Confessions of an RVer: DEAD HORSE POINT STATE PARK AND CANYONLANDS

I have spent the last couple of days at Dead Horse Point State Park in southeast Utah. Did you know that this is where they filmed the closing scene of Thelma and Louise where they drive off the cliff? It is very close to Canyonlands National Park. Mr. W had a seen a picture of Dead Horse Point and immediately wanted to stay here. The only problem with this state park, there is no water. Now everyone knows that I have learned how to go without sewer connections for a week, but not having water is a whole different ballgame. Yes, there is a fresh water tank in the trailer. But, for one thing, Mr. W usually showers at the bathhouse at whatever park we are staying at. There are no showers here. The water is actually trucked in from Moab (35 miles away) so all around the park there are signs that say “Please conserve water.” Well no joke, because you are bringing in your own water and you better conserve it because there is no replacement. They act like you are suppose to conserve their water. What water? They did have restrooms with flushing toilets at the campground. Everywhere else in the park, they had pit toilets.

When Mr. W said he wanted to stay here, my first reaction was no way. So, all last fall everywhere we stayed he would go through this little “practice” of how long can we go without any water except for the water in our tank? He acted like I didn’t know what he was doing. Hello? I’ve been married to him how long? I finally gave in and said 3 nights. That’s it. He was on the computer making those reservation faster than lightning.

We left Panguitch and moved over here Friday morning. It was much warmer than anywhere else we have been. The scenery around here also reminds me a lot of desert. Friday, after we got set up, we walked over to the Visitor’s Center. They have a great outdoor balcony on the back of the building upstairs. They also have a rock amphitheater in the viewing area. We walked out there around 4:00 in the afternoon and unfortunately the sun was in the wrong place to get a really good picture.

Legend has it that in the 1800s, cowboys used Dead Horse Point to catch wild horses. With sheer cliffs on all sides and an access only 30 yards wide, the point made a perfect horse trap. Cowboys herded horses onto the point and built a fence across the narrow neck to create a natural corral. According to the legend, a band of horses left corralled on the waterless point died of thirst within view of the Colorado River 2,000 feet below. This point is the biggest and most spectacular viewpoint in the state park. We went out to the point to watch the sunset. It wasn’t much of a sunset but it was nice sitting and viewing the terrain below.

The next day we went to Canyonlands. We went dressed for taking a hike. The first place we stopped, after the Visitor’s Center, was Mesa Arch trail. They say it was a good place to watch a sunrise. Mesa Arch is an arch that is on the cliff edge. I like arches and this one did not disappoint. The hike was only ½ mile round trip. But I realized right away that the trails in this park were going to be very rocky. Not little rocky, but big rocks rocky. And, there was a lot of climbing big boulders where it is all slick rock and not real good footing. Oh, joy.

We went next to a trail called Upheaval Dome. The first overlook is a view into a crater. The second overlook you can see the crater but you can also see upheaval canyon. The round trip to see both overlooks was 2 miles. There was suppose to be only a total of a 250 ft. elevation change. It sure felt like more. We finally made it to the top (2^nd overlook) and to be quite honest, I’m not sure why I wasted my time. It wasn’t anything special. There was a guy we talked to on the trail and we had asked if it was worth the hike and he said, "To be honest, it isn't anything special." He definitely was being honest.

I think I have conquered my fear of heights as it relates to hiking.

We got back in the truck and drove to the other scenic overlooks along the road. Most of their scenic overlooks aren’t just stop the car, hop out, and hop back in. You have to walk out to the scenic overlooks which was nice. We did stop at the last stop for the day and it had a great cliff that you walked out on to get a great picture.

The man taking this picture was more nervous about where we are standing than we were.

This is probably my least favorite parks so far but the scenery is still pretty cool. Maybe I’m just getting use to seeing beautiful surroundings. We did talk to a couple from New York who had just been to Arches National Park and they told us that it was awesome. So, I’m looking forward to that. We are leaving Monday morning to head to Moab. We will be visiting Arches National Park while there. I just know that the weather is getting much warmer so we will need to start our hiking really early in order to beat the heat. Oh, did I mention that I didn’t wear any sunscreen on my hike. Yep, major sunburn on my shoulders. I don’t think I’ll be doing anything out in the sun for a few days. Ouch.

Dead Horse Point State Park only has 20 campsites. There is electricity only and it is $28 a night. It is a nice campground as far as the sites are very private, there are picnic tables at each site with a cover over them. There are fire rings and bar-b-q grills. You do have 50 amp electricity. All of the sites are asphalt. We also met a great couple from Michigan, Robin and Don. I just have a problem with $28 a day with no water and absolutely no phone service or internet service. Could just be me. I like taking a shower and not worrying about wetting down, turn off the water, soap up, turn on the water, wet my hair, turn off the water, lather up, turn on the water. You get it, right? I also have figured out that I am addicted to the internet. When I am without access, I am completely lost. I can’t keep up with everyone, I can’t research things, I can’t get information, I can't take care of business, I can't get directions to places, I can’t check email, as well as many other things. Like I said, I am addicted…….. Hello, my name is Mimi and I am an internet-aholic…………. There probably is a real support group for us.