Dead Horse Point State Park

Julie and I returned to one of our favorite state parks, Dead Horse Point State Park.

View from east rim at Dead Horse Point

For the first time we camped in the campground, spending two nights and keeping the van parked there for the duration. Plus: electricity hookup! Minus: scarce water so can’t fill up our van water tank. We moved into water conservation mode and mostly used water from a refillable jug.

Julie examines the panel

On our arrival day we had to stop in Moab for groceries, so we visited an easy-to-access rock art site just outside of town near the Colorado river. We parked in the Lions Park right on the river and walked over the very cool bridge across the river to meet up with the Courthouse Wash trail. From there we scrambled up the cliff to find the art. I think this panel is technically within the bounds of Arches National Park.

Pictograph at Courthouse Wash

An amazing display, with a mix of petroglyphs and pictographs. My photo is enhanced with iDStretch; it doesn’t always improve things but in this case it brought out more contrast and color differentiation.

East rim pushups

Back to Dead Horse Point: we did the roundabout rim hike, with extra weight on our backs to make it a true ruck. I’ve filled a dry bag with sand and I think I’m carrying an extra 30-35 lbs now with just the sand. I did some pushups on the east rim, with a view back to the potash mining operations and the snowy La Sal mountain range.