Utah - Canyonlands Series

Day 4

A Few More Places in Arches National Park

There a few more notable places that we hit up in the morning before our afternoon flight.

First off, Park Avenue. Supposed to give off the same vibes as Park Avenue in Manhattan, it’s a pretty cool canyon that you can walk at the bottom and look up at the towering formations. You can also see all three different kinds of sandstone here, from the muddier, softer bottom layer to the harder Entrada sandstone. The topmost layer has generally eroded off, but there are still bits of it sitting proudly at the top.

Park Avenue @ Arches National Park
Review Towering rocks that are…very thin? How do they stand up like that so tall.
Verdict: 4/5 — It’s like New York’s Park Avenue, but without the stink and the New Yorkers.

Further down the road is a pullover for the Courthouse Towers. There is a sign that suggests there may have once been an arch connecting the Tower of Babel with Sheep Rock, and points to how the rock have fractured.

Courthouse Towers / The Organ / Sheep Rock / Tower of Babel @ Arches National Park
Review It’s as if it’s taken directly out of a Western. I guess it is the West after all…
Verdict: 4/5 — This is one of the more-accessible rock towers along the main park drive, and it’s easy to make a quick stop.

There are a lot of balanced rocks within the park (there’s one that looks like a head on the left side of Park Avenue!), but this is one of the larger ones in the park, at over 3,600 tons and 128 feet high. There once was a smaller balanced rock next to the larger one, named “Chip-Off-the-Old-Block” that tumbled down in 1975, so it’s the same is bound to happen to its larger sibling one day. The National Park Service has a pretty neat before and after photo comparison that shows how it has changed over the last 50 years.

Balanced Rock @ Arches National Park
Review Excuse me it’s not actually balanced it’s still attached…..for now
Verdict: 4/5 — There is no better time to visit than the present, says NPS. Hopefully it’s heavy enough that dumb people won’t try to push it over.

Back to Salt Lake City via Interstate 70

Last year, we had to dribe back to Salt Lake City, so we decided to take some extra time via Interstate 70, which contains some of the most scenic drives along a highway in the US. Before that, we made a quick taco stop in the sleepy town of Green River, as the next town with services is just over a hundred miles away.

nyoom into planet vulcan

Interstate 70 has a lot of interesting history behind it, but in any case, one of the three engineering marvels in the project was the crossing of the San Rafael Swell. Other than being used for Star Trek film settings, the San Rafael Swell is a 75 by 40 mile section of rock that was pushed up to form numersou gorges, canyons, and badlands. Now with transportation logistics simplified with the freeway complete, there are a few vista points that are worth stopping at for photos! Do note that these vista points tend to be only in one direction, and there are a different set if you’re traveling eastbound.

The order at which you’ll hit these points are:

Eagle Canyon

Otherwise, heading home via Canyonlands Field

If you’re returning your car at Canyonlands Field, be sure to fill up on gas in town before heading out. There is only one Chevron before the airport, and they will gladly charge you Jolly Redd prices for the convenience.

Canyonlands Field only has one gate, one security lane, and a vending machine for food services. It’s cute. Otherwise, it’s clean, the WiFi is reliable, and I can’t complain for the convenience.

Canyonlands Field → San Francisco Int'l (24 Feb 2020)
CNY (13:42) → DEN (14:56)
1h 29m via UA5031
DEN (17:13) → SFO (18:42)
2h 50m via UA737
4h 19m flight time, 2h 17m layover

Food

If you’re in the Rockies, you have to get tacos. I didn’t know it was a thing, but apparently it is so.

Tacos La Pasadita @ Green River, UT
215 E Main St, Green River, UT 84525
Review We definitely had a moment of ‘wait that’s a gas station’, but no, it’s tacos. They do their cooking in the food truck and there’s some outside seating under the what-used-to-be-a-shell-station, as well as seating (and salsa) inside what used to be the convenience store. Outside appearances aside, their tacos were actually quite good! Also very affordable. The tacos are probably better than most places in the Bay Area (whoa).
Verdict: 4/5 — Mmmm tacos. If you need gas for your car this is not the place to go.

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