Utah Vacation Concluded (Canyonlands)

NOTE: It was difficult to narrow down pictures to post as there were so many we loved.

Fri May 7
We packed up and headed back toward home today. On the way we stopped for a visit to Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. We traveled the thirty-some miles into the south entrance to the Park on Utah highway 211. On the way we stopped at Newspaper Rock where there is an impressive display of ancient petroglyphs. Once into the Park we found the campground full and little other place to camp. Dave and Laurene were heading home early next morning so they retreated to Moab for the night and we and the Liljenquists stayed in a tight campsite just off the highway on the Lockhart Basin Road about 5 miles outside the Park for the night. We then went back into the Park to drive all the improved roads, stopped at lookouts and took a couple of short hikes. This area of Canyonlands is known as the Needles District and the many-spired rock formations tell why. Back at camp we played Liljenquist's Sequence game prior to bedtime.
Sat May 8
This morning we drove back into the Park, stopped at the visitor’s center and then drove out to Elephant Hill. There is an improved gravel road for 3 miles and that’s where the weak at heart stop at Elephant Hill. This is an extremely challenging 4-wheel drive, rocky and very steep climb of several hundred feet in about a quarter of a mile that leads to a number of 4-wheel drive roads at the top of the mesa. One switchback is so tight that one must pull onto a small flat spot at the corner, back up and turn around to start the ascent up the next grade. Lynn stated emphatically that neither she nor their dune buggy was going up so Gene got in with Dad after they had scouted the first half of the grade and they took Little Red Dune Buggy slowly and carefully bouncing, chugging and picking their way to the top while Lynn and I waited (and prayed) at the bottom. Dad admitted that is was a little nerve-racking but they made it and then came slowly sliding and bouncing back down. Dad said this was definitely near the top of the most challenging places we have ever taken Little Red. We then returned to camp and drove about 5 miles on down the Lockhart Basin Road. At a stream crossing about two miles in we stopped for lunch and viewed a waterfall just below the crossing. Upon returning we packed up and headed for home. Prior to reaching Moab we stopped to view Wilson Arch right along the highway. Then to make life interesting we detoured up Scenic Highway 128 just north of Moab to follow the Colorado River up it’s canyon along a narrow winding road northeast toward Interstate 70. The canyon was beautiful in spite of shadows from the late afternoon hour. After that it was hightailing it for the Provo area where we planned to spend Mother’s Day. We arrived at Laurie and Evan’s home at 10 PM tired after a long but fun day. We then waited up to meet Kristina Ockey’s just-announced finance, Jared James, but gave it up at 11:30 at went to bed.
Sun May 9
This morning we met Jared and were very impressed. He and Kristina seem to be a match made in heaven and they have set an August 14th wedding date. We then attended meetings with the Ockeys where sacrament meeting had both song and talks that were spiritually touching in honor of mothers.

Utah Vacation Continued (Mesa Verde)...

Thu May 6
We went into Cortez and bought and had installed a complete set of new tires on the motor home. Perhaps we can get back home without further problem now. After that we toured Mesa Verde National Park for the remainder of the day. The Wetherill Mesa Road is not yet open for the season but we did visit the Museum, the Spruce Tree House Ruins, took a guided tour of the Cliff Palace Ruins and stopped at a few overlooks and minor ruins on the return to camp. The extent of ancient Native American populations, what they built and how they evolved and survived from what is left of their existence is both amazing and mysterious. Laurene did not feel up to hiking any more due to problems with her knee so she stayed at camp and fixed a good Shepard pie for all. Also Dave, Gene and Lynn had gone on before due to our delay so we toured alone today. After dinner we watched slide shows of our trip pictures.

Utah Vacation Continued (Hovenweep)...

Tue May 4
We traveled via highway 163 and then 262 onto the Navajo Indian Reservation and on to Hovenweep National Monument near the Colorado border. We found campsites in the campground and set up camp, ate lunch then went to the visitor’s center and took a ride to several outlying ruins. We first visited the Cajon group to the far south then traveled to the farthest north site to visit the Cutthroat Castle and the Painted Hand Pueblo. The forest service was doing work to stabilize Cutthroat Castle and Painted Hand had two or three very faint hand prints on the wall under the overhanging rock that supported the structure. We then stopped to visit the Holly, Horseshoe and Hackberry sites on the return to camp. Each site or group of sites was a couple of miles off the highway to parking areas with short to half-mile hikes to the actual structures. All were very interesting and many were in amazingly good condition considering that no restorative work has been done to any of them. It always leaves one wishing they could go back in time to see the original structures and people in their time.
Wed May 5
Today we toured the Little Ruin Canyon near the visitor’s center. It was a pleasant two-mile walk. We saw a collection of many ruins within a relatively small area at the head of a Y-shaped canyon. We then traveled a narrow winding highway G through the reservation to Cortez, Colorado. The campground at Mesa Verde National Park is not yet open for the season so we camped in a nearby commercial RV park. There we noticed that the new tire put on at the beginning of our trip was bald and the other dual was also nearly worn bald. The new tire should not have been matched with a different brand of tire with some wear which resulted in both tires being destroyed in 400 miles. Now we have this problem to deal with before we can visit the Park and start for home in the next couple of days.

Utah Vacation Continued (Bluff)...

Sat May 1

(Note that pictures occur in reverse order of days posted.)
We traveled to Bluff, Utah today. On the way we visited the Butler Wash Indian ruins between camp and Blanding. They were in pretty good shape and we could get fairly close. In Bluff we found an RV park to camp and visited Bluff Fort which is run by an independent foundation that is closely tied to the LDS Church. At the visitor’s center we watched a video about the trek and hardships of those called by church leaders to colonize the San Juan area of Southeastern Utah. They planned on a six week trip that turned out to be six months through the winter. One of the most difficult obstacles was down through the “Hole in the Rock” to cross the Colorado River and, in fact, that was just the beginning of their difficult trek. When these pioneers finally reached their destination they founded the town of Bluff and built a “fort” made up of small log cabins in a block pattern all facing the inside along with support buildings such as a blacksmith shop and store. Many families of these ancestral pioneers now make up this foundation dedicated to restoring the original fort. Each family is erecting a cabin in memory of their ancestors and furnishing it with items from that era and, in most cases, including a large pictorial chart of their genealogy. We then had dinner at the Twin Rocks Café and visited a pioneer cemetery on a rocky bluff above the town. The weather continues quite cold and windy.
Sun May 2
We attended church in the local LDS Bluff Branch this morning. It was very inspirational to hear so many Native Americans bear their testimonies. After the block services a break-fast pot luck lunch was held and was very good. We then just took it easy with conversation, games and a movie. It was raining most of the morning but cleared off by evening. We hope for a nice day tomorrow for exploring.
Mon May 3
Today we headed west from Bluff to tour several sites. First we drove the Valley of the Gods road between US 163 and Utah 261. There were many rock formations, some with names, along this road. The most notable was Castle Rock at the northern apex of the road. Once on highway 261 we immediately began the ascent up the Moki Dugway with 11% grades, 5 MPH switchbacks and sheer drop-offs on a graded gravel road that climbs 1500 feet in 3 miles up seemingly sheer cliffs. At the top we took a short drive to Muley Point to view down into John’s Canyon of the San Juan River with Valley of the Gods to the east and Arizona’s Monument Valley in the far distant south. We then descended back down the dugway and drove further south on 261 to another turnoff over to Goosenecks State Park that overlooks a winding San Juan River traveling 6 miles to equal 2 miles as the crow flies in the valley below. It is an amazing view similar to Muley Point. We then drove further south to the small town of Mexican Hat. We crossed the San Juan River into the Navajo Indian Reservation and took pictures of the river and of the rock just north of town that gave the town it’s name. Finally we headed back toward Bluff and stopped at the Sand Island Visitor Station on the bank of the San Juan River. There is a campground and boat launch ramp there as well as a cliff with numerous well-defined hieroglyphics from ancient inhabitants that were available for very close viewing. The weather was cool today but bright and sunny. What a welcome change!

Utah Vacation Continued (Natural Bridges)...

Wed April 28
We started the day by repairing the dune buggy brakes then broke camp and traveled to Goblin Valley north of Hanksville, Utah. There wasn’t much to see but the “goblins” were quite different from anything else we have seen. We also finished the day with a serious dune buggy road off from Temple Mountain Road a few miles past the turnoff to Goblin Valley. There was an old mine shaft where we turned around to return. What has made today less than ideal has been a steady very high wind that is blowing sand everywhere and making a lot of the drives, both on and off the highway, somewhat miserable.
Thu April 29
Today we traveled to Natural Bridges National Monument. It continues terribly windy and downright cold. We got a few groceries in Hanksville and spent some time at the Hite Overlook on Lake Powell. When we got to the Natural Bridges overflow camping area Dave had problems leveling his motor home and so we helped him correct the problem while Gene and Lynn and Darwin and Pam toured Natural Bridges but did no hiking. We and the Gardners then watched a movie while the Liljenquists played games and we went to bed for a cool night (it got down to 26 degrees).
Fri April 30
This morning Gene, Lynn, Darwin, Pam and Laurene drove the loop around to Bluff, Utah and back in Darwin’s pickup while Dave, Bonnie and Leo toured Natural Bridges. We hiked down a demanding .6 mile rocky trail with stairs and ladders to under Sipapu Bridge. We then went to view the Horse Collar Anasazi Ruin and the Kachina Bridge overlooks. Finally we hiked down to under the Owachomo Bridge and returned to the visitor’s center to view a film about the formation of natural bridges and the general Southern Utah landscape.

Southern Utah Vacation (Capitol Reef)...

Sat, April 24
We left to travel with Dave and Laurene Gardner to southern Utah for a two-week vacation. Gene and Darwin Liljenquist and wives were ahead of us. All went well until a rest stop just south of Tremonton, Utah when Dave noticed a low back tire on our motor home. As it turned out it was flat and I had left our spare at home. About an hour later with help from Good Sam Club Emergency Road Service we had a new tire and were on our way. We arrived at the campground in Capitol Reef National Park in the area known as Fruita about 6 PM and got the last two camp sites available.
Sun, April 25
We relaxed most of the day and did a few little “down time” tasks. In the afternoon we took a hike up the Fremont River Trail to the lookout from the campground. It was easy to start and then climbed steeply to the lookout about 1 ½ miles up the trail. There were nice views of the Fremont river canyon and the canyon to the west where the scenic drive from the campground goes. In the evening we watched a movie and turned in.
Mon, April 26
Today we took a drive of about 110 miles, 70 miles of which was dirt road. The scenery is typical of much of southern Utah with some spectacular canyons and rock formations of many colors. Along the way we stopped at the visitors’ center, visited the historic Fruita school, viewed Indian petroglyphs and visited the tiny Behunin Cabin where a pioneer family of ten lived. We then left the main highway, forded the Fremont River and began our journey up the Hartnet Road. The main points of interest were the Lower and Upper South Desert Overlooks and the Upper Cathedral Valley Overlook. We then started back toward camp on the Cathedral Road and stopped at the Gypsum Sinkhole, the Temples of the Sun and Moon and the very unique Glass Mountain.
Tue April 27
Today’s drive of about 70 miles took us down the scenic drive south of the campground. We first stopped for a hike down Grand Wash. We then stopped for a look at Cougar Rock and lunch. After that was a hike down Capitol Gorge at the end of the paved road for a look at pioneer register engravings on the canyon walls. We then began a long (about 20 miles of mostly first gear), very rough road south through South Draw and eventually back to highway 12 at an elevation up over 9000 feet. There was still snow along the road and a huge pine tree was blown down across the road just yards from the highway. Luckily there was a way to drive around it. It has been quite cool and very windy all day and it was very chilly on the drive home. To take some of the fun of the day away we found that a prior fix on leaking brake fluid on our dune buggy had broken again and we had to make most of this very difficult and sometimes steep road as well as the drive back to camp with little or no brakes. We finished the day with a delicious pot luck dinner with some very long and delicious hot dogs supplied by Darwin and Pam.