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RED ROCK PLANET

Exploring the canyons of Moab

By Where We Wander

Utah is famous for all the wrong reasons. It's known as a Mormon stronghold and a semi-dry state, when it really should be celebrated for the otherworldly landscapes that are unlike anything I've seen elsewhere in the world. While people flock to resorts in Florida and wineries in California, far more unique views belong to unassuming small towns like Utah's Moab. Although the town itself is little more than just a few dusty streets, the area around Moab is home to elaborate works of art, millions of years in the making.

Our first impression of Utah came from a vantage point that was used by 19th century cowboys to corral and sometimes kill — hence the somber park name — wild mustangs roaming this area. Easy to access, Dead Horse Point State Park offers sweeping panoramas over Canyonlands National Park and the Colorado River in the valley two thousand feet below. Even if we left without seeing anything else, the views from these trails alone would have been worth the trip.

The main destination for this long weekend trip was Arches National Park, a real wonderland of more than 2,000 sandstone formations that began to form 60+ million years ago and today still stand tall under Utah's skies. Most formations, such as the Courthouse Towers and Three Gossips can be seen from the 18-mile driving route, but a few of the key sights — most notably a close-up view of the world-famous Delicate Arch — require hiking to get to.

For all its beauty this terrain is unforgiving to those who are unprepared — loads of water and sunscreen are a must. However, the sweat, sunburn and dust along the sometimes strenuous trails are all worth it. As far as the eye can see, nature's boundless whimsy manifests in sandstone monoliths and imposing plateaus carved in the arid landscape by desert winds. I was suddenly very aware of my own insignificance next to the precarious sculptures that have evolved and endured for millennia.

We drove between all the different view points, hiked some of the dusty trails and took scenic breaks in full sun because all moderately shady areas were taken up by armies of photographers waiting for the clouds to stack 'just so' in order to take that perfect shot. The truth is, it's hard to take a bad photo here. The colours, shapes and the total seeming impossibility of this landscape does all the work — you just have to press the shutter.

A single day is definitely not enough to take in the sights at this park, but that's all the time we had —and there was plenty more to see beyond the Arches. Even though at this point I had spent 10 years living in the midst of the Canadian Rockies, I felt like I had never seen such imposing, grand and unforgiving nature before. Utah kept surprising us at every turn with the most amazing views sometimes just steps away from our vehicle.

Having seen it from a distance at Dead Horse Point lookout a couple of days earlier, we decided to forgo our second day at the Arches and pay at least a quick visit to Canyonlands National Park. Divided into four different regions, the park sprawls across a whopping 550 square miles (as compared to just 120 square miles taken up by the Arches) and is named after the intricate network of canyons, mesas and ridges carved by the Colorado River, Green River, and their tributaries.

We only had time for Island in the Sky, the easiest to reach part that still offers absolutely crazy views and epic spots for picnic lunches. With no facilities in any of the parks other than a couple of visitor centres, our lunch was always packed to go and within easy reach anytime we wanted to take advantage of our location. A lot more desolate than the Arches, this park seemed to swallow whatever other people may have been there that day. Sitting on top of a mesa and tucking into a hearty southern BBQ sandwich all I could think was: All this beauty — and not a single other person in sight.

Having spent years living next to Canada's most iconic national park, we were no strangers to the majestic and overwhelming power of wilderness, but here it was felt even more strongly. Everything about this landscape appeared alien and almost impossible, especially when powerful wind gusts moved clouds and shifted light in unpredictable ways, so that already incredible sandstone formations would suddenly come aglow as though lit from within.

With only a few hours left before we had to be back on the boring highway en route to the airport, it was pretty clear that we barely scratched the surface of another planet that is Utah’s red canyons. On our way out, we watched some people head deeper into the wilderness on roads that would certainly require a 4x4 vehicle and wished that we had rented one too and planned an extra day to take more in.

As a consolation, Utah's skies gave us a stormy show at sunset and we were in for yet another surprise: while storms normally spoil a holiday, here they seem to make nature's ever-evolving canvas even greater. The rain was moving in and the scenery looked even more mind-blowing than before. We knew that one day we'd have to come back in that 4x4 after all.

good to know

Salt Lake City (SLC) in Utah is the closest international airport, but a 4-hour drive is required to reach Moab. Alternatively, a smaller airport in Grand Junction (GJT) in Colorado is slightly less than 2 hours away.