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dead horse point state park

On Wednesday afternoon, we ventured out to Dead Horse Point State Park, southwest of Moab, Utah. The origin of the park’s name:

Before the turn of the century, mustang herds ran wild on the mesas near Dead Horse Point. The unique promontory provided a natural corral into which the horses were driven by cowboys. The only escape was through a narrow, 30-yard neck of land controlled by fencing. Mustangs were then roped and broken, with the better ones being kept for personal use or sold to eastern markets. Unwanted culls of “broomtails” were left behind to find their way off the Point.

According to one legend, a band of broomtails was left corralled on the Point. The gate was supposedly left open so the horses could return to the open range. For some unknown reason, the mustangs remained on the Point. There they died of thirst within sight of the Colorado River, 2,000 feet below.

The afternoon we visited, there were no cowboys nor horses — just a spectacular view of a large, winding canyon carved by the Colorado River. The light was a bit hazy over the canyon, so the photos perhaps don’t show the grandeur of the scene as well as they could. Nonetheless, it was an impressive sight, akin to a mini Grand Canyon.

Photos: Dead Horse Point State Park (toward the bottom of the page) | The Whole Trip (not all photos up yet)