Taking the I-70 from Grand Junction, 248 miles to the west, we arrived in Denver some 4 hours 10 minutes later - without breaking any speed limits, which for an interstate varied between 25 and 75mph., with elevations between 4485 - 10,603 ft, and gradients of between 4 - 8%.
Road was sinuous, frost damaged, amalgam of tarmac, concrete, and wattle, and followed the Colorado River, much like we have done since Las Vegas over two weeks ago!
This is the last post from the trip - tomorrow we shop and wait for our call to the plane back home.
I will back-fill this blog with pictures, some more anecdotes, which time, and technology have thus far prevented. I will also be adding a hotel scorecard if anyone is interested in taking a similar trip or even visiting the same places. In summary, these were very much a curate's egg - good in parts, in others, well, you guess....!!
Thanks for reading - keep visiting.
Dexter
Friday, 6 June 2008
Thursday 5 June Grand Junction, CO
Grand Junction (yes, you read that correctly!)
Via Arches National Park, Scenic Byway UT-128 and Cisco
Again (Grand Junction), another one of those ‘Why’ places – even our server at the Moab Brewery exclaimed “Why Grand Junction? What’s going on there?”
She’s not missing anything!
Rain was set to spoil and even stop play today as we planned to spend the last real day of our trip exploring some of the world’s greatest arches in:
Arches National Park
Starting the day in steady and heavy rain we ventured the 5 miles north to visit Arches NP, not expecting very much, and definitely not taking any big pictures. The NPS annual pass (which at $80 is fantastic value, we broke even by Yosemite!), gave us free access, and its proximity, rain notwithstanding, meant we just had to do it.
This park preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, like the world-famous Delicate Arch, as well as many other unusual rock formations.
In some areas, the forces of nature have exposed millions of years of geological history - the extraordinary features of the park create a landscape of contrasting colours, landforms and textures unlike any other part of the world.
It was quite a strange morning in that as we drove to each arch viewpoint, the rain fell in force, but when, undaunted we decided, that after braving snow, hail, sleet, road closures, tornados, high winds, floods and fires, we hadn’t travelled over 5000 air miles and driven over 8000 road miles to not visit these arches, each time we stopped the car and set out to hike to these mammoths of geological import, the rain ceased, and on several occasions the sun even shone on a few of these monuments.
Highlights:
Delicate Arch, unfortunately, the rain was so bad that we only hiked 1.5 miles to the upper viewpoint (no doubt, had we hiked to the arch itself, the rain would have obligingly abated, but at this early stage, we didn’t know this as no pattern had been established).
The Three Gossips – exactly what it suggests – geological humour!
North and South Windows (should be Left and Right Eyes because of their ocular shape and aspect!
Turreted Arch
Double Arch – almost a 60 degree offset double arch.
Fiery Furnace – when the late afternoon Sun hits this area, the rocks glow as if on fire – today they merely glowed through the gloom.
Panoramic Arch – the worlds largest arch whose span is the length of a soccer field!
Arches and Bridges - an explanation
The difference between arches and bridges is that arches simply span an abyss, whereas bridges span water.
National Parks and National Monuments - another explanation
Surprisingly, Arches is a National Park and not called Arches National Monument. However, it was declared as a national monument in 1929!
The diversity of the parks is reflected in the variety of titles given to them. These include designations such as National Park, National Monument, and others.
Although some titles are self-explanatory, others have been used in many different
ways. For example, “National Monument” has been given to natural reservations,
historic military fortifications, prehistoric ruins, fossil sites, Mount Rushmore, Natural Bridges and the Statue of Liberty!
Areas added to the National Park System for their natural values are expanses or features of land or water of great scenic and scientific quality and are usually designated as national parks, monuments, preserves, seashores, lakeshores, or riverways.
Such areas contain one or more distinctive attributes such as forest, grassland, tundra, desert, estuary, or river systems ; they may contain imposing landforms such as mountains, mesas, thermal areas, and caverns; and they may be habitats of abundant or rare wildlife and plantlife.
Generally, a national park contains a variety of resources and encompasses large land
or water areas to help provide adequate protection of the resources.
A national monument is intended to preserve at least one nationally significant resource and is usually smaller than a national park and lacks its diversity of attractions.
There, now you know!
After Arches, I changed our planned route and chose a scenic byway (the slow and winding UT-128 – also known as the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway) which ran alongside the Colorado River.
The sheer, red sandstone cliff-faces which shouldered this road/riverway was a fantastic sight to drive through, and about 10 miles into this route, the right (south) side gave way to Castle Valley, a potential Monument Valley in the making, with buttes, mesas and spires, already growing and shrinking to form those familiar behemoths!
At the end of this road, just before we joined the I-70 to Grand Junction (as a stopoff to Denver for our flight home), we drove through Cisco.
Cisco
It was ominous enough to drive past a sign which proclaimed ‘No State Highway Maintenance’
The town comprised, crashed cars and trucks, open and boarded-up coal and other mines, and temporary, mobile and prefab homes in various states of disrepair, dereliction and desertion.
The road sign gave the biggest hint. It seemed like the state had given up on the road, and even on the people who lived there. If you weren’t part of the system, you may well not exist.
It was almost a ghost town, of which there are many across this advanced yet, in some ways, backward country.
Research leads me to write the following obituary:
Cisco started as a watering stop for the Santa Fe’s railroad steam engines in the 1880s. As work crews, and later, travellers, came through, stores, hotels and restaurants sprang up to accommodate them.
Nearby cattle ranchers, and sheep herders in the Book Cliffs north of town began using Cisco as a livestock and provisioning centre.
Around the turn of the century, over 100,000 sheep were sheared here before being shipped to market.
Then oil and natural gas were discovered.
For awhile Ciso was the largest producer in Utah.
People began travelling more and Cisco continued to grow.
Then the bottom fell out - a declining economy crashed when I-70 came through and by-passed Cisco altogether!
In 2000 there were 95 inhabitants – there seems to be far less than that now. Perhaps unhabitants should be the term!?
Journey Notes and Details
You know most of it already but following after Cisco we joined the I-70 for a 58 mile drive to Grand Junction.
Distance: 128 miles
Time: 7 hours
Weather: Rain, Sun, Rain, Sun, Rain, Sun (repeat till fade…)
Via Arches National Park, Scenic Byway UT-128 and Cisco
Again (Grand Junction), another one of those ‘Why’ places – even our server at the Moab Brewery exclaimed “Why Grand Junction? What’s going on there?”
She’s not missing anything!
Rain was set to spoil and even stop play today as we planned to spend the last real day of our trip exploring some of the world’s greatest arches in:
Arches National Park
Starting the day in steady and heavy rain we ventured the 5 miles north to visit Arches NP, not expecting very much, and definitely not taking any big pictures. The NPS annual pass (which at $80 is fantastic value, we broke even by Yosemite!), gave us free access, and its proximity, rain notwithstanding, meant we just had to do it.
This park preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, like the world-famous Delicate Arch, as well as many other unusual rock formations.
In some areas, the forces of nature have exposed millions of years of geological history - the extraordinary features of the park create a landscape of contrasting colours, landforms and textures unlike any other part of the world.
It was quite a strange morning in that as we drove to each arch viewpoint, the rain fell in force, but when, undaunted we decided, that after braving snow, hail, sleet, road closures, tornados, high winds, floods and fires, we hadn’t travelled over 5000 air miles and driven over 8000 road miles to not visit these arches, each time we stopped the car and set out to hike to these mammoths of geological import, the rain ceased, and on several occasions the sun even shone on a few of these monuments.
Highlights:
Delicate Arch, unfortunately, the rain was so bad that we only hiked 1.5 miles to the upper viewpoint (no doubt, had we hiked to the arch itself, the rain would have obligingly abated, but at this early stage, we didn’t know this as no pattern had been established).
The Three Gossips – exactly what it suggests – geological humour!
North and South Windows (should be Left and Right Eyes because of their ocular shape and aspect!
Turreted Arch
Double Arch – almost a 60 degree offset double arch.
Fiery Furnace – when the late afternoon Sun hits this area, the rocks glow as if on fire – today they merely glowed through the gloom.
Panoramic Arch – the worlds largest arch whose span is the length of a soccer field!
Arches and Bridges - an explanation
The difference between arches and bridges is that arches simply span an abyss, whereas bridges span water.
National Parks and National Monuments - another explanation
Surprisingly, Arches is a National Park and not called Arches National Monument. However, it was declared as a national monument in 1929!
The diversity of the parks is reflected in the variety of titles given to them. These include designations such as National Park, National Monument, and others.
Although some titles are self-explanatory, others have been used in many different
ways. For example, “National Monument” has been given to natural reservations,
historic military fortifications, prehistoric ruins, fossil sites, Mount Rushmore, Natural Bridges and the Statue of Liberty!
Areas added to the National Park System for their natural values are expanses or features of land or water of great scenic and scientific quality and are usually designated as national parks, monuments, preserves, seashores, lakeshores, or riverways.
Such areas contain one or more distinctive attributes such as forest, grassland, tundra, desert, estuary, or river systems ; they may contain imposing landforms such as mountains, mesas, thermal areas, and caverns; and they may be habitats of abundant or rare wildlife and plantlife.
Generally, a national park contains a variety of resources and encompasses large land
or water areas to help provide adequate protection of the resources.
A national monument is intended to preserve at least one nationally significant resource and is usually smaller than a national park and lacks its diversity of attractions.
There, now you know!
After Arches, I changed our planned route and chose a scenic byway (the slow and winding UT-128 – also known as the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway) which ran alongside the Colorado River.
The sheer, red sandstone cliff-faces which shouldered this road/riverway was a fantastic sight to drive through, and about 10 miles into this route, the right (south) side gave way to Castle Valley, a potential Monument Valley in the making, with buttes, mesas and spires, already growing and shrinking to form those familiar behemoths!
At the end of this road, just before we joined the I-70 to Grand Junction (as a stopoff to Denver for our flight home), we drove through Cisco.
Cisco
It was ominous enough to drive past a sign which proclaimed ‘No State Highway Maintenance’
The town comprised, crashed cars and trucks, open and boarded-up coal and other mines, and temporary, mobile and prefab homes in various states of disrepair, dereliction and desertion.
The road sign gave the biggest hint. It seemed like the state had given up on the road, and even on the people who lived there. If you weren’t part of the system, you may well not exist.
It was almost a ghost town, of which there are many across this advanced yet, in some ways, backward country.
Research leads me to write the following obituary:
Cisco started as a watering stop for the Santa Fe’s railroad steam engines in the 1880s. As work crews, and later, travellers, came through, stores, hotels and restaurants sprang up to accommodate them.
Nearby cattle ranchers, and sheep herders in the Book Cliffs north of town began using Cisco as a livestock and provisioning centre.
Around the turn of the century, over 100,000 sheep were sheared here before being shipped to market.
Then oil and natural gas were discovered.
For awhile Ciso was the largest producer in Utah.
People began travelling more and Cisco continued to grow.
Then the bottom fell out - a declining economy crashed when I-70 came through and by-passed Cisco altogether!
In 2000 there were 95 inhabitants – there seems to be far less than that now. Perhaps unhabitants should be the term!?
Journey Notes and Details
You know most of it already but following after Cisco we joined the I-70 for a 58 mile drive to Grand Junction.
Distance: 128 miles
Time: 7 hours
Weather: Rain, Sun, Rain, Sun, Rain, Sun (repeat till fade…)
Wednesday 4 June Moab, UT
Again another two-night stopover.
Moab is a perfect hub for this region and perfect for a number of other reasons, too!
Today we went to:
Island in the Sky
Is still forming and yet dissolving at the same time!
We arrived at the Grand View Overlook to rain, which was due for this afternoon but arrived early!
The view from Needles overlook with warm, clear sunny skies would have been the thing to see, not this dull, flattened and vague landscape – pah!
Several mysteries remain unanswered in the Canyonlands NP, the most striking of which is that of the ‘Upheaval Dome’
The Upheaval Dome is an anomaly in the relative geologic order of canyon country. Here, rock layers are dramatically deformed in a roughly circular or “bull’s-eye” pattern nearly three miles across.
Geologists are unsure of its origin and two main and distinct theories are hotly debated.
Impact Crater Theory: When meteorites collide with the earth, they leave impact craters.
Some geologists estimate that 60-160 million years ago, a meteorite 500 to 1000 feet across hit the earth at what is now Upheaval Dome.
The impact created a large explosion, sending dust and debris high into the atmosphere.
The impact initially created a crater, which then collapsed as gravity took over. In this rebound stage, rock layers were thrust inward and upward to fill the void left by the impact.
Erosion since the impact has washed away any meteorite debris and other tell-tale evidence of impact.
I’m not convinced!
Salt Dome Theory: A thick layer of salt, formed by the evaporation of ancient landlocked seas, underlies much of southeast Utah and Canyonlands National Park. When under pressure from thousands of feet of overlying rock, the salt can flow plasticly, like ice moving at the bottom of a glacier.
In addition, salt is less dense than sandstone and other sedimentary rocks.
As a result, over millions of years salt can flow up through rock layers as a “salt bubble”, rising to the surface, creating salt domes that deform the surrounding
rock.
Again I’m not convinced, but its more likely!
I’m more of the view that this was some minor magmatic stack which simply blew itself out after finding a way through the salty layers to the rock surface. There remains a molten spire at the centre of the jagged dome layers now.
If there had been a massive meteorite impact, clasts of molten debris would be flung hundreds of miles in all directions – so far, no such debris has been located. Also the impact site would have been more vapourised by the immense heat arising from such an impact.
Thirdly, there is no evidence to indicate a foreign body was involved here. Its true some particles of rock exhibit magnetic tendencies, but that is so for much of this permeable sandstone which is drenched and coloured red by iron oxide – a magnetic compound itself!
Lastly, there have been no rocks from this region, discovered in far-flung areas which would have been the case if an impact had occurred.
Case still open, I’m afraid!
On our way back we drove towards the small hamlet of Potash to see some more work by man’a hand, more petroglyphs on rock by the side of the small UT-279.
Interesting, with what appears to be fencing, railroad or counting symbols.
Each of the human figures seems to be carrying a bowl or round object – a space helmet perhaps….??!!
Journey details and Notes
Distance: 92 miles
Time: 8 hrs 25 mins
Weather: Overcast and raining intermittently and often
Moab is a perfect hub for this region and perfect for a number of other reasons, too!
Today we went to:
Island in the Sky
Is still forming and yet dissolving at the same time!
We arrived at the Grand View Overlook to rain, which was due for this afternoon but arrived early!
The view from Needles overlook with warm, clear sunny skies would have been the thing to see, not this dull, flattened and vague landscape – pah!
Several mysteries remain unanswered in the Canyonlands NP, the most striking of which is that of the ‘Upheaval Dome’
The Upheaval Dome is an anomaly in the relative geologic order of canyon country. Here, rock layers are dramatically deformed in a roughly circular or “bull’s-eye” pattern nearly three miles across.
Geologists are unsure of its origin and two main and distinct theories are hotly debated.
Impact Crater Theory: When meteorites collide with the earth, they leave impact craters.
Some geologists estimate that 60-160 million years ago, a meteorite 500 to 1000 feet across hit the earth at what is now Upheaval Dome.
The impact created a large explosion, sending dust and debris high into the atmosphere.
The impact initially created a crater, which then collapsed as gravity took over. In this rebound stage, rock layers were thrust inward and upward to fill the void left by the impact.
Erosion since the impact has washed away any meteorite debris and other tell-tale evidence of impact.
I’m not convinced!
Salt Dome Theory: A thick layer of salt, formed by the evaporation of ancient landlocked seas, underlies much of southeast Utah and Canyonlands National Park. When under pressure from thousands of feet of overlying rock, the salt can flow plasticly, like ice moving at the bottom of a glacier.
In addition, salt is less dense than sandstone and other sedimentary rocks.
As a result, over millions of years salt can flow up through rock layers as a “salt bubble”, rising to the surface, creating salt domes that deform the surrounding
rock.
Again I’m not convinced, but its more likely!
I’m more of the view that this was some minor magmatic stack which simply blew itself out after finding a way through the salty layers to the rock surface. There remains a molten spire at the centre of the jagged dome layers now.
If there had been a massive meteorite impact, clasts of molten debris would be flung hundreds of miles in all directions – so far, no such debris has been located. Also the impact site would have been more vapourised by the immense heat arising from such an impact.
Thirdly, there is no evidence to indicate a foreign body was involved here. Its true some particles of rock exhibit magnetic tendencies, but that is so for much of this permeable sandstone which is drenched and coloured red by iron oxide – a magnetic compound itself!
Lastly, there have been no rocks from this region, discovered in far-flung areas which would have been the case if an impact had occurred.
Case still open, I’m afraid!
On our way back we drove towards the small hamlet of Potash to see some more work by man’a hand, more petroglyphs on rock by the side of the small UT-279.
Interesting, with what appears to be fencing, railroad or counting symbols.
Each of the human figures seems to be carrying a bowl or round object – a space helmet perhaps….??!!
Journey details and Notes
Distance: 92 miles
Time: 8 hrs 25 mins
Weather: Overcast and raining intermittently and often
Tuesday 3 June Moab, UT
Moab
(via Gooseneck State Park, Valley of the Gods State Park, & Canyonlands (Needles)
Gooseneck State Park
A double version of Horseshoe Bend, with the San Juan River, which is usually slow-moving and flows through a relatively shallow canyon with many wide curves.
More of these convolutions are visible in the nearby Gooseneck State Park, reached by a 4 mile paved side road (UT 316) off UT 261.
The park, to which entry is free, has just one extended viewpoint of several huge river bends, now flowing one thousand feet below ground level in a deep canyon with a series of stepped cliffs and terraces.
This area is recognised as one of the best examples of entrenched river meanders in the world.
Fantastic,if a little scary at the unfenced edge.
Unfortunately the low and facing Sun meant than the big camera had to remain sheathed as the light flattened the colours and meandering effect.
Snapped some digital shots though – so not all lost!
Valley of the Gods
This is is a smaller scale version of Monument Valley, with huge isolated red sandstone rocks standing above the level valley floor, remnants of some ancient landscape.
The area has a 17 mile dirt road (FR 242) that winds amongst the eerie formations; it is very bumpy and steep in parts but was passable by our rental car, although we chose the North-south route. The opposite direction may not be so easy for many cars.
The track crosses mostly flat but bumpy open land and follows the course of Lime Creek, a seasonal wash which occasionally floods in sections, through these buttes and pinnacles.
There are numerous places to stop, and due to the lack of any real tourist awareness (we saw only 4 4x4s and 2 cars in the entire 70 minutes in the ark!), almost anywhere sensible could have been used as a lay-by.
Since hardly anyone seems to pass by, this area provides a more relaxing and isolated experience than its larger and more famous cousin Monument Valley.
The tranquillity and closeness made this an excellent region for photography.
Highlights:
Setting Hen
Rooster Rock
Balanced Rock/Lady in a Tub
All distinct and recognisable from their names!
Needles (Canyonlands National Park)
This was our first of two visits to Canyonlands. We were to make three trips, the second being later today to a viewpoint across the ‘Needles’ part of the park (from Needles Overlook – go figure!), but the park ranger advised us that as our itinerary included the Grand View Overlook tomorrow, we could forego the Needles Overlook today as the views would be better from Grand View.
We would, later, deeply regret this omission.
Our first stop off was a little way before the park proper, at the amazing ‘Newspaper Rock’
Newspaper Rock
Newspaper Rock features a 200 square foot area of extremely dense Native American petroglyphs on a "desert varnished" cliff wall.
It is thought that Archaic, Ancestral Puebloans, Fremont, Ute, European and Hispanic cultures have all contributed to these images
The petroglyphs were created by several ancient cultures beginning some 1,500 years ago.
The drawings consist of animals, human figures and many inexplicable symbols, for instance, a six-toed foot!
Highlights:
Newspaper Rock
The ‘Needles’ themselves
Views into expansive red sandstone canyons, with snow-caped (yes, still!) mountains in the near (40 miles) distance.
Big Spring Canyon Overlook – quite literally, the end of the road!
Journey Notes & Details
North along US-163 to Gooseneck Turn off, then back onto UT-261 heading northwest to Valley of the Gods north entrance.
Exiting at the east onto US-163, head north (left) towards and past Blanding.
Enter Canyonlands/Needles entrance some 67 miles later.
From Canyonlands, again north along US-163 which becomes US-191 at Moab.
Distance: 221 miles
Duration: 7 hrs 15 mins
(via Gooseneck State Park, Valley of the Gods State Park, & Canyonlands (Needles)
Gooseneck State Park
A double version of Horseshoe Bend, with the San Juan River, which is usually slow-moving and flows through a relatively shallow canyon with many wide curves.
More of these convolutions are visible in the nearby Gooseneck State Park, reached by a 4 mile paved side road (UT 316) off UT 261.
The park, to which entry is free, has just one extended viewpoint of several huge river bends, now flowing one thousand feet below ground level in a deep canyon with a series of stepped cliffs and terraces.
This area is recognised as one of the best examples of entrenched river meanders in the world.
Fantastic,if a little scary at the unfenced edge.
Unfortunately the low and facing Sun meant than the big camera had to remain sheathed as the light flattened the colours and meandering effect.
Snapped some digital shots though – so not all lost!
Valley of the Gods
This is is a smaller scale version of Monument Valley, with huge isolated red sandstone rocks standing above the level valley floor, remnants of some ancient landscape.
The area has a 17 mile dirt road (FR 242) that winds amongst the eerie formations; it is very bumpy and steep in parts but was passable by our rental car, although we chose the North-south route. The opposite direction may not be so easy for many cars.
The track crosses mostly flat but bumpy open land and follows the course of Lime Creek, a seasonal wash which occasionally floods in sections, through these buttes and pinnacles.
There are numerous places to stop, and due to the lack of any real tourist awareness (we saw only 4 4x4s and 2 cars in the entire 70 minutes in the ark!), almost anywhere sensible could have been used as a lay-by.
Since hardly anyone seems to pass by, this area provides a more relaxing and isolated experience than its larger and more famous cousin Monument Valley.
The tranquillity and closeness made this an excellent region for photography.
Highlights:
Setting Hen
Rooster Rock
Balanced Rock/Lady in a Tub
All distinct and recognisable from their names!
Needles (Canyonlands National Park)
This was our first of two visits to Canyonlands. We were to make three trips, the second being later today to a viewpoint across the ‘Needles’ part of the park (from Needles Overlook – go figure!), but the park ranger advised us that as our itinerary included the Grand View Overlook tomorrow, we could forego the Needles Overlook today as the views would be better from Grand View.
We would, later, deeply regret this omission.
Our first stop off was a little way before the park proper, at the amazing ‘Newspaper Rock’
Newspaper Rock
Newspaper Rock features a 200 square foot area of extremely dense Native American petroglyphs on a "desert varnished" cliff wall.
It is thought that Archaic, Ancestral Puebloans, Fremont, Ute, European and Hispanic cultures have all contributed to these images
The petroglyphs were created by several ancient cultures beginning some 1,500 years ago.
The drawings consist of animals, human figures and many inexplicable symbols, for instance, a six-toed foot!
Highlights:
Newspaper Rock
The ‘Needles’ themselves
Views into expansive red sandstone canyons, with snow-caped (yes, still!) mountains in the near (40 miles) distance.
Big Spring Canyon Overlook – quite literally, the end of the road!
Journey Notes & Details
North along US-163 to Gooseneck Turn off, then back onto UT-261 heading northwest to Valley of the Gods north entrance.
Exiting at the east onto US-163, head north (left) towards and past Blanding.
Enter Canyonlands/Needles entrance some 67 miles later.
From Canyonlands, again north along US-163 which becomes US-191 at Moab.
Distance: 221 miles
Duration: 7 hrs 15 mins
Monday 2 June San Juan Inn, UT
Our second day here, this time taking in:
Mesa Verde
Natural Bridges National Monument
Mexican Hat Rock (well, ya gotta, ha'int yah?)
Mesa Verde
As most of our tip focused on the natural forces which have shaped this dramatic canvass, I thought it would be both interesting and different to see how man has left his mark also.
Mesa Verde Mesa Verde National Park.
Mesa Verde (Spanish for Green Table), offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300.
Today, the park protects over 4,000 known archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings.
These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States.
The ancestral pueblo peoples moved from mesa-top dwellings within their farmlands (they grew marrows, beans and grain), as water became more scarce, ad moved into areas and cliff-ledges in order to tap some of this vital resource seeping from the porous rock.
However, it is not known why they suddenly left the area, and in fact left the tradition of such cave/ledge dwellings, but it was not thought through violence or tribal dispute.
They had systems of ritualistic worship and an almost municipal approach to social governance. Nevertheless, they threw out their dead with rubbish and crop waste, over the edge of their cliff-side hamlets!
Strange.
I left Mesa Verde, wishing we (and the NPS, archaeologists), knew more about these people. Something didn’t quite add up….
Highlights:
Cliff Palace
Spruce Tree House
Natural Bridges National Monument
Natural Bridges preserves some of the finest examples of natural stone architecture in the southwest.
On a tree-covered mesa next to deep sandstone canyons, three natural bridges formed when meandering streams slowly cut through the canyon walls. In honor of the Native Americans that made this area their home.
The bridges are named "Sipapu", "Kachina", and "Owachomo".
Sipapu and Kachina are the second and third largest known natural bridges (after, of course, Rainbow Bridge), in the world.
I have stood under both Rainbow Bridge and Sipapu. Sipapu involved a strenuous ¾ mile trek down the cliff-face with some ladders and some impossibly indistinct scrambling trails, with a decent of over 500 metres. The return (upward) trek was not so bad, because one’s bodyweight is forward, in the direction of travel. Downward was a bit hairy!
A 9 mile trek connects all three bridges here running along the course of the rivers which form White, Deer and Armstrong Canyons.
Mexican Hat Rock
5 miles north of our hotel.
Banged off a couple of shots of this up-turned sombrero atop a 400 foot red sandstone spire – it had to be done.
Time prevented us from doing Valley of the Gods, but we have decided to do this and Gooseneck State Park, first thing tomorrow.
Journey notes and Details
Northeast along UT-163 towards Bluff
Just past Bluff take east division, (still UT-163) past Montezuma Creek and Aneth, to join US-160 east-bound.
Take US-491 north to Cortez, then right (east) again onto US-160.
Park is just before Macos.
Return to Bluff the same (reversed) way but take a right onto US-191 towards Blanding.
Just before Blanding head west on UT-95 to Natural Bridges
After Natural Bridges, head south on a road which becomes a track (local-261)
Distance: 341 miles
Duration: 11 hrs, 35 mins
Mesa Verde
Natural Bridges National Monument
Mexican Hat Rock (well, ya gotta, ha'int yah?)
Mesa Verde
As most of our tip focused on the natural forces which have shaped this dramatic canvass, I thought it would be both interesting and different to see how man has left his mark also.
Mesa Verde Mesa Verde National Park.
Mesa Verde (Spanish for Green Table), offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300.
Today, the park protects over 4,000 known archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings.
These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States.
The ancestral pueblo peoples moved from mesa-top dwellings within their farmlands (they grew marrows, beans and grain), as water became more scarce, ad moved into areas and cliff-ledges in order to tap some of this vital resource seeping from the porous rock.
However, it is not known why they suddenly left the area, and in fact left the tradition of such cave/ledge dwellings, but it was not thought through violence or tribal dispute.
They had systems of ritualistic worship and an almost municipal approach to social governance. Nevertheless, they threw out their dead with rubbish and crop waste, over the edge of their cliff-side hamlets!
Strange.
I left Mesa Verde, wishing we (and the NPS, archaeologists), knew more about these people. Something didn’t quite add up….
Highlights:
Cliff Palace
Spruce Tree House
Natural Bridges National Monument
Natural Bridges preserves some of the finest examples of natural stone architecture in the southwest.
On a tree-covered mesa next to deep sandstone canyons, three natural bridges formed when meandering streams slowly cut through the canyon walls. In honor of the Native Americans that made this area their home.
The bridges are named "Sipapu", "Kachina", and "Owachomo".
Sipapu and Kachina are the second and third largest known natural bridges (after, of course, Rainbow Bridge), in the world.
I have stood under both Rainbow Bridge and Sipapu. Sipapu involved a strenuous ¾ mile trek down the cliff-face with some ladders and some impossibly indistinct scrambling trails, with a decent of over 500 metres. The return (upward) trek was not so bad, because one’s bodyweight is forward, in the direction of travel. Downward was a bit hairy!
A 9 mile trek connects all three bridges here running along the course of the rivers which form White, Deer and Armstrong Canyons.
Mexican Hat Rock
5 miles north of our hotel.
Banged off a couple of shots of this up-turned sombrero atop a 400 foot red sandstone spire – it had to be done.
Time prevented us from doing Valley of the Gods, but we have decided to do this and Gooseneck State Park, first thing tomorrow.
Journey notes and Details
Northeast along UT-163 towards Bluff
Just past Bluff take east division, (still UT-163) past Montezuma Creek and Aneth, to join US-160 east-bound.
Take US-491 north to Cortez, then right (east) again onto US-160.
Park is just before Macos.
Return to Bluff the same (reversed) way but take a right onto US-191 towards Blanding.
Just before Blanding head west on UT-95 to Natural Bridges
After Natural Bridges, head south on a road which becomes a track (local-261)
Distance: 341 miles
Duration: 11 hrs, 35 mins
Sunday 1 June San Juan Inn, Mexican Hat, UT
San Juan Inn
(via Sunset Crater and Monument Valley)
Sunset Crater
Sunset Crater Volcano was born in a series of eruptions sometime between 1040 and 1100.
Powerful explosions profoundly affected the lives of local people and forever changed the landscape and ecology of the area.
Lava flows and cinders still look as fresh and rugged as the day they formed – a lot like asphalt along the sides of many of America’s unfinished roads!
Within this caustic and harsh landscape we still found thriving trees, wildflowers, and signs of wildlife, including deer mice, a kangaroo rat (its true!!) and several rock squirrels (smaller than ours and without a bushy tail).
I took a punishing one-mile 500 ft upward trek carrying around 25 kg of camera gear only to find the vista before me at the peak, somewhat undeserving of such effort.
Banged off some snaps instead!
Many dead trees here replicate the scene at so many other national parks and forests. Understandable here, but the others….??
Monument Valley
Located in the border of southeast Utah and northwest Arizona, these dramatic rock formations (Buttes, pr. Butes), provide perhaps the most enduring and definitive images of the American (wild?) West.
The isolated red mesas and buttes surrounded by empty, sandy desert have been filmed and photographed countless times over the years for movies, adverts and holiday brochures.
Because of this, the area may seem quite familiar, even on a first visit, but it is soon evident that the natural colors really are as bright and deep as those in all the pictures – almost super-real.
The valley is not a valley in the conventional sense, but rather a wide flat, sometimes desolate landscape, interrupted by the crumbling formations rising hundreds of feet into the air, the last remnants of the sandstone layers that once covered the entire region.
Instead of taking the shaky and dusty trailer rides (open trailers towed by air-conditioned 4x4s) at speeds of up to 30mph, we decided to make the 17 mile tour, carefully in our rental car, averaging around 12 mph.
We survived, and so did the car!
My favourites – the Mittens!
Astounding, simply astounding.
Journey Notes and Details
North along I-89 towards Page, turning right (east) at Sunset Crater National Monument.
Back to the I-89 north taking a right (northwest) onto the AZ-160 at Tuba City, signposted Mexican Hat.
Continue to Kayenta then left (north) onto UT-163, for Mexican Hat
Mileage: 238 miles
Duration: 10 hrs. 16 mins (having lost another hour again!!)
(via Sunset Crater and Monument Valley)
Sunset Crater
Sunset Crater Volcano was born in a series of eruptions sometime between 1040 and 1100.
Powerful explosions profoundly affected the lives of local people and forever changed the landscape and ecology of the area.
Lava flows and cinders still look as fresh and rugged as the day they formed – a lot like asphalt along the sides of many of America’s unfinished roads!
Within this caustic and harsh landscape we still found thriving trees, wildflowers, and signs of wildlife, including deer mice, a kangaroo rat (its true!!) and several rock squirrels (smaller than ours and without a bushy tail).
I took a punishing one-mile 500 ft upward trek carrying around 25 kg of camera gear only to find the vista before me at the peak, somewhat undeserving of such effort.
Banged off some snaps instead!
Many dead trees here replicate the scene at so many other national parks and forests. Understandable here, but the others….??
Monument Valley
Located in the border of southeast Utah and northwest Arizona, these dramatic rock formations (Buttes, pr. Butes), provide perhaps the most enduring and definitive images of the American (wild?) West.
The isolated red mesas and buttes surrounded by empty, sandy desert have been filmed and photographed countless times over the years for movies, adverts and holiday brochures.
Because of this, the area may seem quite familiar, even on a first visit, but it is soon evident that the natural colors really are as bright and deep as those in all the pictures – almost super-real.
The valley is not a valley in the conventional sense, but rather a wide flat, sometimes desolate landscape, interrupted by the crumbling formations rising hundreds of feet into the air, the last remnants of the sandstone layers that once covered the entire region.
Instead of taking the shaky and dusty trailer rides (open trailers towed by air-conditioned 4x4s) at speeds of up to 30mph, we decided to make the 17 mile tour, carefully in our rental car, averaging around 12 mph.
We survived, and so did the car!
My favourites – the Mittens!
Astounding, simply astounding.
Journey Notes and Details
North along I-89 towards Page, turning right (east) at Sunset Crater National Monument.
Back to the I-89 north taking a right (northwest) onto the AZ-160 at Tuba City, signposted Mexican Hat.
Continue to Kayenta then left (north) onto UT-163, for Mexican Hat
Mileage: 238 miles
Duration: 10 hrs. 16 mins (having lost another hour again!!)
Saturday 31 May Flagstaff, AZ
Don't ask me why, ok, just don't!
It was kinda on our way, and allowed us to take in Sunset Crater (another blown volcano - not a meteorite impact, alas!), and head off into Monument Valley the next day, but as for Flagstaff itself... even I wonder why!!!!
Flagstaff
(via Horseshoe Bend,, Grand Canyon South Rim and Village, and Kaibab National Forest)
Horseshoe Bend
Approximately 5 miles south of Page and a half-mile trek over difficult sand to the precipice which gives a fantastic (awesome!), view into the Colorado River almost a mile below. The river snakes its was south from the Glen Canyon Dam and the bend is a hairpin on this watery tract.
Stood on the edge and fired off a number of shots with my big camera – fingers crossed – they certainly were as I perched, without any restraint between the slickrock on which I stood and a 15 second free-fall into the shallow waters below.
Grand Canyon South Rim (Grand Canyon 2)
Many wonderful sights along this route
Once again shuttles run along the ‘village’ section, with a longer route planned for mid summer 08.
The California condor has been successfully reintroduced to northern Arizona and were often seen in majestic flight. They look a little like a vulture, with white undersides to their wings, which are an astounding 9 feet across!
Grand Canyon National Park is one of the few places left in the United States
where you can see as far as it is theoretically possible to see.
At Grand Canyon the average visibility is ninety miles - by comparison, in the eastern United States average visibility is twelve to twenty miles!
However, exceptionally clear days are becoming extremely rare here. We could see barely 30 miles and it was a crisp early morning too!
The bulk of the air pollution comes from the southern parts of Arizona, California, Nevada, and northern Mexico.
I was surprised to here several TV and radio broadcasts warning people with heart or respiratory problems such as asthma, TO STAY INDOORS! I always thought Arizona, especially this northern edge, to be proud of its 7500 visible stars at night (the best most of rural America can see is around the 2000-2500 mark!), through their clear skies!
Man, huh!
Journey notes and Details
South on AZ-89 to past Cameron, then right (east) onto AZ-64 towards South Rim and Village.
From there it was south on the USA-180 t Valle, then left (southwest) again the AZ-160, to Flagstaff.
...
... Don’t Ask!
It was kinda on our way, and allowed us to take in Sunset Crater (another blown volcano - not a meteorite impact, alas!), and head off into Monument Valley the next day, but as for Flagstaff itself... even I wonder why!!!!
Flagstaff
(via Horseshoe Bend,, Grand Canyon South Rim and Village, and Kaibab National Forest)
Horseshoe Bend
Approximately 5 miles south of Page and a half-mile trek over difficult sand to the precipice which gives a fantastic (awesome!), view into the Colorado River almost a mile below. The river snakes its was south from the Glen Canyon Dam and the bend is a hairpin on this watery tract.
Stood on the edge and fired off a number of shots with my big camera – fingers crossed – they certainly were as I perched, without any restraint between the slickrock on which I stood and a 15 second free-fall into the shallow waters below.
Grand Canyon South Rim (Grand Canyon 2)
Many wonderful sights along this route
Once again shuttles run along the ‘village’ section, with a longer route planned for mid summer 08.
The California condor has been successfully reintroduced to northern Arizona and were often seen in majestic flight. They look a little like a vulture, with white undersides to their wings, which are an astounding 9 feet across!
Grand Canyon National Park is one of the few places left in the United States
where you can see as far as it is theoretically possible to see.
At Grand Canyon the average visibility is ninety miles - by comparison, in the eastern United States average visibility is twelve to twenty miles!
However, exceptionally clear days are becoming extremely rare here. We could see barely 30 miles and it was a crisp early morning too!
The bulk of the air pollution comes from the southern parts of Arizona, California, Nevada, and northern Mexico.
I was surprised to here several TV and radio broadcasts warning people with heart or respiratory problems such as asthma, TO STAY INDOORS! I always thought Arizona, especially this northern edge, to be proud of its 7500 visible stars at night (the best most of rural America can see is around the 2000-2500 mark!), through their clear skies!
Man, huh!
Journey notes and Details
South on AZ-89 to past Cameron, then right (east) onto AZ-64 towards South Rim and Village.
From there it was south on the USA-180 t Valle, then left (southwest) again the AZ-160, to Flagstaff.
...
... Don’t Ask!
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