Moab Fall 2010 – Behind Arches – Day 1
I planned a week long trip to Moab over Thanksgiving. The plan was to drive from Dewey Bridge, behind Arches then to head over and drive Lockhart Basin. The weather put a damper on my plans and I ended up only spending 2 nights in the Moab area before heading home.
- Dawn breaks
I spent the first night near the Dewey bridge on the Kokopelli Trail. Having left Colorado Springs at noon I set camp shortly after leaving the pavement heading west on the Kokopelli Trail.
- First camp
The following morning was a cold start with the temp at about 25 degrees. A hot of tea and a small breakfast it was time to break camp.
- Near Yellow Jacket Canyon
Triss and I headed west following the Kokopelli Trail. The trail unfolded with a panorama of classic sandstone vistas. We passed a few arches and some other cool formations.
- Triss checking out the view
After leaving the Kokopelli Trail and heading towards Arches we came across a large sandstone cave. Under the modern graffiti we could see the outlines of big horn sheep etched in the rock by native Americans years ago. The caves were formed by springs that slowly moved back through the rock.
- Sandstone caves
We then worked our way through the Poison Strip and checked out some of the old uranium mines. The area is a maze of old mines and structures that were left behind.
- Manti La Sal Mountains
We continued over to the Salt Valley and found a nice spot to spend the night.
- Old truck in the Poison Strip
