Island in the Sky, Canyonlands Utah
38°26'54.40"N  109°49'17.54"W The Neck
Best viewed at 1680 x 1050
   Below are several panorams of the Island in the Sky region/The Neck in the Canyonlands in Utah. This was part of a Colorado State University Rafting/Geology field trip in August 2006.


                                                                                                       Just north of the Neck, viewing The Island in the Sky in the Canyonlands, Utah in 2006

                                The Neck is a narrow isthmus (only 40 feet) of land separates Shafer and Rough Canyons and joins The Island In The Sky with an adjoining plateau. Grand Viewpoint Road crosses the Neck.


                                                                                 Viewing the Schafer Trail Taken from The Neck@ The Island in the Sky in the Canyonlands, Utah in 2006

From Google Earth Description:

By StevenM_DFW
Greetings GoogleEarthlings,   This is the Shafer Trail, a high-clearance 2WD dirt road that descends from the Island in the
Sky District of  Canyonlands National Park and eventually leads back to Moab, Utah. The switchbacks used to be a cattle trail,
which was widened to accommodate dump trucks during the uranium boom of the 1950s.   I've travelled both up and down the
Shafer Trail on various vacations in Moab, most recently in May. My favorite  trip was the first time I drove up the trail myself,
with my elderly parents hanging on for dear life. The next  day we were discussing photography with a couple from Iowa who
were visiting Moab and they mentioned seeing a  "zig zag road down the side of a cliff". I said, "Yeah, thats the Shafer Trail.
We drove up that yesterday."  The man's eyes got real big and he said with all sincerety, "I want to shake your hand...you're the
bravest man  I ever met."  Actually, the road is in pretty good condition. Its rough and its rocky but it isnt too bad if you go slow.
You dont really need 4WD, but high ground clearance is a must . Some places along the route are a bit narrow,  but theres room
to get by. Travelling down the trail last May we met more bicycles on their way up than we did  other trucks.  At the bottom the
road connects to the White Rim Trail, which follows the Colorado back to Moab, passing large  potash evaporation ponds along
the way.  GoogleEarth shows the road as County Road 142, but the USGS maps show it as the Shafer Trail. Note the vehicle on
the switchback.  Shafer Trail switchbacks, Canyonlands NP, Utah :

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                                                                                                                                                                                               May 17, 2011.......TjT......Galactic Home