In four days we experienced Epic sword battles in Devil’s Garden, Grandest Views and the Native American Spirits. Saw Chimney Rock, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks. And the sights on the drive are as good as any day we spent in Moab.
We are on a 7,000 mile Great American Road trip. You can catch up on Great Sand Dunes – Sand Boarding, Waterfalls and Hunting Pleistocene Bison with an Atlatl! here.
Drive from Great Sand Dunes to Moab Utah
The drive from Great Sand Dunes is about 6.5 hours to Moab. With stops in Chimney Rock and Escalante Pueblo it worked out to be about 8. The drive weaves through the Rio Grand National Forest and San Juan National Forest. The small cities that dotted the hi-way as you cut through Rio Grande are picturesque and make you wish you could stop by a little longer.
Chimney Rock National Monument
Chimney Rock features an amazing astronomical site built by the Pueblo Indians part of the Chacoan culture dated between 900 and 1100 AD. The park recently became part of the National Park system in 2012 under by President Barack Obama.
Ancient Puebloans built a Pueblo and Kiva in view of the Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock is situated in South Western Colorado in view of the Chaco canyon, where a complex network of Ancient communities, who were believed to come to the area for a pilgrimage for The Major Lunar Standstill which occurs every 18.6 years.
Escalante Pueblo
With a 2 hour unplanned excursion complete and boys sworn in with more Jr. Ranger badges, we decided to make another stop at Escalante Pueblo in the Canyon of the Ancients to break up the next leg of our Journey. There are two Pueblos, the Dominguez pueblo is located at the Visitor Center and the Escalante Pueblo is a .5 – 1 mile hike.
The visitor center was closed but there were helpful Volunteers out front, who helped the boys participate in their Jr. Archeologist program. We did not want to stop that long, so we decided to just visit the Dominguez Pueblo
Canyonlands
We dedicated an entire day to Canyonlands (or as Madison likes to call it, “Candyland”). The highlight of the visit was Mesa Arch. There are two entrances to Canyonlands from Moab by car. The drive to the Island in the Sky District visitor center is about 40 minutes. (The other Entrance is the Needles District and is about 1.5 hours).
With a high wind warning in effect, wins were 30-40 miles per hour with gusts up to 60! No trailer in tow so that is a relief. The wind kicked up dirt in your eyes, but cooled down the 85 degree temps.
Mesa Arch is a .5 mile hike from the Parking Lot. The view through the arch stretches out across the valley with White rim and Shafer road in distant view with the La Sal mountains as the backdrop.
Next stop: Grand View Point. This was the easiest access point, this view is literally 100 feet from where you park your car.
Arches National Park!
Starting this year, from 6 AM to 5PM Arches National Park is on a Timed Entry system. We booked or Reservation for 9AM in March (3 months prior) so we were all good. This park is the most impressive park near Moab.
After making your way from the Visitor center, you ascend a steep climb to what I can only describe as another land.
Driving around the park is very easy. Most of the sites can be seen from the car or a short hike from the car. This makes it a family friendly and accessible park.
Over 2,000 Arches can be seen in the park. We only saw a fraction of that, but there are so many!
We chose our stops carefully, and decided on Devils Garden as our Hike (since with kids, really only one long hike is feasible).
Potash Road: Dinosaur Tracks, Petroglyphs and Off-roading!
With some extra time outside the major parks. Moab area has some really great areas within driving or biking distance of the cities. One such excursion, is Potash road. Potash road is a 15 mile road that runs in parallel to the Colorado road.
Dinosaur Tracks
Dinosaur Tracks is a short hike from the Poison Spider parking lot. You can see well preserved footprints of a Theropod Dino that lived in the area millions of years ago.
Canyonlands Entry Point
At the end of the road active Potash mine and information about some mining accidents that happened. You can access Canyonland’s Shafer Road a 19 mile trail that takes you to the Island in the Sky Visitor Center at the end of Potash Road.
With the Adventures in Moab at our back, our sails are full as we head to The Grand Canyon!
