Discovering our very first American canyon in this national park with an amusement park–sounding name! And what a shock it was! We were blown away by the vastness of its wild landscapes, and above all, by the sheer scale of its impressive canyon. Canyonlands National Park is truly stunning. Once again.
Monday, October 3, 2022
5 a.m. — the price to pay to witness the most famous sunrise in the United States. After exploring Arches National Park, we endured a violent storm and had a good night’s sleep in a motel. It’s still pitch dark when we leave. While dropping off the keys at the front desk, I meet the manager. Super nice, she gives me breakfast: three large donuts, three granola bars, four “very sweet from Utah” apples, and a coffee for Rémi. Thanks a lot!
Our goal for the day is to watch the sunrise under Mesa Arch, a classic spot in Canyonlands National Park. To get there, we drive for about an hour, then walk 20 minutes in the early morning light. The sky is clear, with an orange glow breaking at the horizon — a good sign! We arrive at the famous arch at the same time as a small crowd. Everyone whispers, as if to honor the grandeur of the sunrise about to unfold. Rémi and Mom, cameras in hand, try to find THE perfect spot for THE photo. I settle at a higher vantage point to quietly enjoy the spectacle. Gradually, the sky brightens and turns red. Then, in a reverent silence interrupted only by camera clicks, the sun bursts forth. The moment is intense, magical, glorious. We feel small and humbled before this imposing, unchanging nature.
A few minutes after sunrise, the crowd disperses, and we find ourselves almost alone in front of the arch. Sitting on a rock ledge for breakfast, we overlook an incredible landscape.
The great thing about driving at night in a park is that you don’t spoil the scenery for yourself! As we hit the road, we get our first glimpse of the stunning Canyonlands National Park and its numerous viewpoints over the canyon. Our first stop, Green River Overlook, is absolutely breathtaking.
Our first American canyon is on a true United States scale: immense, grandiose, spectacular. Having never seen one before, we are stunned by such vastness. We feel so small in front of a landscape sculpted by water over millions of years. The Green River winds far below in its deeply carved bed, so deep that it’s barely visible. The impressive rock formations rise toward the sky, the reddish canyon cliffs contrasting sharply with the blue sky. Our eyes are in awe.
We then set off on a hike along the rim of the canyon. The trail isn’t really marked—it’s enough to follow the edge of the cliff, without getting too close, since there are no safety barriers! It’s dizzying! This 3-kilometer hike rewards us with a breathtaking view of the canyon within the canyon. From up there, we also overlook the White Rim, a nearly 120-kilometer trail that winds along the canyon. Our little rental car wouldn’t survive it, which is why we’re not planning to drive it today. However, we do plan to come back in the next few weeks to take on this legendary Canyonlands road with our expedition Jeep!
Speaking of Canyonlands’ legendary roads, here comes the Shaffer! The Shaffer is one of the very reasons for our trip. We first discovered it on YouTube two years ago, when our project was just beginning to take shape, and we told ourselves: “We will do it!” It was one of the very first points we marked on our itinerary across the Americas. This road, reserved exclusively for 4x4s, winds its way down into the canyon through tight switchbacks. In just a few weeks, just like with the White Rim, we’ll be back in Canyonlands National Park to drive the Shaffer with our Jeep!
In the meantime, it’s time to leave Canyonlands National Park to continue our journey. But before finding a place to spend the night, and there’s no shortage of dream wild camps around Moab, we stop at Dead Horse Point State Park. We arrive in two cars, but the ranger at the entrance only charges us for one ticket, still $20. Quite pricey for a viewpoint! But what a view over a bend of the Colorado River, deep in its canyon!
According to legend, cowboys used the plateau atop the cliff as a corral to contain the mustangs. It was then enclosed on one side by a fence made of branches and on the other by sheer cliffs. For a reason still unknown today, the cowboys left the horses locked in the corral and left. The horses then died of thirst, even though the Colorado River flowed just at the base of the cliffs, 600 meters below. Hence the sad name, Dead Horse!
The afternoon is coming to an end as we return to Moab. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, it looks promising for our evening. Will we finally be able to enjoy a peaceful evening and night after three days of storms? We 🤞! After filling up with gas, which costs twice as much for the Jeep as for the rental car 😅, and doing a bit of shopping, we leave town to settle in the middle of nature for the night. We spend the evening cooking in the sun and watching the show of a paramotor flying—loudly—above us.
Tuesday, October 4
On the road, we stop in Bluff to visit the town’s Fort. It’s a reconstruction of a village from the Westward expansion. At the end of the 1800s, a Mormon colony settled here after a long journey. Choosing the most direct route via a passage they named “Hole in the Rock,” it still took them six months to carve a path with dynamite and get 83 wagons and 1,000 animals through. In this reconstructed village, it feels like stepping into a Charles Ingalls story! We visit the cabins of the different families of the time, furnished and decorated with care by their descendants. There’s also a small school, a water mill where we can pretend to pan for gold, and a forge where a volunteer demonstrates making forks and other utensils.
It’s then time to head toward one of the most iconic places in the United States, if not THE most iconic: Monument Valley. Needless to say, the three of us are very eager to discover this place that we know without really knowing!
