Small Home – Big Yard

After spending the day at Canyonlands National Park yesterday, we’re sticking closer to home today and will explore some of the hikes & views from within Dead Horse Point State Park. We’ll start our explorations at the very tip of the mesa, a small point of land beyond the narrow neck that legend tells of being used to corral horses.

From the campground, the paved road passes through a picnic area before ending at a parking lot right at the tip of the mesa.  The views from here are amazing, maybe even better than some at Canyonlands.  Not only can you see large sections of the Colorado River as it flows from Moab, but you can also see the emerald pools of Intrepid Potash, the nations largest producer of potassium chloride.  At the Moab site, a water and salt brine is pumped up to 4000 feet below the surface into potassium rich areas where it dissolves the potassium and becomes a heavy, double saturated solution.  Pumps carry this solution from cavern low points into the evaporation ponds where it is mixed with blue dye to better concentrate the sun’s rays and speed evaporation.

There are several hiking trails and overlooks that pass this point, or the Visitor Center. There are also 3 mountain bike/hike trails that leave the Visitor Center.  The Intrepid Loop to the Colorado River Overlook – 1.1 miles.  The Great Pyramid Loop, to Pyramid Canyon Overlook – 4.2 miles and the Big Chief Loop that to the Big Chief Overlook – 9 miles.  On the West Rim hiking trail is the Big Horn Overlook, Rim Overlook,  the Shafer Canyon Overlook. and the Meander Overlook.

Tomorrow we’re going to pack up and head east toward home.  We’re planning to stop just on the east side of Glenwood Canyon at the River Dance RV Park.  More from there…