Southeast Utah

Bluffs on north side of town. They
are on three sides of town, thus
the town name.

We moved almost straight south to southeast Utah and made the tiny town of Bluff our base for a week. We stayed close for a day to

Bluff pioneer cemetery on north hill

recover from a long day on the road the day before, going over two mountain passes, and chose to just walk around Bluff. We discovered several streets with some awesome old stone homes, a cemetery with tombstones going back as far as the original pioneers, and Bluff Fort and Visitor Center that has a great film about the journey of the settlers that founded the town. The Fort has replica log cabins along with one that was built by the original settlers in the 1880s. We were pleasantly surprised to find such treasures.

Hovenweep NM - view across
canyon to several ruins. Twin Towers,
Eroded Boulder and Rim Rock House

Square Tower

Our first day trip in the area was to see ruins at Hovenweep National Monument. If I were to  summarize that experience in one word it would be spectacular. The reason being is the ruins date back to the 1200s AD and are in amazing condition. The precision workmanship by the ancestral Pueblo people was amazing. The film in the visitor center is outstanding also.

Hovenweep Castle

From Hovenweep NM we intended to see ruins in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument also but everything we read said to go to the Visitor Center in Dolores, CO, which is part of the Anasazi Heritage Center, to find out how to get to the ruins. This was an hour drive, through the Canyons of the Ancients, and we found out once we got to the Visitor Center we had driven right by some of the ruins. By the time we checked out the museum and ate a very late lunch, we didn't feel like backtracking on the slow roads to the ruins which would also put us on the slow road home. The museum (Anasazi Heritage Center) is very good with lots of artifacts and outside there is a half mile walk to a ruin and great views.

Seven Sailors at Valley of the Gods

Valley of the Gods - Battleship Rock

Our next day trip was to the Valley of the Gods which is about 15 miles southwest of Bluff. This is touted by locals as just as good as Monument Valley. It is a valley with a 17 mile very rough dirt road that goes through it to view rock formations. Only a few formations are as interesting as Monument Valley and the road is much worse so we don't agree with the locals. Personally, I wouldn't send someone to do this drive. FYI, I would, however, send someone on one of the tours of Monument Valley that leave Gouldings Lodge and are done by a Native Navajo. We did one a couple years ago and it was amazing.  

Valley of the Gods

Goosenecks State Park - Goosenecks
panoramic pic

We stopped at Goosenecks State Park which is just a few miles from the Valley of the Gods. It is just a little viewing spot of a very unusual section of the San Juan River called the Goosenecks. The Goosenecks are an "entrenched river meander" where the river advances only 1.5 miles over a distance of six miles in a one thousand foot deep canyon which took 300 million years to create. If you are driving by it's worth a stop. 

Natural Bridges NP - Sipapu Bridge

Natural Bridges NP - Kachina Bridge

The next day we were off again for the day. This time we went to Natural Bridges National Monument which has three natural bridges within a few miles of each other. There is a nine mile loop drive along the top of a canyon that offers views of each bridge from overlooks and there are also optional hikes down the canyon. At each stop you may choose to hike down and through the canyon to view each bridge from the bottom. Another stop on the loop is to see a small ruin at the bottom of the canyon that is viewable from above after a pretty easy hike of three tenths of a mile. The visitor center has exhibits and a 10 minute film which are both very good. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here and gave thanks to Teddy (Roosevelt), once again, for preserving more of natures wonders. 

Natural Bridges NP - Owachomo Bridge

On our last day we made a short 2.5 mile drive on south US 191 to the Sand Island Petroglyphs. This is a huge panel of rock art, estimated at 100 yards long, has hundreds of images estimated to be between 300 and 3000 years old. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and well worth a stop. This is an access point to the San Juan River so you can check it out while you are there.

Sand Island Petroglyphs - one small
section

Sand Island Petroglyphs - one small
section

Sand Island Petroglyphs - one small
section