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| The Goosenecks |
After
skipping Dead Horse Point S.P. because we didn't really see much
point paying $10 for a photo we were at a crossroads with Goosenecks.
I
had seen pictures of it and to say it looks incredible wouldn't do it
justice. So with that in mind, we splurged and forked out a whopping
$10 bucks for park entry and overnight camping – see I can always
seek out a bargain! And people call me cheap!
And
we were not disappointed.
The
Goosenecks are one of the best natural phenomenons I have ever seen.
I mean this in that nothing about them had been affected by man, and
this is rather scarce these days. It rates up there with the likes of
Torres Del Paine and Chapada Diamantina's caves, but these have been
influenced by man whereas the Goosenecks haven't.
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| Taking in the sunset |
The
simplicity of it is half its appeal. It is a simple river meander
that you see by driving 20 mile or so off the main highway. That they
have dedicated it a State Park is rather hilarious when you look at
the area it encompassed. You literally drive those 20 miles down a
road, reach a cul-de-sac which contains the view point and that's
all, and turn back around – or if you're like us, find a delightful
looking patch of red dirt and throw your tent out.
For
a simple river canyon it is unparalleled. The info boards told us it
is one of the most striking examples of 'entrenched river meander' in
the world, and not that my 'entrenched river meander' knowledge is
far flung, but I would have to agree. Or so my hundred photos of the
same thing would tend to say.
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| Just another one for good luck |
Keeping
with the tight-arse theme next up on the Tour de Scrooge was Monument
Valley. Taking some helpful advice from a friend (cheers Morts) we
forewent the entry into the reserve. The advice was that the view
from the highway was just as good from within. You don't need to tell
me twice on how to save a bit of coin.
And
although we didn't know the names of the formations we were looking
at, Wikipedia can always help with that!
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| Monument Valley |
Both
Monument Valley and Goosenecks are practically on your way from
Canyonlands to the Grand Canyon, so if you have the time, and the
money, spend a few hours at each. Or, get on board the cheap train
and head into Goosenecks after 7pm, get yourself a free campsite and
entry (we didn't do this but most of the other cadets around looked
like they did) and drive by Monument Valley in the morning – you'll
save yourself a whopping $20 or so! To put that into perspective,
that's a carton of Buds over here!
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| I thought these guys might actually charge me for their photo but they were cool with it |
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