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We explored two more national parks today: Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. We finally tired of visiting odd rock formations. The rocks are still fascinating but the odd shapes don't seem so incredible any more. We'll soon be out of rock country and probably be wishing that we were back.
Canyonlands National Park shows more grandiose sites than Arches. Canyonlands contains two entrances. We entered only the northern part of the park, ascending to six thousand feet and looking out over the canyon. The views were similar to the Grand Canyon but without having the deep drop-offs. In Canyonlands the initial drop to the plains is one thousand feet with a second drop of a thousand feet down to the Colorado River and the Green River. The Grand Canyon descends a mile (five thousand feet) from its rim. We were bored by the time we got to Canyonlands and we didn't take many pictures.
Arches National Park features many weathered sandstone formations, including several arches and a balanced rock. We felt as though we were just going through the motions as none of the sites really inspired us. They were nice but they're not in the same league as the formations in Bryce Canyon.
We changed our schedule slightly, switching our Durango-Silverton train ride to tomorrow and our visit to Mesa Verde National Park until the day after tomorrow.
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