My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Mekcanix, Sierra Valley, & the deputy.....thanks guys.....



We continued driving south along Highway 191.....but not too far south.....as we were in no hurry. We spent a few nights dispersed camping on BLM land and getting out in the Jeep to continue to explore the high desert.....



So.....Mill Canyon was really not my cup of tea.....but we were there and it was there as well.....so we went to check it out.....





Dinosaur tracks.....of course they're kind of cool.....kind of interesting.....and actually kind of boring too (but certainly not always).....





Maybe it was the fact that you could drive right up to these.....maybe it was the iron fencing and concrete sidewalks.....maybe it was all the signage.....but it was not a place where the mind could wander.....this place was just a bit too developed for me.....

 

[Ace Brown]

Well if it wasn’t developed vandalism would be rampant.

Happy 2025 everyone!


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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Ace.....unfortunately.....so true.....



Not much further to the south is the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail.....



This place was much like the last place.....signage everywhere.....and kind of boring.....



And once again I wasn't so impressed with what I saw.....I think my interest level was about equal with the dogs.....

Note to readers: if you really want to see dinosaur bones you definitely need to go to Dinosaur National Monument.....they're insane amazing at that place.....





I will admit that if it wasn't for all the signage, I could have walked down that path and would have never seen a single bone.....it's kind of amazing to me that there are people that can actually see these things (without the signage).....





And next you see a picture of fossilized wood.....the sign said that this tree was probably over one hundred feet tall and was related to the Norfolk Island pines that grow in Asia.....and apparently you can actually see the tree rings (I think they had people like Foy in mind when they said that).....



And when I saw this next sign, I immediately thought of Foy and said to myself that I'll need to post a picture of it for him.....he'll love it ! We'll Foy.....this one is for you.....

 

[Foy]

Ah yes, the Morrison Formation: Deposited by terrestrial (nonmarine) sedimentation arising from eastward flowing streams originating due to rising landmasses in the vicinity of today's Klamath and Sierra Nevada. The landmasses arose due to collision of island arcs with the western continental landmass and the resulting subduction of oceanic crust beneath the North American plate. The western US was at that time (late Jurassic--150 million years ago) located in the tropical latitudes, making the floodplain and delta swamps at the seaward ends of the streams lush in vegetation perfect for feeding grounds for the dinosaurs.

 

[the deputy]

Love geology (not that l understand a ton about it, still find it fascinating). Paleontology, like you, not much into or would consider myself to be any type of 'dinosuar guy' either. However, recently l've been listening to the Paleo Nerds podcast...they are quite humorous, educational and entertaining. Just the right mix for your average listener.

Paleo Nerds: A Prehistoric Podcast | Paleo Nerds

Homepage

www.paleonerds.com

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Foy.....thanks so much.....it had your name all over it.....

the deputy.....I'm with you.....I love rocks but only to climb on them.....



After a good night's sleep in the high desert, we headed further south along Highway 191 making our first and only stop in Moab, Utah for a hot shower, propane, and groceries. Oh man that is one expensive town !

Then we continued south along the highway looking for something interesting to do or something interesting to see. Well, it looked like Jail House Rock just might do so we hung a right from the highway and headed west to see the big rock.....



The thing that stands out about this rock is that there's a 15 foot deep pit near the top of the rock. The dogs and I tried to climb up there but the dogs slipped so bad on that sandstone that we moved on to something that was much more intriguing.....



These bands of cliffs were a few miles away and we had to cross over private land.....or so it appeared by the sign posted along the fence line.....



.....and by the gate which happened to be wide open when we crossed onto the private land (on foot of course).....I was afraid that if I drove in, that it would mysteriously be locked when we tried to head out.....



There were four wheel drive roads that led us in the direction of the cliffs, and all was going well until we came to a double locked metal gate. There were the remains of what I thought could have been an old barn and other fallen buildings and also this pretty cool looking well pump.....



I was walking around checking everything out when I found another gate which was wide open, so off we went to explore those cliffs.....



Of course what I hoped to find here were the remains of Freemont villages or anything related to that.....




These alcoves.....and there were a bunch of them at the bottom of those cliffs that I could see from Jail House Rock, and it was while standing there that I first thought that I just might find something interesting like a kiva or a grainery or maybe some pottery shards.....anything really.....at the bottom of those cliffs.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We spent the entire afternoon & early evening exploring at the bottom of those cliff bands.....



We came across one alcove that was fenced off and as much as I wanted to crawl under that fence to see what I could see, I didn't do it.....and it just killed me not to do that.....




This was the kind of place where a man's mind can wander.....nobody was here.....the sounds of silence.....




While these alcoves seemed like they would have been the perfect place to build a small fortress, it wasn't.....it was missing one key ingredient.....I noticed.....water.....



The moon.....it was setting.....made for an interesting photograph.....




We didn't bother driving any further south that day.....why would we ? The views were sensational and we were the only ones here.....except for the coyotes that howled and barked that night.....

By the way.....that gate that I spoke of, it was indeed mysteriously locked on the way out.....so that fence we did indeed crawl under.....



The following morning, while the dogs relaxed in the camper, I returned to Jail House Rock to have a look into that 15 foot deep pit.....I liked the cliffs so much more.....honestly.....

 

[Dougnuts]

These alcoves.....and there were a bunch of them at the bottom of those cliffs that I could see them from Jail House Rock, and it was while standing there that I first thought that I just might find something interesting like a kiva or a grainery or maybe some pottery shards.....anything really.....at the bottom of those cliffs.....

Jerry, I know someone posted this YouTube channel earlier, but I think you'll like to check out this video at the 10 minute mark, such an awesome find:

Love geology (not that l understand a ton about it, still find it fascinating). Paleontology, like you, not much into or would consider myself to be any type of 'dinosuar guy' either. However, recently l've been listening to the Paleo Nerds podcast...they are quite humorous, educational and entertaining. Just the right mix for your average listener.

Paleo Nerds: A Prehistoric Podcast | Paleo Nerds

Homepage

www.paleonerds.com

Cool podcast, I started listening to it this morning, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Dougnuts.....typically I watch his videos the day that they are released. I love Desert Drifters' laid back approach and of course his ability to find the stuff that he finds. I'm a huge fan. Thanks for posting.....



We continued driving along Highway 191 until we reached Blanding, Utah. Here we took a short detour to the west of town to check out another spot that I'd found on Google Maps. So we drove down Ruins Road.....a short distance really.....to see the Five Kiva Pueblo.....



I didn't find an actual trailhead as it was labeled on Google Maps so if you happen to make it here, be persistent (as we were) cause there is a way to make your way down into the canyon.....





Once we found our way down the steep canyon (not an easy feat) we found old boards laid across Westwater Creek which allowed us to get to the other side with dry feet.....





Then it was the same thing on the other side.....a barely visible trail led us up to Five Kiva Pueblo.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

There was quite a bit to see here.....and although I thought that this site was probably infrequently visited, and I'd hoped to find some pottery shards, unfortunately I didn't find a thing.....





I quickly realized that.....sadly.....this site had been picked over pretty good.....





We retraced our tracks, returned to the rig and headed back up the road to check out yet another site.....this one not advertised on Google Maps.....



I saw that sign (shown above) on the way to Five Kiva Pueblo and knew that we'd have to check it out. Once again the trailhead was not marked so we did quite a bit of wandering before finally finding a way down into the canyon.....it was odd.....almost as if they didn't want you to find it. Eventually I found another sign.....on the far side of the canyon.....but I didn't see an arch.....



And I swear.....just as we were about to leave (give up) I thought I saw an arch.....



It was nearly camouflaged from the average viewer such as me.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We spent that night camped just south of Bluff, Utah in an area known as Butler Wash.....



This area is well known for its' petroglyphs & Anasazi ruins, and I thought we might get in a few hikes here to check them out.....



Anyone that follows this thread knows that we've been here before and also knows that I love it here.....



And Bears Ears National Monument.....truly one of my favorite places to explore is just a short drive away.....another bonus to being here.....



So we found ourselves a spot to camp for the night camped above the wash and then we immediately headed out for a hike.....we still had an hour or two of daylight.....




It's probably no surprise that our first (and it turned out.....to be our only hike here) was to view some Anasazi ruins.....



To access the first set of ruins we needed to downclimb one small rock wall.....maybe not more than a six foot drop. And no matter how much I tried to convince Trapper that she could do it.....she absolutely would not budge.....I even tried yanking her down with the leash but to no avail....



Well.....it was getting dark at this point so I decided that we'd wait a day.....who knows.....all that we saw that day was from a pretty good distance away (unfortunately).....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Now I guess at this point in our travels, I was really getting tired of the endless cold. I was constantly battling the condensation.....every morning there was ice on the door trim.....ice underneath the mattress.....my old batteries were barely staying charged (I kept thinking about that Chinese company that offered me free lithium batteries if I'd be an influencer or something like that.....I wouldn't).....just tired of the battle that comes with cold weather camping.....





So instead of hiking that next morning.....we hit the road.....



We drove right by the Valley of the Gods without stopping.....it was hard for me to believe that I actually did that.....I love that place too.....




We made a brief stop along Highway 163.....I think it was probably close to Forrest Gump Point.....simply to take a few pictures.....and then we just kept on driving and driving and that's all that we did that day.....looking for the warm temps.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We drove nearly three hundred miles that day.....we took a quick pass through the historic district in Flagstaff, Arizona.....for some reason I'd never passed through that particular area before. Then we drove south on the interstate and somewhere south of Flagstaff, Arizona we headed into BLM lands to find ourselves a dispersed campsite for the night.....



We stayed here for a few nights.....resting up from that long drive day. It felt good to stay in one place for a few nights.....watching the world go by.....something we had barely done so far on this trip.....



It was warm here.....finally.....yet not the record breaking temperatures that they were seeing further south.....



And when we did finally leave.....we didn't go far. I felt like climbing something and I found a small mountain nearby that I thought might be interesting.....so we drove west into the Bradshaw Mountains.....



We passed through Cleator, Arizona without making a stop.....it too looked interesting but I wasn't interested in mingling with the off roading crowd.....



A mile or so west of town, we took a rough 4 wheel drive road up into the mountains.....it was steep and it was rocky.....I nearly got out and walked. Eventually, when we came to a gate.....that's exactly what we did.....



I prefer to get the miles in by boot rather than by tire anyhow.....



It felt good to log the miles and to gain the altitude. At some point we left the road and took a "shortcut" cause I wanted to see the mines that were kind of on the way to our planned summit.....



I guess we'll need Foy to tell us what this mine was for.....I did see a lot of this colorful stone below the mine openings.....I was thinking maybe copper.....but I ain't no Foy.....



We continued up the "shortcut" route which turned out to be a huge mistake. Now we were climbing through cactus plants and lots of other plants full of thorns. In addition, the cliff was so steep, I was using my hands.....it sucked.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Eventually we made it to a rocky ridgeline but not without sacrificing my blood.....and I suspect that the dogs sacrificed their's as well.....



Then we hiked along the ridgeline.....the cactus and thorns continued to pierce our skin all the way to the summit.....



We didn't stay up there long as I hadn't brought water or snacks and I think at that point.....due to my stupid mistake.....we were just ready to get back down.....




I took my pictures of the dogs on the summit of DeSoto Peak (5,780').....cause that's just what I usually do.....




We did not take that same "shortcut" down the mountain. There was actually an abandoned roadbed that ran nearly to the summit.....we took that down instead. This roadbed was so washed out, with ravines three foot deep, and it was steep.....really steep at some points. I even thought that maybe the "shortcut" would have been better.....and just as the roadbed got a little better.....I saw this.....



Now what most amazed here was that this Jeep hadn't even made it to the most difficult section yet.....I keep looking for this recovery on Matt's Offroad Recovery on YouTube.....(by the way, he sure did make my mistake seem rather minor).....




Further down the road I saw this sign.....I guess this guy's brain works kind of like mine.....those signs are for everybody but me.....

 

[Ace Brown]

With the right recovery gear he may have been able to do a self recovery. But I’d guess he was solo and maybe not very experienced.


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