Fry Canyon, The First Seven Miles.

Late February, Roy and I spent two days out in Fry Canyon, traveling up and down San Juan County Road 258 aka Radium King Road; exploring mines, petrified wood sites, photographing the formations and landscapes.  We even braved San Juan County Road 2431 aka Moss Back Road; driving under the watchful eyes of the three "Tables of the Sun".  It was exhausting, exhilarating, scary at times, and wondrous at others.  379 photos later, I now have enough material for a three part series on Fry Canyon; this is part one, the first seven miles along Radium King Road to the junction of SJC 2431.


Our starting point is at the junction of State Highway 95 and SJC 258; Fry Canyon Lodge is privately owned and not open to the public.  Makes certain, before leaving Blanding, to have a full tank of gas, water and food; there is nothing available between Blanding and Hanksville. 

Even though you can see it from the highway, Fry Point is finally reached at 1.2 miles; to us, it resembles a railway engine; sort of like the one in the opening credits for the PBS "Poirot Mysteries" series.  Then again, it could be a battleship sailing full steam ahead!




"The Needle" is a desert tower at 3 miles; looking at it from up above, there is a dirt road circling around it.  Hundreds of years from now, will someone look at it and say, "What mystical place was this?"  There is a dirt trail leading out to it, but only about halfway; hiking will get you there the rest of the way.

At 4.9 miles, the road begins its trek upwards; it is graded all the way through, but being a dirt road, don't expect perfect smoothness.  At certain curves, it will have a switchback to allow other vehicles to pass by; the views are stunning the higher upwards you drive.

Center, far distance, Jacob's Chair.

While Roy was checking out a dry wash, I decided to stretch the legs by walking up the road.  I could feel the air becoming thinner as I ascended, but I'm pretty acclimated to it now, so didn't bother me much.  Now what took my breath away were the views!

Yes, the road winds around the hills.

Moss Back Butte

Just as you come up around a corner at 6 miles, you come to an amazing sight...a set of fins, a little arch, and a huge boulder flanking both sides of the road.

 

Cracked Fin



Looking upwards at the nearby landscape.

Just past this dynamic trio was a rock formation that looks like a snapping turtle, with a shark fin nearby.

Not every formation in Utah has a name; but having a good imagination allows you to name it yourself.



Almost done with this post as we near mile mark 7; a grotto of multi-colored adobe and sandstone hills.  Melting snow was flowing down and created a small stream; a drainage pipe allowed it to flow underneath the road and cascade out into a small canyon on the opposite side.

View from the seven mile point.

 Water drains down into this small canyon like area.

...and this ends part one, the first seven miles.  With this photo, around the next corner, begins part two.

Mary Cokenour

Moab's Kane Creek; Boulevard or Road?

One of the first places my husband took me, when we visited in 2006, was to Moonflower Canyon (which I'll write about in another post) via Kane Creek...well it's a boulevard or a road or both.  My confusion is mainly based upon looking at too many maps, and too many varied descriptions, from the internet and personal guide books.  Looking at the Moab street map in the phone book; the name is Kane Creek Boulevard (Blvd.), but most people refer to it as "Road" because, well, it's a road, not a boulevard.  Confused, welcome to my world.  So enough about the semantics of road naming, and lets get to why you want to travel this roadway if you visit Moab, Utah.

Kane Creek Blvd. (paved) parallels the Colorado River and Potash Road (Route 279) for about 7.5 miles; it then turns into a dirt road which you can follow to Kane Creek Canyon; and eventually to the junction that will lead to Hurrah Pass.  When the road turns to dirt, begins to curve to the left and there is a large parking lot in front of you, you've reached the beginning to Kane Creek Canyon.  By the way, some folks refer to this as Kane Springs Canyon, but I'm sticking to simple Kane Creek...same road name, same canyon area.  Let me tell you that researching and comparing all this information gave me one whopper of a headache!




Canyonlands by Night and Day Jet Boat Tour
 

Guess you need to know how to find the origin of the road; off Route 191 in Moab, turn onto the road between McDonald's and Burger King; this is Kane Creek Blvd.  Follow the road as it curves along until you see it begin to split (do NOT make the right turn onto 500 West), keep following the road as it goes straight and then curves left.  You only have to drive about a  mile before you'll want to stop and take in the scenery behind you; the Colorado River and the Red Rocks stretching as far as you can see.  Canyonlands by Night and Day does jet boat tours down this end of the river during the day; so you might want to check that out if you want a fun river cruise.


Moonflower Canyon is only three miles down the road, but I've already expressed this post is for another day.  If you are in the area though, before I get it written up; you must stop and visit there as it's absolutely gorgeous.  There are camping sites throughout, petroglyphs and even an old Native American ladder in a split in the wall near the petroglyphs.  There's your tease...

Every once in a while take a look across the river at Potash Road; never know what you'll suddenly spy like "Little Arch" which is at the edge of Poison Spider Mesa.

Little Arch


 

There are several homes along Kane Creek Blvd and what I mean by homes is converted, colorful school buses reminiscent of the "hippie" era.  There is also a Pueblo home built into the sandstone, but it's unfinished and unoccupied.  Every now and then you'll see a dirt road, the first leads to the "Moab Rim" trail which eventually loops back to Route 191; there's also a road to Hunter Canyon.  Stay off the roads marked "no trespassing" and/or "private property"; make sure you have 4 wheel drive if attempting these dirt roads; especially when they have creeks intersecting them. 


Another pictuesque scene on the road is an old tree that has formed its own natural "arch" over the road; combined with the beautiful drive along the Colorado River makes it very serene.

















When you finally travel along Potash Road (Route 279), take a look across the river towards Kane Creek Blvd; outstanding!

Now this final photo has me stumped as to its name, if it truly has one as I'm not completely sure.  I thought I saw it listed on someone's climbing blog, but of course, when I need to find it, I cannot.  If anyone has a clue to the name of the formation to the left, please let me know, so I can write a caption on the bottom of the photo.  Thanks!  Basically I am posting it here as it simply looks interesting.

So there you have it; the short, but scenic drive down Kane Creek Blvd. until you reach the entrance to Kane Creek Canyon.  There are several campgrounds along the road, but fees are charged, so be ready for that when looking to spend the night, or several nights, outdoors.  This is not an overly long drive, so make room in your schedule to enjoy it.

Mary Cokenour