Canyonlands Camp Out

On a whim, we stopped at Canyonlands and Moab on our way back from Colorado. This entailed camping on the rim of Dead Horse Point and swimming beneath petroglyphs in the cool, clear waters of Mill Creek. More than fun, it reminded me how exquisite and life affirming the desert can be.

Only about a half hour from Moab, Canyonlands National Park is an explosion of red and purple rock, sagebrush, dead and live pinions twisted by the wind. You come upon the canyons themselves suddenly—almost accidentally—after driving over a sprawling expanse of flat. A coupl’a Forest Service signs and then BOOM—you’re at the rim of an abyss. To watch the sun set over Canyonlands is to know light in every color of the spectrum and the most complete silence you’ve ever experienced.

Sunset over Dead Horse Point—a time for quiet introspection and feeling the vibrations of the planet.

Swimming in the shadow of red rock.

We wandered up Mill Creek Canyon in our bathing suits, diving into the river and toasting on the red rock at will.

A hand-made swimming hole with varying levels of cliff jumping, NBD.

Canylonlands camp coffee!