Loop detour including a 10% grade!

We had planned to do a Navajo-led all-day tour of Monument Valley but the sky was cloudy and there was a good chance of rain. The next day was supposed to be sunny so we decided to wait one day on the tour and explore a bit of Utah instead. It would be a chance for George to see some neat places I had been and wanted to show him.

We headed up Hwy 163 towards Mexican Hat. Just north we took Hwy 261. The first left at Goosenecks State Park takes you to a viewpoint that overlooks the Goosenecks of the San Juan. These entrenched meanderings are huge and we could see at least 4 the size that are shown from here.

Back on 261, we headed towards the Moki Dugway. Looking up, you can't trace the road that leads you to the top of this mesa but the sign advises you it is narrow, gravel and 10 percent grades! Here's a shot from the bottom and then looking back at the switchbacks about 3/4 of the way up. RVs and long trucks are not advised but that  doesn't stop them from using this shortcut. It saves many miles - as long as your brakes hold out. Actually my late husband Bill and I did take our Pace Arrow motorhome up and down it - in low gear. What amazes me is to see rental RVs using it. Most do not have that much experience driving steep grades with a larger vehicle.

The next day our guide at Monument Valley said that almost at the top, an 18-wheeler forced his brother off the road and his car tumbled down the side. Fortunately he was thrown free and in between two huge boulders. The car bounced on top of the boulders or he would have been killed. Scary! This road is not for someone with a fear of narrow roads and heights.

We took the first left at the top and drove to another overlook with an even more expansive view before continuing on to the Kane Gulch ranger station. We talked to the volunteer from Colorado. This whole area is known as Grand Gulch Primitive Area. There are many Anasazi ruins. A lot of backpackers hike here but there are a few daytrips.

One I was familiar with and wanted to show George was the Cave Tower ruins. We turned right on Hwy  95 towards Blanding. You have to know where to turn but here, at the head of a deep canyon were seven towers. The one pictured still has a door lentil. One other has a significant wall; the rest are piles of stone. At the head of the canyon is a cave formed by water, which lingers there after rains. Many small ruins are visible along the canyon walls on both sides if you look carefully and have binoculars. I have boondocked there in the past.

Heading to Blanding we passed Butler Wash where the canyons end. You can drive along the wash back to Hwy 163. In Blanding we went to the Edge of Cedars State Park Museum. Their collection of Anasazi artifacts is outstanding. Before the Antiquities Act was passed, pothunters scoured ruins in the Southwest for pots and other artifacts to sell to collectors. In fact, early archaeologists even did just that. Many of the national and state parks that protect the ruins have few artifacts that were found there to display. They disappeared long ago.

The museum had many pots, effigies, miniatures, plus other displays. Two turkey feather cloaks were display; one still had the soft feathers. A unique item (pictured) was an Abert squirrel pelt covered with macaw feathers. Macaws were brought to the area from Mexico. Turkeys had been domesticated even before the Anasazi and were kept for food and feathers. It is definitely worth a stop.

As we headed back dark clouds opened up. It rained all the way back to Monument Valley. Had we taken the tour this day, we'd have been soaked. It's always nice to find you've made the right decision. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak    Photos by George Bruzenak