Utah 2025 Trip Report (the final few days)

Written by ceddammit

Day 7:

On day seven, I set out for the state park with the most appealing name I’ve encountered yet: Dead Horse Point State Park (DHPSP). This park is only a 28-mile drive from my hotel, and it’s smaller than either unit of Canyonlands National Park, so I was pretty sure I’d cover everything here in one day. I seem to have been correct.

But don’t let that fool you into thinking this place is something to be missed. Especially considering its proximity to Canyonlands. Y’see, DHPSP is almost enveloped by the north unit of Canyonlands. So, if you’re going to “Island in the Sky” you’ll be driving right past DHPSP.

Here’s some of the scenery you’ll see along the entrance to both parks, my hippie brethren:

These two fellows are called Merrimac Butte (left) and Monitor Butte (right).
Apparently, folks in the 19th Century thought these buttes resembled the ironclad ships of the Civil War.
The red rock continues for many a mile, as seen between Monitor and Merrimac Buttes.
It almost looks like something is written into this rock. Almost.
Baby arches incubating?

Dead Horse Point is essentially a peninsula, projecting into one of the Colorado River’s many canyons. The views down into and across the canyons are amazing. Enjoy this sampling:

The blue ponds are a salt company’s evaporation ponds.
The blue ponds are a salt company’s evaporation ponds.
Looking east, the La Sal mountains in the distance.
The La Sal mountain range stands on the border between Utah and Colorado.
One last glance at our buddies Monitor and Merrimac

Day 8:

And on the 8th day, I rested. But I would like to mention the place where I had lunch: Milt’s Stop N’ Eat. This is a 1940’s /50’s themed diner; however, this one is a little different. All of the seating is outside, and they’ve got a big old shade tree protecting the outside “dining area”. I hadn’t eaten elk for quite a while, so I tried their Elk Cheeseburger. It was absolutely delectable!

Day 9:

This day was planned to be devoted to either northern Canyonlands N.P. or Arches N. P. But when I awoke to a weather forecast calling for a high temperature of 105 degrees FartinRight, I sought other options. Looking at Google Maps, I learned that the La Sal mountains reach an altitude of over 10,000. Unfortunately, I did not spot any roads that get nearly that high. Later, I went out for a drive with the car’s air conditioner doing everything it could. Ultimately though, I went back to the hotel and had another day of rest.

Day 10:

Today, I had to get back up to the Salt Lake City airport to return my rental car and catch a flight. I went back the way I had come on Day 5. There are no pictures this time, as I was in a bit of a rush, but I have a couple of comments I’d like to make on the town of Helper. I stopped at Helper in an attempt to find some lunch. It turns out that Helper has a well-known historical museum (maybe more than one). Also, I would love to just walk around and photograph this town. There are historical buildings all over, with a fair helping of art deco.

That pretty much wraps up my Utah State Vacation. It looks like my next trip will be Maryland in late October.

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