Roadtrippin' 2015: Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands Island in the Sky District

On our second day in Moab, we visited two different parks. First up was Dead Horse Point State Park. One of our friends recommended this park to us. We discovered that the hiking trails are dog-friendly, so it was a perfect place for us to visit.

In addition to hiking, Dead Horse Point is also well-known for its mountain-biking trail system. We wound up doing about 6 miles within the park along the hiking only loop.

Dead Horse Point is so named because the point was once used as a place to corral horses. For some unknown reason, the cowboys would then leave the horses that they no longer wanted at the point, where they would die of thirst. Seems quite cruel to me.

In addition to the views of the Canyonlands, you are also able to see the Colorado River from various points along the trail.

The second half of our day was spent in the Island in the Sky Section of Canyonlands National Park. Since dogs are not allowed on the trails, we took the driving tour route again.

We started off by driving to Grand View Point. The sky was clear and we were able to see so far away. 

Next, we drove to Upheavel Dome. This required a short 0.5 mile hike, but Raisin Bread's leg was not feeling good and we also did not want to leave the pups in the car since it was hot out, so I did the trail by myself (with a group of French-speaking tourists).

It was definitely worth it. Upheavel Dome looks like something out of a movie.

We drove to a few more overlooks. Raisin Bread and I kept saying that movie makers must have gotten their ideas from taking tours in the high desert. You can really see how the landscape has influenced many creative people.

Our final stop in Island in the Sky was Mesa Arch. This also required a 0.5 mile hike so we took turns doing the trail, while the other person stayed in the car with the doggies. 

What a beautiful day! We got in lots of hiking and saw some of the main points of interest in both parks.

For dinner, we headed to Sabaku Sushi. We started with a half squid and half seaweed salad.

I did not feel like choosing what to eat so I took the easy route and ordered the chirashi. 

Moab is totally a tourist town, so we figured after dinner ice cream cones were a must. There were several ice cream shops, but we stopped into Crystal's Cakes and Cones. 

Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream cone

I wish we had more time to spend in Canyonlands and Moab, but we had to head for our final stop on our road trip. I loved the cottage that we stayed at as well. It was right in the middle of town and was super conveniently located.