Dead Horse's Sunset

 

What a weird title, you might think. 

You might remember that we had visited the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. On our way back to Moab we stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park, just a few miles away from the entrance to Canyonlands, still on top of the mesa. From here you have a breath taking view over the desert landscape of canyons, carved over millions of years by the Colorado River and the Green River. On a clear day your eyes may travel over to the La Sal Mountains in the distance.

This state park is particularly popular for both sunrise and sunset. It has been on our list for quite a while, because whenever we had been up here it was either completely foggy or we were a bit too late since we had spent so much time in Canyonlands. This time, though, we were right on time.

Above you can see the canyons and also the Colorado River if you look closely. The picture below is directed to the other side which is more hazy because of the low sun, but you can still see the crazy bends the river makes.

So, what about that name, Dead Horse? There are different legends how it came to its name. One of them is described on the park's website:

Dead Horse Point is a peninsula of rock atop sheer sandstone cliffs. The peninsula is connected to the mesa by a narrow strip of land called the neck. There are many stories about how this high promontory of land received its name.

According to one legend, around the turn of the century, the point was used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa top. Cowboys rounded up these horses, herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck, which is only 30-yards-wide, was then fenced off with branches and brush. This created a natural corral surrounded by precipitous cliffs straight down on all sides, affording no escape. Cowboys then chose the horses they wanted and let the culls or broomtails go free. 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.

A couple more pictures while the shadows weren't too long yet.

Then the light started to change, turned more golden and warm.

The shadows became longer and deeper, obscuring the canyons.

Well, of course, a tree! Is anybody surprised?

The two "lakes" you see on the desert floor are solar evaporation ponds for a potash mine.

One of the last views over the darkened canyons.

Rocks on the mesa were still in sunlight, but not for much longer.

What about some Alpenglühen (alpenglow)?

Even that changed quickly on this winter evening.

The top of the mesa was tinted in pink-purple for a few minutes.

I finish this post with a twisted dead tree.

Meeting the Goblins

 

After a long day driving along spectacular Highway 12 and exploring Capitol Reef in the afternoon, we spent the night in a tiny cabin in Hanksville. Hanksville is not more than a hamlet where literally nothing is open between Christmas and New Year's. The only place to eat was a less than mediocre burger place, but since we didn't have anything warm the entire day we didn't have a choice. The coffee place in the morning was closed as well, so we just had a couple nut and granola bars. A great breakfast, not. 

So we were off to our next adventure. The weather had changed, it was grey, cold and the clouds were low. That actually gave the landscape a mysterious look. 

Eventually the fog became rather dense. I was driving very slowly because everything looked greyish-white - and suddenly this cow appeared out of the fog. Thank goodness I wasn't driving fast!

Our destination was Goblin Valley State Park. We had discovered this gem sometime in the 2010s during one of our many Southwest trips and really liked it back then. The Geek and I were eager to visit again. The state Park is pretty much in the middle of nowhere off Utah State Highway 24 south of I-70. It is easy to pass by - you still have to drive several miles from Highway 24 to the valley - but a stop is very worthwhile. It's a place where your imagination can go wild.

This is a three-square-mile area covered in hoodoos that display the oddest shapes.

As so much in the American Southwest it is a very arid area - not much was growing here. There was some snow and it was seriously cold. However, we bundled up and walked right into the valley and among the goblins. 

If you want to study geologic history, Goblin Valley is a good place to go to. Due to the uneven hardness of sandstone, some patches resist erosion much better than others. Water erosion and windblown dust result in the odd and strange shapes of the "goblins". 

The soil is thin and almost completely lacks vegetation. When rain does fall, there are few plant roots and little soil to capture and hold water.

I did find a very few, very dry plants, however.

But the goblins were the reason why we came here after all. They are undeniably the true stars in this valley.

When you use your imagination you can see a lot of interesting shapes and figures. 

Gnomes...

... a dog, maybe?

Definitely a bird, an angry bird. At least not a happy one.

G-rated kissers were quite abundant.

We walked through more narrow pathways deeper into the valley - there seems to be something different behind each and every goblin.

And then we found the hippo. Actually an entire herd of hippos.

The guy with the floppy ear looked like Kaefer's stuffed hippo, so we had to take a picture of ourselves with the hippo in the background and send it to her.

After almost two hours of exploring we were so cold that we walked back to the car. We wanted to reach Moab by night, but first had to stop at a garage in Green River to get our tire fixed, that was constantly losing air (of course my nifty husband had a measurement and a pump in the trunk, he's a German engineer!- and he had to use them repeatedly on this trip).

The sun finally made an appearance when we were leaving.

The Three Sisters

So, what do you think? Do these goblins count as faces for Nicole's Friday Face Off? Otherwise, there are still two human faces in the mix.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Christmas in Bryce Canyon

 

We arrived at Bryce Canyon the day before Christmas Eve and didn't go into the park that day. We were tired from the long drive and our stop at Cathedral Gorge. It was getting dark early as well, so we opted for a good dinner in Ruby's restaurant. 

This is a photo heavy post, but thankfully less "talk" from me.

When we're in Bryce we always watch the sunrise at least once. Winter and cold doesn't discourage us. We bundled up and drove out to the parking lot of Inspiration Point. Bryce Canyon faces East, so it's perfect for a sunrise.

You will notice different colors in the photos. This is because a) the light constantly changes and b) I was working with two cameras, my phone and my DSLR which both display colors differently.

Of course I had to put a tree in the picture...

Look at these two trees - those roots are impressive, and I liked the way this tree is twisted.

There is one hike in Bryce Canyon that we love and have done a couple times. You go down Navajo Trail which passes through the hoodoos deep into the "canyon" (Bryce Canyon is actually NOT a canyon) and eventually hike up to the rim via Queens Garden. It's quite strenuous in parts. The Geek wanted to do it again, but I knew that with my highly annoying cough and the thin air (Bryce Canyon is at an altitude of 9100 ft/2773 m) I would never get up the last steep part of Queens Garden trail. So the Geek left on his own whereas I explored the park at bit more.

The start of Navajo Trail

It winds its way deep through these hoodoos

Queens Garden Trail almost at the rim

I drove to the very end of the road and stopped at the natural bridge. I have always loved this view and it didn't disappoint this time either.

The little bits of snow drew interesting patterns in the rock.

There were more trees that I could photograph.

And I was very happy to "chase" the ravens.

The next morning - Christmas Day - had a lovely surprise: snow!

The clouds were already looming and chasing along the sky, providing ever changing colors and patterns.

Don't you think this tree stump looks like a bear?

With snow the red rock really "pops".

Did I mention the trees? It always fascinates me where they are still able to grow. I can't imagine a world without trees.

Someone had built a tiny snowman.

We met friendly people who took our "Christmas photo". This is for Nicole's Friday Face Off.

You can see how bundled up we were. It was very very cold, but oh, so beautiful.

A few more photos... this is such a favorite place of ours. It doesn't matter how often we come here (I think this was our seventh or eighth visit), we never get tired of this wonderful, amazing place. Nature - our church.

These little guys were very entertaining. Ravens are fascinating birds.

But on the horizon we could already see that the following day wouldn't be as beautiful as this one.

The last sunrise in Bryce Canyon (that didn't happen) before we said goodbye.