Canyonlands Maze 2008 – Day 5 | My Toyota FJ Cruiser

We needed to get an early start today. The drive was going to be long and dusty. Our goal was to make Natural Bridges early enough to get a campsite. Natural Bridges has only 13 sites and they fill up fast.

Sun rise on the rocks with the Full Moon above

Sun Rise over the Needles

Laura Jane packing the FJ

We use the rack with a Thule Cargo Bag to carry the clothes and sleeping gear. This keep the load on top light.

Back Across the rim stone above Tea Pot Canyon

Laura Jane making lunch at Teapot Rock

Group Picture During our Lunch Break at Tea Pot Camp.

It's a long drive out

We just came from Dollhouse and have about 30 miles to go before hitting the blacktop at Utah 95 near Hite.

The road from this point out is a dry and dusty graded surface

We finally can see Lake Powell. There still has a good section of dirt road left.

Crossing the Colorado River at Hite

At this point Fuel was a necessity

The station at Hite is open 24 Hours for Credit Card only. We had already used 1 5 gallon can of fuel to get from Dollhouse to here and it was going to be 2 more nights and lots of miles before seeing a gas station in Moab. Fuel is always a little pricey at this stop. There is also a good working compressor here to air back up. (Usually working)

On the phone with the Needles Dist Rangers

I tried to get a night on our permit on the Needles District but I was unable to. We would have had to drive over to the Needles District Ranger Station which is where we were planning on exiting Canyonlands.

We rolled out of Hite and drove the next 70 miles on blacktop to Natural Bridges. It was a nice break to be back on the highway.

Natural Bridges

Our destination for camping on the 5th night Was Natural Bridges National Monument. Shirley and Dale had never been here. I was looking forward to sharing one of my favorite National Monuments with them. We arrived lat in the afternoon and the campground only had a few sites left.