Finally, it was time to go home to Colorado from ​the​ tour of the Southwest ​that I took ​with the great Russ Burden and three wonderful tour companions. But Utah was in the way.

So we stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab. This park ​​is 2,000 feet above a gooseneck in the Colorado River​​ and also overlooks Canyonlands National Park.

​Years ago cowboys used the gooseneck as a natural corral​ to herd wild mustangs​. At least one of these horses must have died there, although nobody knows for sure any more just what happened.

Looking Down to Dead Horse Point on the Colorado River

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We​ looked down a lot. Here Kylie gets as low as she could to photograph this puddle.

Kylie Gets Down to the Water

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​In this photo that Russ took of me I didn’t have to get as low as Kylie to capture my shot. That’s because I am using an angle finder instead of a regular viewfinder.​ ​

The Drop-off Right Here is Only a Few Hundred Feet Down

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​​The canyonlands are within the national park of that name, which is just to the south and west of Dead Horse Point State Park. This section of the canyonlands is perhaps the most inhospitable part of the country, except for our big cities, of course.
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The Canyonlands in Early Morning Light

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The canyonlands stretch for miles. Here is a closer view.

A River Runs Through It

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​This area stars in several films, including the final “Grand Canyon” scene of Thelma & Louise (1991). They plunge a ‘66 Thunderbird right down into the Grand Canyon — except that they actually filmed it at Dead Horse Point.

That film captured some of the drama of Dead Horse Point. But if you really want to see ​drama, you need to watch the rock climbing scene of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible II (2000). Unfortunately, it’s still a bit beyond my level, but now that I’m home I have time to study it.