Corona Arch and Dinosaur Tracks

Monday, June 17, 201

Yesterday was a chock full day. We commenced at Corona Arch Trailhead. The day was gorgeous with inflated cumulus clouds overhead in contrast to the deepest azure sky.

Corona Arch is fairly easy. It should simply take you an hour in and a little less to get out. It took us 3 full hours. We stopped along the way just to enjoy the magnificence of it all.

can you see the people underneath?

There are a couple of vigorous areas where the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) has mounted steel cables for assistance. There is one spot where they actually screwed an aluminum ladder into the rocks for you to utilize. Without it you probably could not scale the mammoth rock.

The first thing you do is climb a slope and cross over railroad tracks. You can see where the dynamite was placed on the rocks to blast a clearing for the train. This railroad track was built in 1964 and is used for the transportation of Potash. Pot Ash is a natural element that is used for the making of fertilizer. There are Potash pools all around Moab.

 

potash train

Just under the arch the train passed by 400 feet beneath us. There is a tunnel it journeys through that is over a mile long. It looks very little from where we were standing.

getting back down the rock

A little over ½ way into the trail you can see the arch. It looks so close, but it’s an illusion. We rested under an outcropping bluff for a bit. There we met a lady and her grandson who were also resting. We chatted and drank a lot of water. The temperature was well over 100 degrees and the trail is in 100% sunlight the entire time. We then continued on and ultimately reached the arch. Just before reaching our goal we happened upon this extraordinary void in the rocks.  The sun was shining down through the hole and offering the trees below chlorophyll.  It truly was dazzling.

this was SO cool!

lying under the arch in the shade

Onto our destination. Sitting below the arch there were 11 young adults that had just graduated from High School. They were on a vacation together. They told us they were from New Mexico and saved all year long for this trip together.  They were having a blast. Two of them actually fell asleep for a while.

enlarge, Im under the arch

enlarge to see the people

We attained our own little spot, in the only shade available, and sat to relax. We ate our apples along with a Cliff Bar. (That is a power bar, which I never in a million years would have thought I’d eat). They are really good though and have all kinds of nutrients in them to keep you energized while hiking. I am not a health food person – at all! 

We also lounged back and almost fell asleep until the kids started to stir and started their trek back. After a while we had to move over from where we sat because the earth was turning and the sun was no longer overhead and obstructed by the massive arch.

We remained another half our by ourselves and just enjoyed the silence and beauty that surrounded us. The hike back was so much simpler than going in. Most of it was downhill getting out.

waiting on Mighty Mouse

After conquering the Corona Arch we were headed home and came across another trailhead. This is called ‘Poison Spider’.  It is a jeep trail that takes you over the rim of the red rock we just hiked through. Tommy read the synopsis of the trail and is thinking about trying it. It is rated 4 out of 5 on the scale they use for difficulty. (I will be getting out and taking a lot of pics, I’m sure). LOL

Next to the Poison Spider is yet another trail called Dinosaur Tracks. It leads you up to imprinted tracks of a three toed dinosaur called Allosaurus.  Allosaurus’ walked on 2 feet and used their hands for clutching and holding. They are dated back to over 190 MILLION years ago. The trail is brief but almost straight up.

trek up to the dinosaur tracks

The tracks are of several sizes of meat eating dinosaurs walking across what was equilvant to a modern day beach, but with a subtle difference. The difference is; imagine walking along the sand and instead of seeing seagulls and sandpipers, there were conavour lizards hunting and being hunted.  The footprints of these giant beasts were 5 times the size of our hands. It was very cool and we were glad we stopped.

Dinosaur tracks

Once again along the path to home we stopped. This time at  some Indian drawings on the rocks on the side of the road. These petroglyphs were bountiful. Someday, when I find the time, I am either going to get a book, or Google what all the symbols mean. The one that gets me the most is, whenever we see a snake drawn it has 13 turns to it. Always. That has to represent something.

 

If you look closely at the bear drawing you can see a hunter standing in front of it with a bow and arrow. It is truly amazing the fearlessness these men had in order to survive and provide for their families. In todays world, the man usually either just BBQ’s store bought meat, or says, pick out a restaurant. LOL.

Finally, we were getting tired and stopped at the grocery store for dinner provisions. We also stopped at our favorite consignment store here in Moab. It is called WASABI. For every purchase made they give $1.00 to any local community project you choose. We always choose the Humane Society. I purchased a beautiful basket for the dog’s toys that only cost $3.00.

Finally back at home; we showered and had dinner with Ron and Judy. She cooked a lovely pork roast and we provided the jasmine rice and vegetables. It was delicious.

After dinner we all went back to Mill's Creek Trail with the dogs. This time we took them to end of the trail. We took them to the local hangout at the waterfall. They really enjoyed it. It was dark leaving the trail and when we arrived home, we all crashed. It was a very long, very filled with adventure, kind of day.

Today we are taking Ron and Judy to Negro Bill’s Trail. There is a lot of water on this trail so the dogs can come with us. Thanks fro reading.