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| On
this day we woke up in Kayenta, AZ and drove Hwy 163 to Monument
Valley. Due to a huge dust storm our visit to Monument Valley turned out to
be not all we hoped it to be. It was an easy decision to decide to move on to
“greener pastures” or as might be said around here - REDder ROCKS. When planning
our trip I found a nearby place called Valley of the Gods, an unrestricted
Monument Valley, if you will. |
Mexican
Hat rock viewed from Hwy 163
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine |
| Mexican Hat
is a wide spot in the road in southeast Utah
and the gateway to the Valley of the Gods. After seeing the valley our intention
was to go to Hanksville for the night. We entered the Valley of the Gods from
Hwy 163 that also gives you a good view of the Mexican Hat rock, a rock
that looks like a Sombrero, upside down on top of a mountain. |
| The Valley road
is gravel and is a left turn, 8 miles north on Hwy 163. Seventeen miles long,
it offers spectacular close-up views of cliffs, buttes, pinnacles and other unusually
shaped red rocks. Our travel time on this road was 1 hour and 7 minutes. We stopped
several times to take photos and we were behind a road maintainer for 5 minutes.
You do the math to know how long it would take for your trip. |
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A standard vehicle
is suitable for this road, but you can kiss your carwash goodbye. Two cars can
pass on this road but the smoothness varies causing our speed to alternate from
10 to 40mph. I would not drive it with an RV or pull a trailer of any kind. Large
boulders are along each side of the road since a maintainer keeps it graded. We
only met 4 cars on the entire length of the road, but our time behind the road
grader seemed like forever.
Some rock formations have names. A partial
listing from our entrance includes Scotchman Butte (still on 163) then
on the gravel road is Sitting Hen Butte, Battleship Rock, Castle Butte,
according to a posting on a bulletin board. |
Gravel
road climbing Cedar Mesa
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine |
| Upon
completing the valley trip we exit on Hwy 261 on the west. Near our exit
is a bed and breakfast, appropriately named. Here a left turn takes you back to
Mexican Hat whereas a right turn takes you north on Hwy 261, which took us to
the top of Cedar Mesa. This is a dangerously exciting gravel road utilizing
switchbacks to climb the 1200 foot mesa in 3 miles taking 15minutes. This is called
the Moki Dugway. It reminded me of the Caprock around Dickens,
Texas. |
Highway
95 bridge over Colorado River
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine |
| For hikers (which
we are not) Cedar Mesa is known for scenic canyons and Anasazi ruins and
rock art. Once on Cedar Mesa, Hwy 261 eventually meets Hwy 95 where
we turned in a northwesterly direction and later crossing the joining of the Colorado
and Dirty Devil Rivers, which forms Lake Powell to the south. This
is a shockingly scenic road that continues on to Hanksville. |
Lake
Powell at Highway 95 bridge area
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine |
South
of Hanksville on Highway 95
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine |
West
of Hanksville on Highway 24
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine |
| The problem is Hanksville
is shockingly inadequate as a place to eat and spend a night. So we had to continued
west on Hwy 24 to Torrey. This highway follows the scenic Fremont River
across Capitol Reef. Unintentionally we had traveled 264 miles on this
day. |
Crossing
Capitol Reef on Highway 24
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine |
Crossing
Capitol Reef on Highway 24
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine |
At Torrey we
did find a comfortable motel with a good restaurant and a chance to recharge our
body and souls.
Copyright Ken
Rudine
November 1, 2009 | |
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