Quick trip down Shafer Trail

Dizzying descent. White knuckles the first time I did it, and the second.

Looks like a Ford commercial, but it’s just another afternoon in the canyons.

“Walking Rocks” show differential erosion near Musselman Arch.

The Goosenecks Overlook allows a view of the Colorado River’s bends as it winds through Canyonlands National Park.

The switchbacks that gain the most attention in Canyonlands National Park are the old livestock-path-turned-4WD-road called the Shafer Trail. Dropping over 1000 feet in just a few miles, it carries visitors away from the popular mesa-top viewpoints and crowds. When our friends arrived with a 4×4 truck that enabled us to explore one of the more remote parts of the park for an afternoon, we decided that getting off the beaten path is ALWAYS a good thing.