Road trip – Page 3 – Joe's World Tour

The road to Shenandoah

Crossing into Virginia on Highway 340
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I started my day driving west on a highway south of but roughly parallel to the Mason-Dixon Line. I passed exits for towns whose names rang a bell from Civil War history.

Places along Highway 430 like Frederick, Sandy Hook and Boonsborough in Maryland and Harpers Ferry in West Virginia. I crossed over the Potomac River along the state lines of Maryland and West Virginia.

Due to an unexpected road closure, I spent a couple of hours driving south on the mostly two-lane Stonewall Jackson Memorial Highway.

I crossed the Shanendoah River and two of its forks.

Along the way I saw a lot of small-town Virginia.

It wasn’t the day I had envisioned, but it was certainly a change of scenery.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers come together.
(photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — Harpers Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia, where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers come together.
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Along highway 340 on the way to Front Royal, Virginia.
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La Sal Mountains in southeastern Utah

The La Sal Mountians in southeast Utah. View is looking east from Arches National Park in late April.
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The La Sal Mountain make for a handy reference point in and around Moab, Utah. The peaks were covered with snow in April and visible from almost anyplace near Moab.

The La Sal Mountains are located about 20 miles southeast of Moab in the Manti-La Sal National Forest near Utah’s border with Colorado.

The mountain peaks are over 12,000 feet – the second highest mountain range in Utah.

The La Sal Mountians in southeast Utah. View is looking east from Utah Highway 191 driving south toward Moab. (photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — La Sal Mountains, Utah

The La Sal Mountians in southeast Utah. View is looking east from Canyonlands National Park just after a storm passed in late April. (photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — La Sal Mountains, Utah

Utah road trip: Arches National Park part 2

Arches National Park in southern Utah in April, 2023.
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People flock to Arches National Park for the red rocks, blue skies and most of all for the namesake arches.

Be aware that from April 1 to October 31, 2023, you need a reservation in the form of a Timed Entry Ticket. More information on that here:
– Arches: National Park Service

Utah road trip: Arches National Park part 1

There is a lot more to Arches National Park than just arches.

The park just north of Moab, Utah, has rugged trails, curvy roads and scenic views of red rocks and – if the weather behaves – really blue skies.

– Arches: National Park Service

Utah road trip: Dead Horse Point State Park

Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab, Utah, in April, 2023.
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Dead Horse Point itself sits at 5,900 feet in elevation and looks down over a U-turn in the Colorado River about 2,000 feet below.

The park is west of Moab, Utah, and located is a short distance from the northern entrance to Canyonlands National Park.

Utah road trip: Canyonlands National Park – Island in the Sky

View from the Green River Overlook at Island in the Sky mesa in Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah.
(photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — View from the Green River Overlook at Island in the Sky mesa in Canyonlands National Park.
(photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved)

The Canyonlands National Park road across the Island in the Sky mesa includes pullouts with great views at Green River Overlook and Grand View Overlook.

There are plenty of trails and camping is available at the park.

You reach the Canyonlands Island in the Sky visitor center by taking Highway 313 southwest from Highway 191, which is the north-south highway to and from Moab, Utah.

–National Park Service: Canyonlands

View from Grand View Overlook at Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah. (photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — Grand View Overlook – Canyonlands

View from Green River Overlook at Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah. (photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — Green River Overlook – Canyonlands

Island in the Sky mesa in Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah. (photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — Island in the Sky – Canyonlands

On the road to Canyonlands National Park's northern entrance near Moab, Utah. (photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — Road to Canyonlands

Utah road trip: Canyonlands National Park – The Needles district

The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in Utah.
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There is more than one entrance to Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah.

The southeast part of Canyonlands is about an hour and a half drive heading south from Moab, Utah. That entrance takes you to the park district called The Needles.

According to Earth Trekkers, the park gets its name from clusters of sandstone spires.

–EarthTrekkers.com

–National Park Service – The Needles

The morning I got here, the sky ranged from cloudy when I first showed up to mostly sunny but still hazy. I never got any really blue-blue skies, and then it clouded up again. My best shots were in that stretch of about an hour when I got at least some sun and sort of blueish skies.

I apparently headed out just in time. Heading north I drove through a momentary now flurry and then some wind and rain. That cleared up in time for me to make an afternoon visit to the north side of the park.

Utah road trip: Newspaper Rock Archaeological Site

Newspaper Rock Archaeological Site near Canyonlands National Park.
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As you drive toward the southeastern entrance to Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah, you pass a very small pulloff for Newspaper Rock.

It’s worth the stop.

The carvings in the rock are estimated to be up to 2,000 years old.

–Newspaper Rock: Bureau of Land Management

Utah road trip: Colorado River near Moab

The Colorado River flows under Utah's Highway 191 between Moab and the entrance to Arches National Park.
(photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — The Colorado River flows under Utah’s Highway 191 between Moab and the entrance to Arches National Park.
(photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved)

The Colorado River near Moab, Utah in the morning in April. (photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — Colorado River – morning

Lions Park at the Colorado River near Moab, Utah in the morning in April. (photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — Moab, Utah – morning

Utah’s Highway 191 crosses over the Colorado River within walking distance of the Moab city limits and about three miles from the entrance to Arches National Park.

There is a nice place to park next to the river called Lions Park and Transit Hub. The stop also has restrooms and access to a paved bicycle lane.

Colorado River at Lions Park near Moab, Utah in late afternoon in April. (photo property of JoesWorldTour.com – all rights reserved) — Colorado River – afternoon

Utah road trip: Green River

The Green River running through the town of Green River, which is northwest of Moab.
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The town of Green River in southern Utah takes its name from the river that flows through it.

Including some hotels, restaurants, a couple of truck stops and a few brightly colored fruit stands, the town of Green River sits near the intersection of Highway 6, heading northwest to southeast, and Interstate 70, which runs west to east through northern Colorado to Denver and all the way to the East Coast.

The river is fed by snow melt and has a lot of water flowing through it in late April. Green River joins up with the Colorado River south of here in Canyonlands National Park.