May 10 - 12, 2018:
Our ride today from our campsite on route 24 and through Capital Reef National Park was one amazing view after another. At the rustic town of Harksville we head south on an equally scenic wonder, route 95. The claim that route 12 is the second most beautiful road in the world may be incorrect, it could just as easily be route 95. It was a windy day with many steep up and down hills and plenty of distractions to make the RV wobble a few times. All the way along route 95, I was thinking; forget about all those crowded, bucket list places loaded with tourists rushing around such as Zion - Bryce - Capital Reef - Canyonlands and Arches. That amazing terrain is all here in a less developed, more wilderness state with lots of free BLM camping available.
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| The road ahead |
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| The terrain was wild ahead |
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| Looking down at Glen Canyon from the highway |
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| Interesting downhill view and ride |
I arrive at our destination, the Blanding RV Park in Blanding, Utah about 2 PM and into a full hookup campsite as we need to get cleaned up, to restock our cupboards, get a phone signal and use WiFi. After getting settled, I go to the visitors center for local information and find a small museum there. It has some interesting exhibits especially on the first settlers, Albert R and Mary Ellen Lyman, who came from Bluff in 1905. Albert R Lyman became a self taught scholar, a passionate history enthusiast, a newspaper editor and a prolific writer. There was also interesting stories on a couple notable Indian leaders.
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| Albert and Mary were a good looking young couple |
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| Albert went on to write several historical books |
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He did his writing in a stone cabin he called the
Swallows Nest |
I’ve been in the mood for a good diner breakfast spot for a while now and haven’t found one until now. I read the reviews for Yak’s Center Street Cafe and liked what I heard. It looked somewhat dumpy from the outside, but that’s OK, it could give it more character. I’m just looking for the basic eggs, bacon, home fries and toast breakfast and that’s what I got, the service was quick, the decor inside nostalgic and the food just OK. You’ve got a Navajo group at one table speaking a mix of Navajo and English, a local biker couple at another table and another table of tourists, I fit somewhere in between this mix.
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| Yak's Cafe |
Afterwards we take off for an adventure, back northbound on route 95 to a turn-off for the Butler Wash where they is a short trail to a viewpoint for Anasazi Ruins. This area of Utah is loaded with Anasazi ruins in these remote canyons.
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| Butler Wash |
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| A closer view |
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| The cliff dwellings were in a green protected area |
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| View from the trail with pockets of water in the rocks |
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| A long slender snake was encountered |
Next stop was another pull-off for the Mule Canyon Anasazi Ruins, where there is a trail that takes you into a canyon where they are located. We looked for a trail sign or information, found nothing, rode around a while and then left. A short distance away is a road side Anasazi ruin site with interpretive panels. Later, I found out we were right there, but time was short and we were focused on going to the Natural Bridges.
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| A reconstructed pueblo and Kiva near the road |
It was an extremely windy day with 25-35 MPH winds and gusts to 50 MPH and so many, too many, people told me to watch my hat. My hat chin strap that Twinkles says looks dorky, (actually it does), saves the hat several times.
The Natural Bridges National Monument was the first National Monument established in Utah by none other than Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. There is a visitors center and a loop drive with several canyon view points and trailheads down to the three Natural Bridges. These are huge bridges, some of the largest in the country and are located down in the canyon from 180 to 500 feet below the canyon rim. I went part way down the trail to the largest bridge, the Sipapu, which is the second largest Natural Bridge in the country. I then went all the way down 400 feet to the Kachina Natural Bridge, quite a steep hike, but the view under the Bridge was totally worth it. Twinkles and I then did the last Bridge, the Owachomo, which was about 180 feet down. It is the most eroded Bridge, but is still a massive size. There is also the 700 year old Horsecollar Anasazi ruins in a remarkable state of preservation at the canyon bottom. The best way to see it all is to go down at one of the Natural Bridge trails and then take the loop trail to the other Bridges and then back up to the rim.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Bridges_National_Monument
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A view looking far down at the Sipapu Bridge
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Looking down at the Horse collar ruins, there are two people there
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Looking into the canyon, note the smooth eroded shapes
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| Very nice blooming cactus |
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On the exposed trail down to the Kachina Bridge in the gusty wind
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Water pond down at the sandy bottom under the bridge
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The Kachina Bridge is huge, the people walking add some perspective
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Looking up at the massive thickness of the bridge
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A good example of the sand bedding patterns in the sandstone rock
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The Owachoma Bridge is a very long span but looks to be getting thin on top
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The ride back to Blanding takes you up this steep climb where you
make a shark hairpin turn just before the last rock |
Needing a break from hiking we went to the highly regarded Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum in Blanding which is at the site of an Ancestral Puebloan ruin inhabited from about 825 to 1225 AD. This museum was excellent, loaded with artifacts and information, a huge collection of bowls and baskets and information about the ruins. There is one room detailing all the Archaeology done at the ruins with artifacts labelled and displayed from each room.
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The really good stuff is locked away in this room
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The Edge of the Cedars ruins in front of todays suburban development
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Blanding, Utah is a very strange town, it has the Mormon culture and influence coupled with a large Native American population. There isn’t much to do in Blanding, there are very few restaurants, only the most basic shopping, no night life and simply not much to do. There is a small movie theater and what appears to be the hot spot, the Bowling Center with convenience store and an A & W Root Beer restaurant. We went inside for lunch at the A & W Root Beer and were surprised how nice and clean the seating and bowling areas were. It was somewhat of a culture shock, like something from 1960 and to me the Root Beer never tasted better. The Blanding RV Park campground is behind the 7-11 convenience store which seems to be another hot spot, always busy with the locals, a mix of Indian and Anglo, mostly overweight and rough looking, buying junk food and enormous “Big Gulp” drinks.
Our next stop is a few miles away at the nearby Devils Canyon campground for a couple of days,
Twinkles and Slick
