Another Narrow Canyon Water Pour-off

I am fascinated by these little alcoves where the water comes off from the hard rock above.

I wonder if the water just dribbles over or comes shooting off out into open space.

This looks like a dribbler.

This one had a large pool of water at the base.

Someone has been here for a drink.

More Indian Art

I missed these after viewing the dinosaur tracks and was glad to see them on the way back down from the Long Bow Arch hike.  

I think I wasn't looking for green splotches of paint all that much on the return trip.

These were nice in the fact that they were right there at eye level 

unlike the others that were high up on that wall face.

As I stood there the thought occurred to me that wherever I go and see Indian petroglyphs they all look alike.  It is as if the etchings in the rock were done by the same person.  There is little or no difference in artistic style from one place to another many hundreds or thousands of miles away.  You put a dozen people in a room and tell them to draw a picture of a deer you'll get 12 different renditions of a four legged animal vaguely looking like a deer.  No deer drawing will look all that similar to any of the rest.  You'll know without a doubt different people drew each drawing.
I'm just saying.

These two pieces here left me with some doubt.  A foot with six toes?  The animal with stubby legs while the all others have long ones?  I think someone did this recently to mess with us.  In fact there were some graffiti mixed among these which I made an effort to leave out while taking the pictures. Frank somebody and another, a woman's name with a date back in 1977.

Long Bow Arch

After viewing the dinosaur tracks you could continue on for 1.2 miles and view Long Bow Arch.  I continued on and up.  Shortly into the hike I came upon this.  "Oh this will be interesting."
I will say they were very useful on the way back when climbing down.

Finally the terrain leveled out. "Whew."

The trail was marked with these green splotches of paint which left a lot to your imagination as to where to look for the next splash of paint.  In fact I spent so much time concentrating on looking ahead for the next paint marking and not so much at the wonderful scenery.  And when the trail went through drifts of wind-blown sand there were no paint markings.  So I followed some faint footprints in the sand hoping that someone knew where they were going.

After awhile I was starting to grumble some as my shoes filled with sand and I kept losing the trail.  I was doing a lot of muttering to myself that this better be worth it.  I stopped to check my GPS and see how far I had gone.  It had died.  Low battery.  "Well that's just fine."  I went to get a drink of water and found my bottle less than half full.  I had forgotten to fill it before leaving.  "Well great!"  Off in the distance it looked I might be in for some rain.  "Wonderful."  More grumbling ensued.

I picked up the paint markings once again and silently thanked whoever left those footprints for not taking a wrong turn. The trail took me climbing up into another canyon.  "Just what I needed." 

I was down there not long ago.

And then the arch came into view.  "Well! Outstanding!" This was I was hoping for and I wasn't disappointed.  I suddenly picked up my pace as the excitement factor kicked in.

I don't mind telling you that standing underneath these things gives me the willies. 

 I didn't linger long.

On the way back the grumbling and sniveling had ceased and there was a bit of a bounce in my step as I was thinking about how glad I was that
I went for it all the way to the end and saw Long Bow Arch.

Dinosaur Tracks

A short ways down the road from camp was this sign and I just had to go see it.

Turned out it was right there not far from the parking area.  No great effort to see.

Some information about the dinosaurs who left these tracks.
If you click on the photo it will enlarge and can be read.

I don't know why they are white.  Were they painted so you could see them better?  The Park Service doesn't do that sort of thing.  I think some idiots made a plaster cast impression of them and this is residue left behind.  (later I found that was the case indeed)

In this photo you can see some unadulterated tracks to the left.

I Don't Need to See This!

I saw this cat in camp near us one day.  Some campers let their cats roam free and I hoped that was the case.  But then I saw it on another day and knew it was without a home.  He/she was very skittish when I would step outside.  No way was I going to be able to get it to come to me.  I left some food out and later it was gone.  I put more out and caught it eating.  Then it was hanging around the RV just outside the door but took off as soon as it saw me.  I think it was interested in Beans.  I was preparing to leave and a lady came by inquiring about the site as her friend from Texas was to arrive. This was while I was out trying to get the cat to come to me.  I pointed the cat out to her and she said her friend would do anything to capture the cat.  I hope she's successful for the cat will not survive the winter here.  This just wrenches my heart. 

And you may wonder what I would do if I was able to get it to come to me.  

If Beans would accept it I guess I'd have two cats traveling with me. 

Leaving Corral Canyon

I exited the canyon a different way from how I entered it.

I wanted to get close to this jumble of rock which again was much more impressive than the photo shows.  These were really huge boulders and slabs of rock that left me standing there just staring.

Then I found an abandoned mine shaft.  Did I want to go down in and explore?

Nope.  Not in the least bit.

Lastly was this gigantic rock whose pastel color caught my eye.

Many millions of years ago this was part of a massive sand dune. 

Corral Canyon

I could see this canyon from our camp but couldn't figure out how to get to it.

A look on Google Earth Maps got me going in the right direction 

with the least amount of cross country effort.

To me it is just awe-inspiring to stand at the base of these towering canyon walls.

Looking to the right.

The pictures just don't capture the grandeur you feel.

Looking to the left. 

Further to the left at the opening into the canyon.

I need a 270 degree panoramic camera.

I guess one could climb up out of the canyon this direction...maybe.

What a sight this must be to see water pouring off of this rim.

Water

Little depressions in the rock hold valuable sources of water for the animals.

It doesn't look that appealing does it?

The animals don't care.

They know where to go to find water.

Staying Put

A check of the weather revealed that staying here in Moab is our best option until next week.

So that we will do and I went in town to get some decent wifi.

I went for a hike and came upon Under Canvas Moab.

Here you can stay in a tent for around $200.

Pay $200 to have very fine wind-blown red dirt all over you, your bedding and food?

I'll deal with that in my own personal abode, for free.

North of Moab

We moved our home just outside of Moab to the north.

On the way we passed the entrance to Arches National Park.  Oh my goodness!

This is after we already passed a quarter of a mile as I fumbled to get the camera out for a photo.

That line is two lanes wide and the entrance kiosk still isn't visible to the left.

I sure was happy I didn't have any plan to go there.

This was our camp a few miles north of town.  The first day was fine.  The next day the winds came.  That's okay.  We can live with wind.  But here it picked up the ultra fine red dust from the Navajo Sandstone of the area and it was everywhere inside.  We moved further north the next day for the winds were to continue for the next three days.  But the places to stay were non-existent and we returned but across the highway from the dust bowl.

Although I have cell service (3 bars) I was unable to upload a single photo to the blog.  After trying for a half an hour I finally gave up.  Then at 'across the highway camp' I was able to get three pictures on at that was it.  No more.  We will move on again further west in Utah today.
Maybe the next place will allow me to post on the blog.

Indian Art

Within walking distance from camp were these Indian petroglyphs.

"Ooo, we make pictures high up wall.  Make palefaces stand in highway take picture.

Good joke on them.  Ha!"