From Dead Horse Point

On the way down into Moab today we turned off the highway to go to Dead Horse's Point high above the Colorado River valley.  We joked en route that it had better be worth the extra time travelling.  It was.  This is the view from Dead Horse's Point looking down the 2000 or so feet to the Colorado river.

One of the legends associated with Dead Horse Point speaks of it being used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa.  Cowboys rounded them up, herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point.  The neck which is only 30 years wide was then fenced off using branches and brush, eating a natural corral surrounded by very steep cliffs.  The cowboys then chose the horses they wanted and left the others corralled on the waterless point where they died of thirst looking at the Colorado River 200 feet below them...

A long journey from Salt Lake City today but now we are into the more scenic areas of our trip.