On our first afternoon in Moab we drove 30 miles to the Dead Horse Point State Park. As has been the case in each of the wondrous National and State Parks we have visited, this place was stunning--dramatic sweeping vistas 270 degrees around this narrow point of red sandstone rock only 30 yards wide at the entrance point.

The "Point" features a dramatic overlook of the Colorado River. The park is so named because of its use as a natural corral by cowboys in the 19th century. The "dead horse" part of the name is that the corral was abandoned, but the horses did not leave the corral, even after the gate was left open, and died there. The park covers 5,362 acres of high desert at an altitude of 5,900 feet. The plateau is surrounded by sheer cliffs 2,000 feet high with only a narrow neck of land 30 yards wide connecting the mesa to the main plateau. Thus it was easy for cowboys to simply fence off this narrow neck, and keep rounded up wild horses from running away. The area was also used in the final scene of the 1991 film Thelma and Louise.

Here are some images from that visit and along the road in and out. 10 miles north of Moab, then west about 20 miles west down State Road 313. It is hard to capture the full majesty of this magical place. The turquoise blue water in the distance in some photos is 400 acres of shallow water used as part of the mining of potash--a big industry in this part of Utah. I hope you enjoy the photos and this beautiful part of "Canyonland" in Utah. Which of the four shots of the Cedar Tree along the edge of the canyon do you like best?