for their resemblance to the ironclad warships. Those two ships fought a Civil War naval battle at the mouth of the James River near Hampton Roads, Virginia on March 9, 1862. At this stop Virginia was talking to another traveler and heard horror stories about getting into Canyonlands too. Despite that news V+K plunged ahead. They got to the Visitor Center, got a wee bit of a briefing on what to expect on their visit in a few days, and then drove the 27 or so miles back to Arches.

Moab Fault

This time they got in with only a small delay. The ranger told them they close entry to the park every day for a few hours mid-day (something not mentioned anywhere in the information K+V had previously viewed.) This shot shows what is known as the Moab Fault. Notice how the land on the left (west side of US-191) is two thousand feet higher than the land on the right side. In simplest terms, the underlying salt dissolved causing the ground to sink and forming the bowl where the town of Moab is now located.

 

Four Features in One Shot

 

Taken from the La Sal Mountain Viewpoint and showing four features in the park. From left to right, Three Gossips, Sheep Mountain, then across the valley and road, the Tower of Babel and The Organ. K+V both like that the cars running down the road at the lower left give some scale to this shot.

Late Day Color

 

Looking east from the La Sal Mountain Viewpoint the sun was already having an effect on the colors.

Heading Down Park Avenue

At about 3:30 PM K+V started the 3.6 mile, 2 hour round-trip hike down Park Avenue. They hiked it in reverse from what many people do. They started at north end by the Courthouse Towers Viewpoint. This approach was something Ken saw noted during his research and was to avoid steps at the south end and their 322 foot elevation change up to the Park Avenue Viewpoint and trailhead parking lot.

 

Up Close with The Gossips and the Sheep

 

Sky, Rock, Tree and Sand

The trail was deserted in parts but a ranger apparently routinely walks it looking for hikers in distress. Fortunately, K+V didn’t need any help.

 

Tree and Mountain

 

That’s the Real Sky

 

Ken thinks it’s funny he needs to make note that situation.

Classic Canyon View

 

End of the Trail and the End of Day

 

As V+K were nearly done the return trip back through the canyon, Ken turned around to get this shot of the darkening that was beginning to overtake the canyon. The shot was taken at 4:42 PM. Official sunset for the area was 6:45 PM.

Park Avenue Trailhead

 

After resting up a bit Ken started to drive out of the park. Along the way they passed the typical starting (southern) end of the Park Avenue trail. Ken got out to get a peak at the infamous “steps” that constituted most of the 322 foot elevation change on the trail. He felt very smart for having heeded the advice he’d found online to hike (most of) the trail in the “reverse” direction. Notice the sign and understand that K+V never did hike this short section of the trail.

Final View of the Day

One last shot. Not a bad day, especially considering the original plan had been to just use the day to get settled.

 

An Early Start

The plan for the next day was to be up and out of the hotel EARLY and be at the Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint before sunrise at 7:24 AM. During the discussion with the ranger the day before, she suggested entering the park one hour before sunrise to assure getting a parking place. K+V awoke even before the alarm, and arrived at the TOTALLY DESERTED parking lot WAY before anyone else. Looking back up the access road at 7:19 K+V could see the cars flooding in.

 

Getting There

As seen from the Lower Delicate Arch viewpoint, light, and rich red colors, were beginning to show in the valley.

 

Greens Coming Out Too

 

Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint Trail

While K+V were waiting for the sun to appear they decided to see just how tough the “Upper Delicate Arch viewpoint” trail was. It listed in the park’s brochure as being “moderately strenuous”.  They now think whoever rates the trails must be a 30-year-old fitness nut that lives well above sea level and hikes every day.

 

More Illumination

This shot, taken at 7:43, shows the sun (which technically rose 19 minutes earlier at 7:24) just then starting to shine in the valley. It seems to Ken two mistakes were made in this effort to photograph the sunrise. #1 – Not fully appreciating the fact that the “sunrise” time is for a flat horizon and does not account for the mountains blocking the sun. #2 – CLEARLY the ranger misunderstood where K+V intended to go. A few hours later they found the TOTALLY FULL parking lot at Wolfe Ranch that apparently was the destination of most of the cars shown driving down the road in the earlier shot.

 

Here Comes the Sun

 

This shot, taken at 7:45, shows the sun just peaking over the eastern mountain tops.

A Bit More Now

This shot, taken at two minutes later, shows more of the sun and the foreground lighting up more.

 

The Sun is Here at Last

This last shot of the series, taken 80 seconds after the previous one at 7:49, shows the sun finally cresting the eastern mountains, roughly 25 minutes after official sunrise. BUT when it happens depends of course on the height of the eastern mountain in the area being photographed.

 

The Moon was Still Up Too

 

Delicate Arch

Surely the star of the park and on the Utah state license plate as well. But the arch itself is roughly a mile away from the Lower Arch Viewpoint. The people in the middle ground likely walked from the Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint. The tiny people way in the background to the left of the arch undoubtedly walked the 3 mile / 3 hour (round-trip) 538 foot elevation change trail from Wolfe Ranch.

And NO, this shot does not need to be leveled. It accurately represents what the ground actually looks like.

Salt Valley

As seen from Panorama Point.

 

Salt Valley Up Close

 

Double Arch Area

 

Despite the name of the place, there are three major openings here that are enlarging side by side. They are the big opening at the right, and the double arch in the opening at the left (not yet clearly visible). These all began as one single pothole arch. To get a sense of scale, notice the people in the blue jackets at the lower right corner of the shot.

Double Arch

 

Approaching the area to the left, the reason for the “Double Arch” moniker became clear. The larger span is 144 feet wide and 112 feet high - the third largest arch in the park. The smaller arch opening is 67 feet wide by 86 feet high. Again for scale, look for the people at the bottom just left of center.

Baby Arch

 

Ken’s name for it. Apparently it’s too young/new to get much attention, such as giving it a sign and a name.

North Window

Directly across the parking lot from the Double Arch is the Windows Section. K+V started down the 1 mile / 1 hour (round trip) 99 foot elevation change trail to the North Window.

 

They Finally Made It!

After this V+K considered leaving the park to eat lunch, but fearing they might not get back in to the park, they decided to survive off the snacks in the car and headed off for more park viewing.
 

Balanced Rock

Their next stop was at Balanced Rock. Its overall height is 128 feet. The upper boulder section is made of slick rock and is 55 feet high and weighs over 7,000 pounds. The slick rock in upper boulder is more resistant to erosion than is the mudstone pedestal and that unequal erosion is how the formation came to form.

 

Gone but not Forgotten

 

There are numerous other such formations in the park. Immediately adjacent to Balanced Rock, on the point to the left, used to be “Chip of the Old Block” which fell during the winter of 1975-1976.

Rock Climbers

 As V+K were headed back to the Windows section Ken spotted something atop one of the spires in the Garden of Eden – rock climbers!

 

Two at the Top

 

And Headed Down

 

Both of Them

 

More on the Way Up

 

Windows Section–Round 2

On their visit to the Windows Section earlier in the day V+K walked the trail to the Double Arch and then followed the crowd on the left hand trail to the North Window (the green line). The fault in that approach is that it doesn’t provide any view at all of the South Window due to it being hidden by a ridge, nor had they seen the Turret Arch. Ken decided to take a different path and hope for different results (the purple line).

 

Off He Goes

Ken left Virginia in the parking lot as he set off on another expected 1 mile / 1 hour (round trip) 99 foot elevation change trail.

 

Both Windows

It was worth the effort. The North Window is on the left and the South Window is on the right. The big rock in the middle is what was totally obscuring the South Window from view when Virginia and Ken hiked the other part of the trail to the North Window earlier in the day.

 

Turret Arch

Turning around 180 degrees Ken captured this nice view of Turret Arch.

 

Wolfe Ranch

 

Next up was a visit to the Wolf Ranch area.

Hard as it may be to believe people once tried to ranch in this area. In 1898, a nagging leg injury from the Civil War prompted 69-year-old John Wesley Wolfe to leave his wife and three of his children in Etna, Ohio, and seek a drier climate. He brought his oldest son, Fred, with him.  The two settled a 100+-acre property along Salt Wash, just north of the village of Moab, and close to a fresh water spring. For nearly a decade, they lived and worked alone on the remote "Bar DX" ranch, eventually grazing more than 1,000 head of cattle on native grasses that once covered this area. 

Later on, John's daughter, Flora, made the westward trek with her husband, Ed Stanley, and two young children, Esther and Ferol. Appalled by the condition in which her father and brother lived Flora demanded they build a new cabin with a wooden floor and real windows. John obliged creating the sturdy cabin that remains in the park to this day. All six family members lived and slept in the one-room cabin, measuring just 17 feet by 15 feet (5.2 m by 4.6 m). John Wolfe also constructed a root cellar, irrigation dams, and a corral.

Wolfe Ranch Corral