Today we travelled to the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park, so named because of the formation of the rocks sticking straight up. Six Shooter Peaks was our first stop. It was a quick stop beside the road and the wind was really biting.
At the Visitors Center you could see the Island in the Sky district in the distance where we were yesterday. It is a very broad mesa. There are 3 districts in Canyonlands, naturally divided up by the Green and Colorado Rivers.
Another short stop was at a granary used by Pueblo Natives about 1,000 years ago.
We walked to Cave Springs further down the road and saw a cowboy camp as well as a cave used by cowboys and Pueblo natives many years before that. Both left their mark on the walls. Moisture from the springs seeped along some of the cave walls and plants grew in random places.
The Wooden Shoe Arch was another nice stop and there were cottonwood trees nearby in full glorious fall color. The sun warmed things up nicely and layer after layer of clothing got discarded.
Elephant Hill provided us with a better view of the Needles. But closer exploration would have required hiking in to the area or the use of a 4x4 vehicle with plenty of clearance. We stopped at a picnic area for a noon meal and a group photo.
On the way back to Moab we made a stop at Indian Creek, a world-class destination for rock climbers. There were quite a few groups climbing up a sheer rock wall and the task looked impossible.
Our final picture stop was Newspaper Rock State Park. There is a huge wall filled with petroglyphs of every kind. Unfortunately, others have added graffiti over the years as well.
We arrived back to Moab and had a short break before our farewell supper at the Sunset Grill. It’s a beautiful restaurant high atop a hill and the views of town were great. The food was quite wonderful and we wound up the program after we ate. It’s been fun!
