Day 18 - Moab to Brigham City, Utah
Highways today were north on US 191, into Arches National Park and back to US 191, south to the junction with State Hwy 128 north. We took a short side trip to check out Cisco, then west on I-70/US 50 to Thompson Springs, north on State 94 through Thompson Springs to the Sego Canyon Rock Art and back to I-70/US 50 to Salina turning north on I-15 through Salt Lake City and finally stopping for the night at Brigham City. Google Map
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Arches National Park
The Arches area was first brought to the attention of the National Park Service in September 1923 when Frank A. Wadleigh of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad suggested that the area be made a national monument. A succession of government investigators examined the area. Finally, in April 1929, President Herbert Hoover signed a presidential proclamation creating Arches National Monument. President Richard Nixon signed legislation changing its status to a National Park on November 12, 1971.
There are four main locations along the scenic drive. They are are Courthouse Towers, the Windows Section, Fiery Furnace and Devils Garden. Delicate Arch is reached by a side road.
More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park, including the well-known Delicate Arch, as well as a variety of unique geological resources and formations. The park contains the highest density of natural arches in the world. Arches National Park - National Park Service
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| Courthouse Tower (American Southwest) |
Courthouse Towers (Park Avenue)
The Courthouse Towers is a collection of tall stone columns located in the Park. It includes Baby Arch, Three Gossips, Ring Arch and the Tower of Babel.
The Park Avenue hiking trail, a mile long trail into Courthouse Towers is a favorite for hikers and photographers and is the most popular trail in Arches.
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Balanced Rock (Wikipedia) |
Balanced Rock
Balanced Rock is one of the most popular features of Arches National Par. It is located next to the park's main road and is one of only a few prominent features clearly visible from the road.
The total height of Balanced Rock is 128 feet with the balancing rock rising 55 feet above the base. This rock is the largest of its kind in the Park. Balanced Rock had a smaller sibling named "Chip-Off-the-Old-Block" that collapsed in the winter of 1975–76.
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| Double Arch (Wikipedia) |
The Windows Section
The Windows Section is considered by some to be the heart of Arches National Park. It contains a large concentration of arches and is one of the most scenic locations in the park.
It features North and South Windows, Turret Arch, Double Arch Garden of Eden, Elephant Butte, and Parade of Elephants.
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| Wolfe Ranch (Wikipedia) |
Wolfe Ranch (Delicate Arch Road)
John Wesley Wolfe settled in the location in 1898 with his oldest son Fred. He chose this tract of more than 100 acres along Salt Wash for its water and grassland.
The Wolfes built a one-room cabin, a corral, and a small dam across Salt Wash. A new cabin was built In 1906. Wolfe Ranch Historical District was added to the National Registry of Historic Places on November 20, 1975 as #75000167.
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| Wolf Cabin Petroglyphs (Wikipedia) |
Wolfe Ranch Petroglyphs
The Ute Hunting Panel, located just beyond the Wolfe Cabin. depicts a hunting scene with riders on horseback.
In 1980, vandals attempted to use an abrasive kitchen cleanser to deface ancient petroglyphs in the park. Physicist John F. Asmus, who specialized in using lasers to restore works of art, used his technology to repair the damage. Asmus "zapped the panel with intense light pulses and succeeded in removing most of the cleanser".
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| Delicate Arch (Wikipedia) |
Delicate Arch Viewpoint
Delicate Arch is a 52-foot-tall freestanding natural arch and is the most widely recognized landmark in Arches National Park.
It is depicted on the Utah license plate and a postage stamp commemorating Utah's centennial anniversary of admission to the Union. The Olympic torch relay for the 2002 Winter Olympics passed through the arch.
Because of its distinctive shape, the arch was known as the Chaps and the Schoolmarm's Bloomers by local cowboys.
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| Fiery Furnace (Wikipedia) |
Fiery Furnace Viewpoint
The Fiery Furnace is a collection of narrow sandstone canyons, fins and natural arches located near the center of Arches National Park The area was named for the reddish hue it exhibits in sunset light.
The Fiery Furnace arches include Walk Through Arch, Crawl Through Arch, Skull Arch, Kissing Turtles Arch, and Surprise Arch.
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| Devils Garden (Wikipedia) |
Devils Garden Area
The Devil's Garden area features a series of rock fins and arches in various stages of development including Landscape Arch, Partition, Navajo, Double O, and Private Arch.
The Dark Angel monolith and Fin Canyon are also accessed via the primitive loop trail and its spurs. The trailhead for Devils Garden is located at the end of the main park road. A campground and amphitheater are also available at the site.
Landscape Arch (Devils Garden)
Landscape Arch. located in the Devils Garden area of Arches National Park, is the longest of the many natural rock arches in the Park and among the longest natural stone arches in the world.
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| Landscape Arch (Wikipedia) |
The span of Landscape Arch was measured at 290.1 feet. The arch is nearing the end of it life span. The most recent recorded rockfall events occurred in 1991 and 1995 prompting closure of the trail beneath the arch.
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| Wall Arch (Wikipedia) |
Wall Arch
Wall Arch, at its largest, had a span of 71 feet. Wall Arch collapsed sometime overnight August 4, 2008 temporarily blocking Devil's Garden Trail.
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| Collapsed Wall Arch |
No one observed the fall. It was the first collapse of a major arch in the park since sections of Landscape Arch fell in 1991. Officials noted stress fractures in the remaining formation which may cause collapses in the future.
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State Highway 128 Utah - Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway
Leaving the Park, we turned south on US 191 to connect with State Highway 128. This spectacular, jaw dropping route along the Colorado River gorge begins at the Colorado River Bridge on the north end of Moab and ends 44 miles later at I-70. The entire length of the highway is designated the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway and forms part of the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway. Grand County Tourism
Hwy 128 UT (Discover Moab)
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Red Cliffs Lodge (14.2 Miles)
Red Cliffs Lodge is home to the Moab Museum of Film & Western Heritage. On display in the museum are production photographs, movie posters, autographed scripts, props from the many pictures filmed in the area, and displays about the western ranching heritage.
Dozens of movies have used the ranch and surrounding area as the set and backdrop for their films. Red Cliffs has hosted some of its biggest stars; John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Rock Hudson, Henry Fonda, Roger Moore, Burt Reynolds, Jason Patrick, Johnny Depp and many, many more.
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Castle Valley – Castleton Tower and The Rectory (15.5 Miles)
Castleton Tower is a 400 foot Wingate Sandstone tower standing on a 1,000 foot cone. The Tower is world renowned as a subject for photography and for its classic rock climbing routes. In 1964, Chevrolet filmed a commercial for the Impala convertible perched atop the tower.
Adjacent to Castleton Tower is The Rectory, a thin 200 foot wide, and 1,000 foot long butte with 200 foot vertical walls.
Castleton Tower (Discover Moab)
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Fisher Towers Viewpoint (24.7 Miles)
The roadside viewpoint provides views of the red rock spires of the Fisher Towers set against the often snow covered peaks of the La Sal Mountains.
Fisher Towers is a group of unusual vertical cliffs and pinnacles, which are eroded into jagged shapes on the top and grooved down the sides.
Fisher Towers (American Southwest)
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Dewey Bridge (30 Miles)
Dewey Bridge, built in 1916, featured an all wood deck measuring 502 feet long and and 8 feet wide. The bridge also consisted of two metal towers, a run of seven cables on each side of the bridge deck, and cable anchors.
On April 6, 2008, a seven-year-old boy accidentally started a fire in a nearby campground while playing with matches. The fire moved up the riverbank and destroyed the bridge's wooden deck and rails. The remains of the bridge and a historical marker remain on the site.
Dewey Bridge was added to the National Registry of Historic Places on July 12, 1984 as #84002179.
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Dewey Ghost Town
Dewey, originally named Kingsferry, began in the 1880s when Samuel King built and operated a ferry across the Colorado River (then known as the Grand River). A small community soon developed around the ferry, although it never grew large. The town served as a ferry crossing until the Dewey Bridge was constructed in 1916. Today there isn't much left of Dewey aside from a derelict gas station off to the side of UT 128.
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