Moab, Utah Day 9

Our final day in the Moab area took Lee and I back to Canyonlands National Park.  On our way we stopped in at Dead Horse State Park.  This park has a terrific overlook onto the Colorado River snaking its way downstream.  Seeing this one can imagine how this river has carved the landscape out in the way it has.  After the confluence with the Green River it is able to do a lot more carving.  This is the same river that created the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

We stopped at many viewpoints on the drive through Canyonlands, each offering a more spectacular vista than the last.  This is not a park for those afraid of heights!  Island in the Sky is the top of a large butte accessible by driving over a very narrow connection to the rest of the world.  The land drops steeply hundreds of feet on each side of the road.  You feel as though you are on an island because the drop all around the butte is over 300 meters.

One of the things I watch for when in the desert are the lizards.  They're only about 15 cm long but come in many different colour variations.  I found this one on a hike to the False Kiva.



My main interest in this portion of the trip, and one of the items on my personal bucket list is visiting False Kiva.  This archaeological site is not on the official maps. The trail is treacherous and not easy and the site is not protected from vandalism. Hiking along the canyon top is not for the faint of heart, but the destination is well worth the effort.  Thanks to Lee for guiding me to this fantastic place!

The original purpose of the stone circle is unknown and the name False Kiva is because it resembles a Kiva though it is unlikely that given the location of this site it was ever used as a Kiva.  It sits at the edge of a cliff in a natural cave at the top of a steep slope that drops about 350 meters.  The view out of the cave is spectacular and during a period with no wind it was absolutely quiet in there.  As far as the eye could see there would probably not be another living person.  This is truly one of this country's most amazing sites.