Our second day on the train was short. We were served a good breakfast and a charcuterie board before disembarking in Moab. Both were delicious. Our first notable sight was the De Beque Canyon, named for Dr. Wallace De Beque, a Canadian and Civil War veteran who settled there in 1884 with his third wife. It is a narrow canyon on the Colorado River, approximately 15 miles long. Geologically the canyon walls are stair-step cliffs of shoreline sands deposited during the Cretaceous era, 145 million to 66 million years ago.
We then passed the town of Palisade, home to the famous Palisade peaches and the beginning of wine country for Colorado, and Mount Garfield, named after the 20th US President, James Garfield. It is 6765 feet high, part of the Book Cliffs, a series of desert mountains and cliffs so named because they appear similar to a shelf of books.
The train then passed through Grand Junction, the second largest city in Colorado, at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers, where fruit orchards and more vineyards are found. Then on to Ruby Canyon. Ruby Canyon gets its name from the fact it is lined with red sandstone cliffs. There is a painting on the side of the canyon indicating the Colorado/Utah state line.
We arrived outside of Maob, at the end of the line. This line does not connect with the major rail line running through Utah because of the ongoing clean-up work to remove uranium tailings on this side of the town, so we rode buses to our hotel destinations.
Main Street in Moab
Moab was a typical wild west town, a favorite hideout for many gangs of outlaws in the 1800s because of the surrounding deep canyons.The discovery of uranium in the 1950s put Moab on the map and it now attracts visitors, like us, to come to explore the five surrounding national parks: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion.
The following day we visited Arches National Park. Originally a cattle ranch, it was established as a national monument in 1929 and a national park by President Nixon in 1970. It got its name from the over 2,000 rock arches found within its boundaries. Water and ice, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement sculpted the rock scenery of the park over a hundred million years of erosion. While the arches are the main draw, towering spires, pinnacles, and balanced rocks (rocks balancing on what look like precarious bases) are part of the vistas. We went early in the morning when it is cool and the air is so clean and fresh, you want to spend time thinking about breathing!
I’m just going to show you some of my favorite rock formations.
The Three Gossips
Delicate Arch – you can see the La Sal Mountains through the arch
Marching Elephants (see the ears?)
A pocket arch – not all the way through 
.jpg)
The Windows
And one that seemed to be giving us the middle finger!
The next day, we headed to the La Sal Mountains, traveling down the Colorado River valley and then climbing to around 5000 feet. The view down the valley was spectacular and I could have sat there all day, enjoying the cool breeze, and the clean and fresh air, and absolute quiet, except for the wind in the pine trees!
I hope you enjoyed coming along on our trip as much as we enjoyed taking it!
This looks like a great trip! You must really love being able to get out and enjoy life again!
Love the shot as well!
Oh, wow. These pictures are stunning! I find it such a different world out west. What a wonderful trip you had. I missed the first post and have to jump over and check it out!
Moab is a great destination, as is Utah and its five National Parks!
Yup, more later!
A lovely memory, Noelle.
Thank you for the entertaining and enjoyable tour!
You are most welcome!
Thanks for bringing me along, Noelle. I enjoyed seeing these rock formations, especially the elephants!
Glad you enjoyed the trip!
What a fantastic trip to see much of the fascinating geology of the west!
And there are four more national parks in that area to see!
Fantastic photos, Noelle! Thanks for sharing… <3
Wonderful views! Thank you for sharing some moments of your special trip with us 🙂
Beautiful, Noelle. I visited Bryce and Zion quite a few years back and loved them. I hope I can visit a bit more in the future, but things are so odd right now… Thanks for sharing this with us.
Thanks, Olga. We’ve been to Zion but Arches was so impressive! Hope you get a chance to see it!
What a fun way to see the west, Noelle. My parents used to live north of Grand Junction, and for several years, my brother was in charge of cleaning up those uranium tailings in Moab, so I know the area well. Arches is an amazing place and you captured some beautiful spots. I hope it wasn’t too hot. Thanks for the tour. I’d love to travel by train through those areas.
I do hope your brother didn’t suffer any ill effects from cleaning up the tailings. They won’t be finished for another few years!
As for travelling, just book a trip on the Rocky Mountains Railway!
He’s fine. The navy moved him to Alaska to clean up old ordinance from WWII. And a trip on the Rocky Mountain Railway sounds like a blast. I’ll tell my husband about it and the next thing you know….
It’s fabulous to have people traveling again. What a trip, Noelle!
I’d love to travel to this destination. The sights are amazing. No train ride for me, though. Unfortunately I get motion sick, even on a train. 🙁 But a car ride will do (as long as I sit in the front). On my bucket list. THANKS for this amazing post and photos. xo
The railroad line parallels interstate 70 for much of the ride, so you can do that! Thanks for your kind words.
Noelle, thank you for sharing some of your glorious photos and about your journey. I have always longed to see the Grand Canyon and seeing these stunning photos makes me want to book a flight ticket right away! Some day, some day … for now I will enjoy your post once again.
Thank you, Annika, for your kind comments. We visited the Gran Canyon many years ago – flew down it in a small plane and stayed at the Lodge there overnight – you can’t fly down the canyon any more. The pictures don’t do what we saw any justice, so you will definitely need to see it for yourself one of these days!
Yesterday I was telling my husband how I would love to fly down the Gran Canyon … oh well. It’s great you had such an amazing experience. Yes, we are hoping to be able to visit in a couple of years!