Road Tripping to Bears Ears Pt.5

 It was finally time to return home.  For this final post, I will include a few misc. things we did and saw.  The Bears Ears visitor center was finally open, so we checked it out and bought t-shirs.

We drove up to the Bluff cemetery, on a bluff in Bluff!.  Fascinating checking out the grave stones and how neat the grave sites were defined by small rocks, as well as fences.  Here's a view of one section...

A scenic place to be buried!  And a cool gravestone...

The cemetery overlooked the town and the bluff in the distance.  Cool old house as well.

We also stopped at the Twin Rocks Trading Post.  Some great Native American art, but kinda expensive.  Well, the artists deserve the dough, the products are beautiful.  Just outside...

Across the street was a Cow Canyon Trading Post... coffee house, gallery, and shop.  Wonderful people and good coffee (the blue corn muffins were to die for!).  And a couple nice old trucks outside.

I should also give a shout out to Max, Terry's dog who did a great job hanging with us without a whimper.  Here he is with Jane.

Driving back through Blanding, we decided to stop at the Edge of the Cedars museum.  A great place and definitely a place to enjoy.  Tons of info on the archeology of the area and history of ancient occupation of the area.  We bought more t-shirts.

Our final stop was for lunch at the Moab Brewery (Moab now seems like a big city, it's grown so much, kinda crazy...).  Fantastic burgers...

The drive home brought us rain and cold and traffic accidents.  But we persevered, made it back in one piece (including Rodney, who we finally rescued out of guilt).  All in all, a wonderful trip.  Already planning another one next year...

Road Tripping to Bears Ears Pt.4

 Since we had another full day in Bluff, we decided to explore the area.  First up was the Sand Island (more properly, pictographs) Petroglyphs.  (By the way, if you've clicked on some of the links, you'll note that Bluff, UT has an incredible website).

Sand Island is a put in site for river running on the San Juan River.  In late October, the cottonwoods are changing, creating great Fall beauty.  

Then we decided to cruise through the Valley of the Gods.  The road was rougher than I remembered (40 years ago!) but still quite passable.  And the Gods were out in full force!

Coming out of the Valley of the Gods, we drove up the twisty road (more scary going up!) and found a road out to Muley Point Overlook.  What amazing vistas!

Then it was back down the twisty road (less scary going down).  Since we had time, we decided to drive to Mexican Hat in search of, what else, Mexican food.  No luck.  WTF!  After spending way too much money at the trading post, we headed back to Bluff.  One shot from the Mexican Hat area...

For some reason (middle of the week?), the restaurants in Bluff were closed.  We did see this place that had looked permanently closed, and not too appealing.  But, desperate for food, we decide to try the Comb Ridge Cafe one more time...  it was open and way cool once inside the "plaza" surrounding a giant cottonwood.  The food was great, and "Chester", our server, made our day.

Road Tripping to Bears Ears Pt.3

 When we arrived at Natural Bridges National Monument, we were disappointed to find the visitors center closed and no one around.  No problem paying the entrance fee, we had our Golden Eagle passes.  But what if we wanted a t-shirt?  The Park Service needs more funding.

Anyway, we drove around the loop, stopping many times to see and hike towards the bridges.  First up was Sipapu Bridge.

Then we hiked to the Horse Collar Ruin overlook.

Next up was the Kachina Bridge.

The surrounding area was fabulous...

Finally, the Owachomo Bridge.

Then it was back to Bluff via the road towards Blanding and then south to Bluff.  This highway is incredible, passing through Comb Ridge.  Photos wouldn't even begin to capture the immensity and beauty of this scenery.

Back in Bluff, the BBQ joint across from the motel was open and hopping.  Great food, even for Vegans!  That night there was a power failure in town.  But, as the full moon poked through the clouds and shined in our windows, all was good.

Road Tripping to Bears Ears Pt.2

 The next day we were off to explore some archeological sites in Bears Ears as well as see the bridges in Natural Bridges National Park.  First up was Butler Wash and the ancient cliff dwelling.

Our intrepid hikers...

Wandering around the area, I discovered a new arch, which, following tradition in a sense, named it for my self:  Ka-Sherm-Ti Arch.

Unfortunately, Rodney took a fall and was injured.  We realized then that for the continued health and safety of the rest of us, we needed to sacrifice him to the desert gods.  So we left him lying in the sand, unconscious, bleeding out, and headed back.  Saved his camera, though...  (obviously, this is BS, but he did cut himself significantly).  One last shot...

We also found this reconstructed ruin at another stop in Bears Ears...

Then it was off to Natural Bridges.