4 days in Southern Utah
- Thread starter JCMatthews
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JCMatthews
Tour Guide
You're welcome!
JCMatthews
Tour Guide
On to Bullfrog Marina Day 3 cont.
There was not much to see from the bottom of the Water Pocket Fold to the Bullfrog Marina. We had a large mesa off to the North, and we traveled quickly so that we would make the ferry. I have wanted to take the ferry since I was a kid. I had a good friend who's father ran a tour bus company, and they made sure that their bus was on the maiden voyage of the ferry almost 30 years ago. Back then the ferry was very small and it listed quite badly to one side. It seems as though water actually got the deck wet on that first trip.
Well, it was worth the $39.00 that they charged us. We had to wait on the ramp for a little while and you can see that the girls chose to wait each in their own way. The trip took about 20 minutes, and the kids said that it was the highlight of the trip. We stopped on the other side at the Hall's boat ramp and played in the lake. We left the camera in the car and did not want to hike back so no pictures.
There was not much to see from the bottom of the Water Pocket Fold to the Bullfrog Marina. We had a large mesa off to the North, and we traveled quickly so that we would make the ferry. I have wanted to take the ferry since I was a kid. I had a good friend who's father ran a tour bus company, and they made sure that their bus was on the maiden voyage of the ferry almost 30 years ago. Back then the ferry was very small and it listed quite badly to one side. It seems as though water actually got the deck wet on that first trip.
Well, it was worth the $39.00 that they charged us. We had to wait on the ramp for a little while and you can see that the girls chose to wait each in their own way. The trip took about 20 minutes, and the kids said that it was the highlight of the trip. We stopped on the other side at the Hall's boat ramp and played in the lake. We left the camera in the car and did not want to hike back so no pictures.
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JCMatthews
Tour Guide
Grand Gultch, Moki Dogway, finding a camp spot Day 3 cont.
As we left Lake Powell and headed east we passed the Cal Black Airport. This used to be the start of the Hole in the Rock 4x4 trail. My wife and I reminisced about our trip there a decade earlier. As we crested a rise in the highway, we could see Monument Valley to the south. What an amazing sight.:Wow1: At this point we entered what is known as the Grand Gulch Area according to the BLM.
Our plan was to try and camp on the mountains in an area known as Bear's Ears. The only problem was that without thinking I had brought maps and guide books that didn't cover the area of the state east of Lake Powell. So not knowing how to get up on the Abajos, we headed south. Along the highway there was a beautiful new BLM ranger office, but it had already closed for the day and had no maps outside. So we continued south, because that was the direction we wanted to be going in the morning.
Without realizing it we came to the top of the Moki Dugway. Late evening turned out to be a great time to travel the dugway. The lighting of the setting sun made the views of the Valley of the God's that much more impressive. At the bottom of the dugway we turned east and headed into the Valley of the God's to find a place to camp.
I had been there in May of 2009 with my scouts on a bike ride, so I knew we would be able to find a place to pull off and set up. The kids were glad to stop and throw rocks and just crash. The trailer makes it easy to set up a kitchen anywhere, and we decided not to set up a tent. The kids fit well in the car and we slept on the carpet I always bring. We call it the clean spot. The stars were amazing and I kept the S&W .357 close. It was interesting, we watched cars traveling the dugway all night long. The last one my wife saw was after 1:00 AM. Makes one wonder who and why they were out here that late.
As we left Lake Powell and headed east we passed the Cal Black Airport. This used to be the start of the Hole in the Rock 4x4 trail. My wife and I reminisced about our trip there a decade earlier. As we crested a rise in the highway, we could see Monument Valley to the south. What an amazing sight.:Wow1: At this point we entered what is known as the Grand Gulch Area according to the BLM.
Our plan was to try and camp on the mountains in an area known as Bear's Ears. The only problem was that without thinking I had brought maps and guide books that didn't cover the area of the state east of Lake Powell. So not knowing how to get up on the Abajos, we headed south. Along the highway there was a beautiful new BLM ranger office, but it had already closed for the day and had no maps outside. So we continued south, because that was the direction we wanted to be going in the morning.
Without realizing it we came to the top of the Moki Dugway. Late evening turned out to be a great time to travel the dugway. The lighting of the setting sun made the views of the Valley of the God's that much more impressive. At the bottom of the dugway we turned east and headed into the Valley of the God's to find a place to camp.
I had been there in May of 2009 with my scouts on a bike ride, so I knew we would be able to find a place to pull off and set up. The kids were glad to stop and throw rocks and just crash. The trailer makes it easy to set up a kitchen anywhere, and we decided not to set up a tent. The kids fit well in the car and we slept on the carpet I always bring. We call it the clean spot. The stars were amazing and I kept the S&W .357 close. It was interesting, we watched cars traveling the dugway all night long. The last one my wife saw was after 1:00 AM. Makes one wonder who and why they were out here that late.
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JCMatthews
Tour Guide
Morning Day 5
We awoke to a beautiful morning of red rock and wild flowers, but it quickly turned into a swarm a bitting gnats. We packed as quickly as we could and then took a leisurly drive through the Valley of the Gods. The rock formations were very beautiful. We finished a book on tape, and tried to find a radio station to listen to. All we could find was a station out of Gallop New Mexico. The station was mostly in Navajo. We found it quite fitting to listen to their singing while being in a place the Navajo Nation considers sacred.
Being this close and not knowing when we would ever come this way again, we headed south from the Valley of the God's to see Mexican Hat. The rock formation that gives it its name is the last picture on this post and does really resemble a man in hat. The town is so small that the Shell gas station doubles as the post office.
We awoke to a beautiful morning of red rock and wild flowers, but it quickly turned into a swarm a bitting gnats. We packed as quickly as we could and then took a leisurly drive through the Valley of the Gods. The rock formations were very beautiful. We finished a book on tape, and tried to find a radio station to listen to. All we could find was a station out of Gallop New Mexico. The station was mostly in Navajo. We found it quite fitting to listen to their singing while being in a place the Navajo Nation considers sacred.
Being this close and not knowing when we would ever come this way again, we headed south from the Valley of the God's to see Mexican Hat. The rock formation that gives it its name is the last picture on this post and does really resemble a man in hat. The town is so small that the Shell gas station doubles as the post office.
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JCMatthews
Tour Guide
JCMatthews
Tour Guide
San Juan Hill / Buff Fort / Home Day 4
Following our little side trip to see Mexican Hat, we were off to retrace a portion of the Pioneer trail know as San Juan Hill.
After all the Mormons had suffered during their six month expedition, with the end of their journey in sight, they ran into Comb Ridge and had to figure out a way over or around it. Comb Ridge is a large up lift of rock in the earth's crust that rises several hundred feet, and a huge obstacle when traveling by covered wagon.
Just as the highway starts to climb Comb Ridge, there is a turn off to the right which travels out to the San Juan River. The pioneers went this way hoping beyond all hope that they could skirt around the ridge on the banks of the river. However it was spring and there were no banks on the river. So in their exhausted state they had to build one more dugway.
To make it to the top of the dugway, they assembled their worn out animals into rag tag mixed teams of mules, horses, oxen, and cows. They hitched them to their wagons and pushed for the top. They say that the trail was stained with blood from the skinned knees of the animals. One of the leaders, Jen Nielson, had brought an old ox along with him. The only reason he had brought the old ox was he had had him so long he could not leave him behind. On this last hill, he had to harness the ox to help pull. As they crested the hill and were safely on top the ox died, still in its yoke. Jens, a giant of a man, wept.
We drove through the tight willows and tamarack and had an interesting little climb of our own to get to the location of San Juan Hill. I embedded a video of it, and a shot of the obstacle. However, pictures never do them justice. In my Cherokee I would not think this obstacle was difficult, but when we approached it in our Expedition I was a little hesitant. You can see in the video that we really had no trouble with it. The dugway was amazing and a little humbling. If you look closely at the third to last photo you can see the dugway.
When we came back down there was a large group of people coming in. They had all parked at the bottom of that last hill thinking they could not make it. They were driving a couple Ford Explorers and a Honda Passport. However, when they saw us coming out. they said it gave them hope.
We made it back to the highway and into Bluff. When we arrived at the fort, there was about 300 Mormon youth there doing a service project. I took my girls and we looked around. They loved all of the rebuilt cabins and other buildings. I was amazed at how much the liked this part of the trip. They had to look into each cabin and see whatever they could. I can't explain it any other way than I was worn out, but I took only a couple of shots here. After all the pictures I had taken of the last four days my finger must have been worn out. I took one shot of the meeting house, and one of the girls by a fire place.
We had thought about camping one more night, but knowing how close we were to home we pushed on to our own beds. I think what made us go for it was the horrifying thought of listening to Junie B. Jones (a kids book) on CD for the eleventh time.
Here is a link to a video of our Expedition driving the last stretch up to San Juan Hill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8lQczd47hk
Following our little side trip to see Mexican Hat, we were off to retrace a portion of the Pioneer trail know as San Juan Hill.
After all the Mormons had suffered during their six month expedition, with the end of their journey in sight, they ran into Comb Ridge and had to figure out a way over or around it. Comb Ridge is a large up lift of rock in the earth's crust that rises several hundred feet, and a huge obstacle when traveling by covered wagon.
Just as the highway starts to climb Comb Ridge, there is a turn off to the right which travels out to the San Juan River. The pioneers went this way hoping beyond all hope that they could skirt around the ridge on the banks of the river. However it was spring and there were no banks on the river. So in their exhausted state they had to build one more dugway.
To make it to the top of the dugway, they assembled their worn out animals into rag tag mixed teams of mules, horses, oxen, and cows. They hitched them to their wagons and pushed for the top. They say that the trail was stained with blood from the skinned knees of the animals. One of the leaders, Jen Nielson, had brought an old ox along with him. The only reason he had brought the old ox was he had had him so long he could not leave him behind. On this last hill, he had to harness the ox to help pull. As they crested the hill and were safely on top the ox died, still in its yoke. Jens, a giant of a man, wept.
We drove through the tight willows and tamarack and had an interesting little climb of our own to get to the location of San Juan Hill. I embedded a video of it, and a shot of the obstacle. However, pictures never do them justice. In my Cherokee I would not think this obstacle was difficult, but when we approached it in our Expedition I was a little hesitant. You can see in the video that we really had no trouble with it. The dugway was amazing and a little humbling. If you look closely at the third to last photo you can see the dugway.
When we came back down there was a large group of people coming in. They had all parked at the bottom of that last hill thinking they could not make it. They were driving a couple Ford Explorers and a Honda Passport. However, when they saw us coming out. they said it gave them hope.
We made it back to the highway and into Bluff. When we arrived at the fort, there was about 300 Mormon youth there doing a service project. I took my girls and we looked around. They loved all of the rebuilt cabins and other buildings. I was amazed at how much the liked this part of the trip. They had to look into each cabin and see whatever they could. I can't explain it any other way than I was worn out, but I took only a couple of shots here. After all the pictures I had taken of the last four days my finger must have been worn out. I took one shot of the meeting house, and one of the girls by a fire place.
We had thought about camping one more night, but knowing how close we were to home we pushed on to our own beds. I think what made us go for it was the horrifying thought of listening to Junie B. Jones (a kids book) on CD for the eleventh time.
Here is a link to a video of our Expedition driving the last stretch up to San Juan Hill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8lQczd47hk
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JCMatthews
Tour Guide
Thanks. It looks a lot better in pictures. You can't hear the constant bickering from the back seat. The kids had just recently gotten out of school and were still quite restless. They almost droves us over the edge. A week after we got home they settled into summer life and would have been better on the road.
