Kirk & his truck (ok, all of us) cannot get enough of off-roading! While the White Rim Road through Canyonland NP requires a permit, we are happy to do just a day-tip along the Colorado River, on Potash Road past the Potash (Solar Evaporation) Ponds and into the National Park. The road brings some tricky turns, narrowly avoiding the cliffs dropping off right next to us but also exposing us to some beautiful overviews along the Colorado.
Once past the Gooseneck we reach Shafer Canyon and with it the entrance to the NP. Shafer Trail Road is not for the faint of heart, where steep inclines, tight switchbacks and breathtaking views make for an unforgettable drive. Our heart rates can slow down again a little once we hit the top and are back on the paved road of Canyonlands.
Knowing that the easy way out of the park can not be how we end this day, we decide to take the road less travelled instead. Cue in: Long Canyon Road, a scenic detour that makes our heart rates go through the roof and breaths getting stuck in our throats a couple of times! It’s a sand road in parts, a slippery-smooth plain rock trail in others and squeezes us through collapsed rock tunnels where Kirk actually steps out of the truck to check if it will even fit! Good thing it will, because turning around would have been a no-way on this stretch of the road. Yikes!
Once back on solid ground (aka paved Hwy 279) along the Colorado River we pass the Corona Arch (fitting name given the pandemic we’re in!) before reaching Moab and our campground again.
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