Road G - Cortez to Bluff.

So, after making that short visit along the Sand Canyon Trailhead; along Road G we continued towards Utah. If you have the time, sometimes you need to travel a road both ways to see what you missed the first time around.  You'll understand what I mean with this next set of photos.  Oh, by the way, across from the Sand Canyon Trailhead is a winery which does have a tasting room, and sells by the bottle.  Just in case you need some after that long hike, or want to take a bottle along with your picnic; just remember to take your garbage out of the canyon area with you.


The last time we traveled Road G, we took Route 262 which is between White Mesa and Bluff, off of Route 191 in Utah towards Cortez.  Along the way, we saw this huge boulder almost sitting on the left side of the roadway.  Big deal, seen one boulder, seen them all, right?  Wrong!  Coming from the Colorado way, as we got to the boulder I shouted out, "Stop!  Ruins!"  Poor Roy almost choked as he was drinking from his bottle of Mountain Dew, but he did stop the SUV.  I jumped out and began walking towards the boulder, camera in hand; there indeed were the small remains of Native American ruins, and petroglyphs.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of modern day graffiti which almost obscured some of the rock art.

Climbing up and around the boulders



Signature from 1940

After climbing up from the boulders a little, the landscape opens up across and behind the area.

Ridge behind the boulders

4/10s of a mile from the boulders, there is a sign indicating the way to Yellow Jacket; we figure it will come out eventually onto Route 491, but plan on exploring it in the future. The Ismay Trading Post is also here, not open when we were there, but it does look interesting.  If you're looking for Hovenweep National Monument, there are signs here and there to keep you on track.

Different View of the Ridge

Ismay Trading Post

Along the way we met up with a family of horses, at first the colt was lying on the ground; but we watched as it struggled to get up on all fours; the other horses nuzzling or pressing their bodies against it.  We never left the vehicle, only took photos from the window; but the adults were ever watchful over the youngster.  The huge male got up himself and did a bit of posing for the camera...what a ham!

...and out of the desert soil, some of the most lovely flowers grow

Hairy Goldenaster (Sunflower family)

This was a relaxing adventure with some of the prettiest sights to see; still not hungry, we continued back home.

Mary Cokenour

Sand Canyon Trailhead - Canyon of the Ancients.

After doing our shopping at the Walmart and City Market in Cortez, Colorado; Roy and I decided to take Road G back to Utah instead of the usual highway (Route 491). It wasn't lunch time yet, but we certainly had enough food in the back for an impromptu picnic. Road G turns into Route 262 and eventually comes out onto Route 191, in between Bluff and White Mesa, Utah; and yes, it's a scenic drive which I will be writing about later on.

Since we'd already found Sand Canyon Pueblo, we also wanted to check out the trailhead on Road G.  We weren't prepared for the 6.5 mile (one way) hike, but wanted to get a basic lay out of the land.  You will most definitely see the formation, which was the background of Castle Rock Pueblo, before you get to the actual parking area and beginning of the trailhead.  The parking area is slickrock, so once you leave the paved roadway, you are on all natural terrain.

Castle Rock Pueblo is an ancient village dated back to 1250 A.D. which was built around the base of a butte.  It was thought to have contained 16 kivas, 40 rooms and 9 towers.  It was first photographed in 1874 by William Henry Jackson, but as time progressed, photographs kept a record of its deterioration.  All that remains is a small section of logs in a corner near the top of the butte, and a small section of wall at the eastern side.

As I stated before, the trail you will be hiking, or mountain biking on, is all natural; slickrock, sand, rocks, dirt.  Watch for the cairns (small piles of stones) or informational signs that will help you stay on the trail.  We only walked about a half mile in to get an idea of the terrain.  The scenery is quite beautiful, especially seeing lovely flowering plants and cacti thriving in the sandy soil

We have planned to return to the Sand Canyon Trailhead, and definitely be well prepared for the hike.

Mary Cokenour

Lost from Bluff to Cortez; Sort of.

When Roy and I go traveling around the Four Corners area, we don't always have a destination in mind. Basically we point the vehicle in a direction, make sure we have maps, water, snacks and a full tank of gas; then go. We have found some interesting sites; we have found places that have made us both say, "What the heck!?!; and found many places not mentioned in guide books or on maps, you just have to know they're there. So starts this adventure from Bluff, Utah to Cortez, Colorado; mainly because we just wanted to know where a road went and what we could see on it. I'm going to post a map where I've noted some names, road number changes, or pertinent information to the "wanting a beer with their meal" traveler. With the lack of, or vague, road signs on many of these roads, you're going to appreciate this.



Navajo Twins adjacent to Twin Rocks Cafe
 

We headed south on Route 191 through Blanding and White Mesa until we reached the rustic and scenic Bluff.  Bluff was settled in 1880 and was basically the last stop on the route taken by the "Hole in the Rock" Mormon pioneers.  The San Juan River runs along there allowing trees and vegetation to grow; ruins and petroglyphs hidden throughout the area; amazing sandstone formations like the "Navajo Twins" (adjacent the Twin Rocks Cafe), and "The Locomotive" (overlooking the cementary).  Pioneers from the Bluff area headed up north and settled Monticello (Abajo Mountain area) in 1888; Blanding (desert area), however, was not settled until 1905.  Blanding has the Dinosaur Museum and "Edge of the Cedars" Museum; Route 95 at the edge of town (south) leads to Natural Bridges National Monument.  It is sort of like the contrary child, since the sale of any alcoholic beverage is banned within city limits; not so for Bluff or Monticello.  I'm mentioning this for any traveler in the area who enjoys such a beverage with a meal; look to the other towns for that pleasure.

The Locomotive


 

Since we didn't start this trek until after lunch, we decided to backtrack north to a road indicating "Hovenweep" was in an easterly direction; a map indicated this was Route 262.  It is a paved road, but not well maintained, so you might find it a bit rough and bumpy in spots.  I know the map above says it is a dirt road, but its been fixed up since that map was printed way back who knows when. 




Along the way you'll see many formations in the rocky areas, if they had a specific name there were no signs indicating any.  You'll also be driving parallel to Native American Reservation land and the San Juan River can be spied now and then.  There will be two road junctions you'll come across, one to Montezuma Creek, the other to Aneth which are both situated along Route 162.  We stayed on Route 262 to see how far it actually went, and what else we could see on it.

At the end of Route 262, a road to the left leads towards Hovenweep and the Hatch Trading Post; well somehow we missed the sign and stayed on the road leading to the right.  We later found out this was Road G which would eventually bring us out onto Route 491 (S. Broadway) just north of the airport in Cortez, Colorado.  By the way, you'll see snow on the mountains; we took this ride in early spring and it was still cold up there, but not in the desert areas.  So off to Road G we go...


Now this is really a scenic, pleasant drive; the road is twisty here and there, so don't plan on driving too fast on it.  Once in awhile we would spot an abandoned building and wondered if it dated back to the early pioneers or not.  I finally had the opportunity to stop and take a photo of long horned cattle; a thrill since I'd only seen them on television.  I would have liked to not have the barbed wire in the shot, but those horns intimidated me enough to keep my distance.

Long Horned Cattle

Along the road we did pass a "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign, but seeing Sleeping Ute Mountain was also a rather large hint that we were finally over the state border and in Colorado. 

Snow Covered Sleeping Ute Mountain
 

What we didn't expect was to see a roughly made parking lot, large sandstone formations and a sign stating that this was "Canyons of the Ancients" National Monument; yep, you guessed it, not written on our map.  By this time though it was nearing sunset, since daylight savings time had not sprung into spring as yet.  As much as we wanted to explore, doing it in the darkness was not on our to-do list.

Sand Canyon Trail Entrance
 

 

As we got nearer to Cortez, we saw the snow covered mountain range of Mesa Verde (park entrance is 9 miles east of Cortez).  We immediately recognized Route 491, made the left turn towards the main area of Cortez and treated ourselves to a celebration dinner.  Celebration?  That's right, we celebrated the end of another adventure in the Four Corners area; you're not living if you're not having an adventure here.

Mary Cokenour