Gemini Bridges and the top of Upheaval Dome

The Gemini Bridges / Bull Canyon trails are two of the more popular 4WD trails north of Moab. The bridges themselves are side-by-side spans of Entrada sandstone (probably actually arches rather than bridges, since they don't span a watercourse and weren't created by water erosion); the Bull Canyon trail allows access to them from below, while the Gemini Bridges trail climbs to the top of the bridges and then continues on to the highway which enters Canyonland National Park's Island in the Sky northern district.

It had rained recently, and I finally had a chance to see something I've always wanted to see: the "fairy shrimp" which are born out of puddles in desert potholes, live for a few days, breed, then dehydrate when the puddle dries up, for their progeny to be born anew in the next good rain. (Yes, this is more or less the same thing as "Seamonkeys", and in fact, if I hadn't been familiar with the size of baby seamonkeys only a few days old, I might have missed the tiny, darting fairy shrimp.)

Upon reaching the paved highway after viewing the bridges from both below and above, we turned south to enter Canyonlands and visit our favorite park site, the 60 million year old meteor crater the park service misleadingly names Upheaval Dome (more on that in tomorrow's report). The short hike along the top rim has been extended to the south since we last took it, and we were able to race the fading light to venture almost all the way to the end of the trail, and view the stunning interior structure of the crater from several angles we hadn't seen before. But our ultimate goal -- pending for several years now -- was still to see the center up close.

Next: We finally get to see the center up close.

Next: We finally get to see the center up close.
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