Wandering in the USA: Green River, UT

On Friday morning, April 10th, we had breakfast at an “organic” coffee shop in Bluff, UT, said fond farewells to Sandy and Steve and headed north again to Green River, UT.

While we were hooking up to leave the campground, an ultra light flew by with the buttes in the background.

An interesting sight along side the highway on the way to Green River, UT.

We drove through Moab, UT where every possible parking space was occupied by a jeep!!! It turns out that it was Jeep Week (actually weeks) in Moab. Actually,it looked like Bike Week in Sturgis with vendors everywhere as well as jeeps.

On to Green River, UT and the Shady Acres RV Park (expensive but not great!). From there we drove to Dead Horse Point State Park, and some of the most beautiful scenery we have seen so far on our trip north. Towering 2,000 feet above the Colorado River, Dead Horse Point SP provides a breathtaking panorama of Canyonlands’ sculptured pinnacles and buttes.

“The Legend of Dead Horse Point

According to one legend, the point was once used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa. Cowboys rounded up these horses, herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck is only 30 yards wide, was then fenced off with branches and brush, creating a natural corral surrounded by precipitous cliffs. Cowboys then chose the horses they wanted and for some reason, left the other horses corralled on the waterless point where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River, 2,000 feet below.”

“Dead Horse Point is situated atop a high plateau at an elevation of about 6,000 feet above sea level. From the point, layers of geologic time may be viewed, revealing 300 million years of the earth’s geologic history. While standing on the canyon rim, 8,000 feet of geologic strata is visible looking from the peaks of the 12,000 foot high La Sal Mountains to the river below. These rock layers were deposited over the eons by ocean, fresh water and wind as well as isolated igneous events.”