Goblin Valley State Park
Goblin Valley is a bit of an oddity. It is perched on the edge of the San Rafael Swell and is an other-worldly valley filled with strange formations that with a bit of imagination look just like ossified goblins. This was the location for an alien planet in the film Galaxy Quest and it certainly looks like it could be on another planet. The viewing area was fairly busy but we went hiking into the valley and there was virtually no one else down there – it seems to always be the way, people seem so reluctant to move more than 100 yards from their cars which suits us just fine.
There is a campground in the park but when we arrived it was full, however the Ranger on duty tipped us off that there was a great place to free camp only a few miles away. We found a great spot overlooking part of the San Rafael Swell and settled in for the night.
Dead Horse Point State Park
In the last couple of weeks two locals had recommended Dead Horse Point State Park to us. This was between Moab and Canyonlands – Islands In The Sky area. It is pretty expensive to get in ($10) but we decided to camp there which means that we paid $20 for camping which included the entrance fee. The campground was really nice and we got there early and kicked back in the afternoon and relaxed.
For sunset we cycled up to the main lookout point of the park and then went back to the campground for a laid back BBQ. This area really reminds me of the Grand Canyon but on a slightly smaller scale.
Arches National Park
Arches National Park is just down the road from Moab. Moab is a really cool town – kind of like a desert version of New Zealand’s Queenstown. Moab is a centre for serious off-roading (every second car is a jacked up jeep) and mountain biking (although in the heat around here that’s crazy).
We spent a night in Moab and actually had a night out for about the first time in a month. We went to the Moab Brewery and drank some locally brewed beer and Sarah ordered a Margarita which when it came was easily a pint. It was great in Utah to be able to get some drinks – they’ve relaxed the drinking laws somewhat since we were last here 5 years ago.
We spent a day in Arches National Park and the first thing we did was to drive right to the end of the paved road to do a hike called the Devil’s Garden Primitive Loop. This was around 7 miles long with all the optional extra side trips. The way out was pretty straightforward with the way back being more interesting due to a number of scrambles over slickrock to travel back through the fins that the way out was above. The highlight of the hike was landscape arch which is a really long thin arch but in all we saw over 10 arches on the way. We started the hike really early after having stayed the night at a brilliantly named campsite called William’s Bottom just outside Moab and next to the Colorado river.
Arches seems to be about the hottest place in Utah and even in mid-October it was well over 30c by midday. Our early start paid off though and by the time we returned it was only really starting to get hot.
In the afternoon we hiked a 1.5 mile slickrock trail to the famous Delicate Arch. Although it was a bit of a scrum here with loads of people so we elected to walk back and not wait for sunset.
We also visited Hole N” The Rock (fantastic punctuation) which is wonderfully cheesy. It is the former home of Albert Christensen and his wife Gladys. They hollowed out a fairly sizeable home out of a solid sandstone cliff. They ran this as a diner before Albert died in 1957. What makes it truly interesting is that the décor is still 1950’s and it is full of pretty kitsch stuff such as the results of Albert’s taxidermy (he wasn’t very talented at this). The house is gorgeous – modernise it and it would be worth a fortune. It took them over a decade to dynamite and chisel it all out and even after Albert died, Gladys in her 60’s decided she wanted a bathtub so hand chiselled herself a new bathroom, quite an impressive lady.
Canyonlands – The Needles
Canyonlands – The Needles
After spending the day at Mesa Verde we decided to drive towards Moab. It was approaching sunset when we realised that we wouldn’t make it all the way to Moab so we looked for somewhere to spend the night. Our guidebook came to rescue and pointed us down a side road to a free campground at Newspaper Rock. However on arriving we found that the campsite had been shut and “No Camping” signs were posted everywhere. This wasn’t great as darkness was falling and we were in the middle of nowhere.
With darkness looming we drove a bit further down the road and then down a dirt road – after crossing a small river we eventually found a small turnout by some stunning cliffs. There was the small matter of a “No Camping” sign – but it was late and we would get going early in the morning. We were staying.
We had realised that we were just short of one of the three areas of Canyonlands National Park so we decided to check it out. We arrived at the visitor centre as it opened and got advice on a hike and then set out to the trailhead.
We had decided to hike to Druids Arch for which the trailhead was called Elephant Hill. However the road to that trailhead was limited to vehicles under 21 feet so we were too large. This meant that we had to leave from the Squaw hill campground which added a few miles to the distance – so in total the hike was 13.5 miles. Oh well not too much but this would be a long day.
We set out and the hike started with a climb over a ridge of rock which opened up an otherworldy vista of rock spires, cliffs and valleys.
The hike was very varied with valleys, slickrock, a narrow slot canyon, a river bed and ending with a steep gully to climb accessed by climbing a ladder. The arch at the end was enormous though and well worth the effort – although it’s supposed to look a bit like stonehenge – I’m not sure the people who named it had ever seen stonehenge though !
In just a couple of days we have moved from the snow of the mountains to the baking heat of the near desert. We learnt that In these conditions the 3.5 litres of water we were each carrying wasn’t enough and on the way back despite rationing water both of us ran out. Fortunately we weren’t too far from home.
The last couple of miles of the hike were pretty hard going as we were both pretty tired – the going had been pretty tough – and we were glad to make it back to the Beast. However overall it was a stunning hike – among the best we’ve ever done.
After making it back we drove just outside the park and found a free campsite near the BLM Hamburger rock campsite and settled in for the night and a BBQ. On the way out we also checked out the Newspaper Rock which is an area of Desert varnish that has so ancient markings on it – and some not so ancient.
Mesa Verde National Park
Within a very short distance from the mountains the landscape begins to change – although the altitude is still high – as you move to a drier environment. We arrived at Mesa Verde National Park only around an hour before sunset so we went straight to the campground here and settled in for the night.
First thing in the morning we drove the 20 miles to the Visitor centre. In order to visit the main two sets of ruins at Mesa Verde you have to book on a ranger led tour. These can really fill up in high season but fortunately for us we booked on tours quickly and easily. The cost of each tour was only $3 which seems really good value. In the summer there is also a third set of ruins to visit but the road to the second Mesa which these are on had been shut for the winter.
The ruins at Mesa Verde are from Ancestral Pueblans whose descendants live in the New Mexico region today. For hundreds of years they lived on the Mesa tops farming Corn and Squash however at the start of the 1300’s something prompted them to move from the Mesa tops and build easily defensible dwellings in the cliff walls (possible civil war). They only stayed here until around 1380 when they migrated South – possible due to cooling temperatures causing crop failures.
The first site that we visited was Cliff Palace (the biggest and most impressive of the ruins). There was an easy hike both in and out of this site. There is a serious problem here that the foundations are being undermined by a combination of water and rats. The National Park service is wrestling with the technical problems of stabilising the site but they are slightly hamstrung by the wishes of the modern Pueblans who will not let them disturb any of the burial sites in the foundations or use any metal in the fix. The shifting of the walls resulting from these problems has meant that some of the Kivas are no longer perfectly round.
The kivas are the centrepiece of each of the ruins and it seems that each family group had one. They were used for ceremonies and were the centre of the spiritual lives of the ancient Pueblans. The small stone wall you can see opposite a hole in the wall is to deflect incoming air from the ventilation hole to prevent it going straight to the central fire and allow the air to circulate. The Kivas would originally all have had thick roofs and these would have been used as highways across the villages.
After the tour of Cliff Palace we had to rush around to Balcony House for our tour there. While waiting for the Ranger to arrive we noticed a Tarantula walking across the paving. Sarah was not impressed.
The Balcony House is a smaller site than Cliff Palace and is harder to access. A thirty foot ladder must be scaled and then you have to squeeze through a relatively tight passage to get into the area. You can see the ladder that you have to climb up to the site in the bottom right hand corner of the picture.
Even worse on the way out there is a tiny little hole to squeeze through and then another ladder to climb. I only just got through the hole and had to push my camera and backpack through before me.
Balcony House is notable for its large courtyard space with a guard wall where ceremonial dances would have taken place.
After these two tours we visited some of the other accessible sites including Spruce Tree House – which is the only self-guided major ruin in the Park.
Ouray, Silverton and the Mountains
After staying in Montrose for a couple of days to recover from some Traveller’s ailments we headed over the mountains through Ouray to Mesa Verde.
The drive through the mountains is very beautiful. The first stop is Ouray which is small mountain town. It is renowned for its 4×4 mountain tracks – unfortunately recent snow had closed all of these for the winter.
We stopped off at a local waterfall (Box Canon Falls) – scandalously they charge $4 to visit – which was very disappointing. Although the gorge that it was in was quite nice.
After this it was up into the mountains across Red Mountain Pass to Silverton. On the way there was quite a lot of snow – but the road was clear.
Silverton was another very pretty mountain town set in a much wider valley. Silverton’s main claim to fame is the narrow gauge railway which runs from Durango. The ticket prices for this are very high so we didn’t get a chance to ride it but we saw a couple of the trains come and go. The railway is responsible for a large amount of moneyed tourists hitting the town so there are a lot of restaurants and shops targeting this trade.
Once through Silverton there is another pass to climb – Coal Bank Pass and then it was all downhill to Durango which appeared to be a fairly nondescript American Town. Although we could be being unfair because we drove straight through on the way to Mesa Verde.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
On leaving Rocky Mountain National Park we managed to drive around 100 miles before nightfall. We found a turnout on the highway to spend the night. Unfortunately we hadn’t escaped the weather and the night was very cold – down to -4c outside and when we woke up only 3c in the camper. Wow. There was some light snow in the night but it had melted by morning. The mountain tops got some proper snow though.
We drove the rest of the way to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park – on the way we had to cross Monarch Pass at 11,300ft where we actually encountered snow and ice conditions. We also drove through a desert like area with an amazing Mesa.
Once at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison (the most improbably named park we’ve come across yet) we settled into the South Rim Campground (only US$6 per night – an absolute bargain for a National Park Campsite). We walked a trail along the edge of the canyon before getting back to the camper just as it was getting dark.
This was another cold night – down to -5c this time. No snow overnight but more snow on the higher mountains. Winter really seems to have arrived in this area. The days are getting up to 15c though so are pretty pleasant and the sun is out too.
In the morning we drove around the canyon and visited a number of the viewpoints. The canyon is a pretty new National Park. The canyon itself is up to 2700 feet deep and is relatively young having been carved by a very energetic river. Unfortunately dams upriver have reduced the flow of the river so the rate of erosion has been slowed considerably.
One of the interesting features of the Canyon is that the North Wall is almost vertical while the South wall is nowhere near as steep. This is a result of snow accumulation being greater on the South wall (being North facing) and it causes more erosion than on North where the sun melts the snow more quickly.
Rocky Mountain National Park
After a night filled with the high pitched bugles of mating elk we woke to a fog covered world. Fortunately within an hour the fog cleared and the sun came out.
We headed to a hike not far from Timber Creek campsite and walked through the woods to the ruins of Lulu City – an old mining town. We’d picked a walk with not too much elevation gain because we were both a little short of breath from the altitude.
We got to the ruins of Lulu city to find that it was really just a clearing in the woods and that there were no actual ruins. There was a very pretty river though that we sat and had lunch by.
After this we thought we would extend the hike a bit and we went to the Little Yellowstone Canyon – this involved a stiff uphill hike and we were both very out of breath from this. What was went to be a short acclimatisation hike turned into over 10 miles and we ended up at around 3200m.
After getting back from the hike we drove across to the other side of the park on the Trail Ridge Road. We knew we were getting high when we hit a sign saying that we were 2 miles above sea level – and we were still going up. We finally hit almost 3700m and the ridge was barren and windswept but there was no snow even at this height. A real sign of how far south we have come.
We descended back down to around 2500m to the Moraine Park Campsite to spend the night. This campsite was much busier than the Timber Creek on the other side of the Park. I suppose this isn’t surprising as this side is nearer to Denver and there is a lot more population nearby.
The next day we awoke to blue skies and what looked like a lovely day. We set off for Bear Lake which was the trailhead for a 3 mile walk to three lakes – Nymph, Dream and Emerald. These were simply stunning. On the way back we sat down to admire Nymph lake and we were joined by a very friendly duck who came right up to us – obviously used to handouts.
When we turned around and started heading back the wind had started to rise and clouds had come in. We had planned to go back over the Trail Ridge Road but given the weather we thought we’d better check the forecast at the visitor centre before heading up to the Alpine. Good thing we did because they told us there were hurricane force winds and it was currently snowing. 7 inches of snow was forecast for the night. We didn’t need telling twice – time to leave.
Cross Country Drive
The drive from Mount Rainier to Rocky Mountain National Park took us 3.5 days. Its times like these where the Beast’s top speed of only 50 MPH can be slightly frustrating.
After leaving Mount Rainier within only 50 miles or so the landscape changed significantly to a more desert like Cowboy and Western terrain. It climbed to be an inland plateau at around 2000m. The temperatures were pretty hot with the thermometer hitting 30C in the early afternoon. Sarah was quite disturbed to see a Rattlesnake Warning sign at one rest area we stopped at.
We did take the time to visit Shoshone falls just outside Twin Falls, Idaho. This waterfall is 50ft higher than Niagara Falls and they are 1000ft wide. Pretty Impressive. In Twin Falls we also stopped off at the visitor centre where we watched a couple of lunatics BASE jumping of the bridge. Idaho is the only state in the USA where BASE jumping is legal. Also in Twin Falls is the Malad Gorge which made a quick stop for us.
As we drove towards the Park we kept on getting higher and higher and the landscape started to change. The highland plains gave way to forested hills with trees with autumn leaves and then conifers. We ended up at 2750m. High.
We ended up arriving at Rocky Mountain National Park pretty late in a rainstorm so it was getting seriously dark and just had time to check in at a campsite before full darkness arrived.
Mount Rainier
While in Gig Harbour we looked at the weather forecast and it looked like there was a 1 day weather window around Mount Rainier National Park before the weather took a turn for the worse. We thought we’d better make the most of this so set off for the Park.
It was only a 2.5 hr drive across to Mount Rainier and we entered the Park through the Nisqually entrance before heading up to the area known as Paradise. Unfortunately the very top of the mountain was swathed in clouds, however the sun was shining on Paradise and the views from here across to Mt Adams and Mt St Helens were pretty spectacular.
We set off on a 10k or so hike up into the high alpine region. The mountain itself is 14,410ft high and Paradise is at 5400ft. We hiked up the Skyline trail which took us up over 7000ft in altitude where there was still a lot of snow from last winter – no new snow yet but they were forecasting snow down to 8000ft that night.
The mountain flowers were still blooming as the snow melt this year came very late – that is blooming at the start of October – not long before the first snows come.
After our hike we went down to the Cougar Rock campsite where we spent the night. Unfortunately we woke the next morning to low level cloud as far down as we were at only 1000m. We had planned to drive round to the Sunrise side of the park and do a hike at altitude but with the cloud level we wouldn’t have been able to see much. So instead we started our trek across the country aiming to get South and East to Rocky Mountain National Park. We needed to get here fairly quickly as although much further South, its very high and the road through the park is usually shut by mid-October and it can be earlier.
FromAtoB 