Are you feeling lucky? Grabbing one of the few first come- first served sites at Canyonlands National Park is tough because this section of the park is immensely popular and there are only twelve available. But it's worth the gamble.

We arrived at Willow Flat Campground around noon on a Monday to find it nearly full. As other folks mentioned, the campground doesn't have electric or water, so it attracts a more rugged crowd. Larger rigs might find the pads too small, but it was perfect for my 13' foot camper and the vault toilets were clean and accessible. I had brought an extra bottle of wine in hopes that we might be able to share it with some friendly neighbors and trade adventure stories, but the sites were too large and private to be that kind of spontaneously social.

Staying right in the national park let us experience a bit of desert therapy on a deeper level. We walked to the Green River Overlook for the most spectacular sunset and then hopped in the car for a quick 5 minute drive to Mesa Arch at sunrise and saw the rocks glow florescent orange. Those pictures are the stuff social media is made for. But the best memory that I couldn't capture via my iPhone was the magic of seeing the Milky Way at midnight. Sitting under heavy blankets in the inky quiet of a night sky, filled with more stars than could have imagined, made us feel very lucky indeed.