Bears Ears and Beyond

After we departed Monument Valley, we drove north into the Bears Ears National Monument. It was in the news a few years ago when an idiot president de-monumented most of the area. Fortunately, the current president restored the monument status. The name comes from two buttes that can be seen for many miles (we saw them from about 100 miles away).

Bears Ears

We first drove past the Mexican Hat formation near the town of Mexican Hat. As we crossed the San Juan River, we noticed it was flowing very well from the recent rains. Our current weather was sunny, clear and in the 70s. Just outside Mexican Hat are some interestingly colored cliffs with zigzag lines. I call it the Charlie Brown shirt pattern. We headed east to the Sand Island Petroglyph area to view the 300-3000 year old rock art.

Mexican Hat

Zig Zag colors

We then decided to try our luck on the 17-mile unpaved road through the Valley of the Gods. There are several drainage channels to cross, and we were unsure how the recent heavy rain had effected those areas. There is one channel near the entry, and we did make it across that one just fine. We cleared a few others and made it 6 miles in, when we encountered a large channel that had some fresh and deep erosion along the entry point. The entry angle and drop were steeper than we were comfortable with, so we backed up for a bit, then turned around. We did get some nice photos in the section we drove.

Valley of the Gods

We then stopped at Goosenecks State Park, where the San Juan River has carved out several 180 degree turns. It was once a lazy floodplain with the river meandering along, but uplift allowed the river to start cutting down into the deep channels we see today.

Goosenecks State Park

Next we headed up the Moki Dugway. This road was carved into the near vertical cliff about 90 years ago to transport mined materials from the area. It was a steep gravel road, but our Travato handled it perfectly. From the top we could see mountain ranges over 100 miles away.

Moki Dugway

We boondocked overnight in an area far from any lights and enjoyed some stargazing. The Milky Way was clearly visible and we saw a meteor every few minutes. The temperature fell to 39ºF overnight, so it was great sleeping weather. 

So many stars

The next morning we hiked to the House on Fire. This ancient grain storage area (not actually a house) looks like the rock is on fire when the sun reflect off the adjacent slick rock late in the morning. We also saw fresh mountain lion prints in the wet mud from the rains a couple of days before.

House on Fire

Hanging at the House on Fire

Mountain Lion prints next to a shoe print

We drove up to the old town site of Hite, UT. The view along the road (UT 95) was stunning. We could have stopped to take photos every mile if there were pullouts. Hite was a small town that was a gold and uranium mining operation. The mining shut down many decades ago and in the 1960s the site was flooded when Lake Powell was filled. There is a large marina which now sits about 130’ above the Colorado River with no boats in sight. The river has reclaimed this section as Lake Powell shrinks away. But even the river looks depleted and spent. Some recent rains have it churning with red/brown mud. We boondocked along the river for the night and didn't see another person or vehicle - just a sky full of stars and the sound of the river below.

Boondocking on the Colorado River at Hite, UT

- Paul