Monument Canyon, the Upper Section

This is about my little detour when I was traveling through Coal Bed Canyon on CR 341.  This is also about conquering fear of these canyon roads that are strictly for 4 wheel drive vehicles and ATVs.  On CR 372, there are areas on the road where you will stop and all you will see out your front windshield is the sky; you're practically parked vertical.  That's when you have to do some deciding; can't back down the road in reverse; can't do a U-turn; might have a cell signal, but who do I call for help; sit there and hope someone comes along; or the hell with it, drive and damn the torpedoes.  I chose the last option and am the stronger for it; pretty darned proud of myself too!  Alright, I'll admit it, I believe I'm becoming an adrenaline junkie from all this adventuring...and I like it!

Oh, don't confuse Monument Canyon with Monument Basin which is located in Canyonlands - Islands in the Sky; nor Monument Valley on the border of Utah and Arizona.

Anyway, I'll post the map, follow the bright red road on the right hand, central part of the map; I'll post a map of Colorado later, so you can follow the road back to Route 491, or you back track back to the 341/372 junction and decide where to go from there.

There we were, Jenna (my dog) and I at the junction taking a water and snack break.  So Jenna, which way should we go; down 372 she began to trot; of course I called her back into the SUV and off we went together.  Yep, I let the dog decide.







Monument Canyon is another beautiful area to travel through; quiet and serene.

At the 1.5 mile mark, I spotted a cave almost at eye level to the vehicle.  Even though I was careful to keep an eye out for any animals, I definitely had the feeling of being watched from the area above.  There was scat nearby which I knew was not cattle or deer; I didn't wait around to see who its owner was

The next mile and a half is the road winding up and down, around corners, glorious views and a few, "OMG!", but it's more thrilling than it is frightening.

Looking back at where I'd just driven from.

At mile mark 3, I spotted caves along some ledges; while they might have been good spots for living in, the absence of ruins indicated that the ancient people thought better than that.

At mile mark 4.5 I came up from the canyon to find...farmland!  I could not believe that the land suddenly flattened out and farmland stretched on both sides of the road.  Two miles more and I reached the junction of CR 348 - State Line; that's right, the border of Utah and Colorado.  So, you would think I simply follow State Line Road north and I'll be at Route 491 in no time.  Yeah, think again; at the end is a pump jack and oil tanks.  Maybe go south, and it will swing around to Route 491?  Nope, it dead ends at private property.  What the heck!?!

Back to the junction, so there is a dirt road at 3/10s of a mile on the north side, with no sign of course.  It ended at 3/10ths of a mile and there was finally a sign, I had been on Road S; the curve left took me onto Road 2 which ended at Road P.  Oy vey! Don't even waste a moment of thought on finding someplace to stop and ask for directions; these roads are littered with abandoned homesteads.

Road P to the left is a quick dead end, but I did pass by a Llama ranch, and two of the cutest llamas decided to pose for me.  Back tracking, I took Road P until I reached Road 6 and that took me up, finally, to Route 491 and into Dove Creek, Colorado.  Now you understand why I'm also posting the map of Colorado or you'll be driving up and down those country roads for hours; just follow the bright red line on the map.

..and so ends that adventure with my dear girl, Jenna.  She jumped onto the bed as soon as we got home, and didn't wake up till way past dinner time. 

Mary Cokenour

County Roads off San Juan County Road 312 - Eastland.

As promised, I've updated the most recent map of the San Juan County area that Roy and I are working on. Yesterday I road up and down, what I call, secondary roads that came off of CR 312 - Eastland; mostly 4-wheel drive friendly, but too short to have any real adventures on.  I chose to drive back down first to CR 354 and CR 353, then work my way back towards Route 491 up along CR 312.  I think what amazed me the most was that I was out for four hours doing this, but it only felt as if I'd been out for a couple of hours.  Proof that time does fly when you're having fun!

CR 354 is 6.8 miles along CR 312 is only 1.1 miles in length before it dead ends at another of those abandoned homesteads.  I truly enjoy photographing these old homes, made from logs cut in half lengthwise, planks, or a combination of both; they have such character!  Sometimes the stones used to create a fireplace are still in place; and I look to see if newspaper was used to fill in the spaces between the logs, so I can date the buildings.  At first I thought the wheel standing up in the sagebrush was a simple wagon wheel, but it was actually part of rusting farm equipment.

An ATV trail goes up a steep incline nearby, but quickly loops back down to the main section of road; nothing exciting to brag about.  From the amount of spent shotgun casings I could see on the ground, this area is for locals to practice shooting at an old refrigerator, or just blow off some steam.





Back to CR 312 and to mile mark 8.7 for CR 353; only 1.4 miles in length before it dead ends at...farmland (starting to sound like a broken record with these dead ends).  The large building in the background of one panorama is where the loop road for the canyon overlooks begins; and the ATV trail that goes out into Big Water Canyon.

Now to backtrack closer to Eastland itself and check out side roads nearby.  CR 340 - Pearson seemed very promising on actually getting close to or, maybe, into Pearsons Canyon.  At 1.4 miles I came upon CR - 381; I'll get to that later.  5.4 miles along is the first viewpoint of the Canyon; 5.8 miles Pearsons Point can be seen eastward; 7.5 miles there is an area I could walk out and see a grander view of the Canyon.  At 8.7 miles, BAM!, a padlocked gate stopped me in my tracks; to say I was disappointed is an understatement...I was pissed off!!!

Pearsons Point

Pearsons Canyon

Fine, back to CR 381 and see where it goes to; well not very far, a half mile before it dead ended at...another farm.  Now here's a real kicker; there is a mountain peak called Ginger Hill, but its location is blocked by the dead ends on both CR 340 and CR 381.  The landscape in the area is rolling, so it cannot be easily seen until you get closer to its location.  Ginger Hill is 6,857 feet and ranks as the 1175th highest mountain in Utah.  Ok, so not as majestic as Abajo Peak at 11, 360 feet, but still, it would have been nice to see and photograph.

 

 

CR 351 - Eastland is actually three separate streets that make up central Eastland; the LDS Church and Eastland Fire Department are located here besides residential homes.

 

 

One more road and then stick a fork in me, I am done, done, done with CR - 312 and Eastland!  CR 367 - Shupe dead ends 1.4 miles at a, need I say it again, farm.  I did take a photo of the fence decor as it looked so awesomely southwestern in style, and I love the yellow rose bush.  However, out of curiosity and a "what the heck" attitude, I decided to take a dirt road which was 9/10ths of a mile along this County road.  It lead directly to CR 338 - Boulder CTF Road which eventually lead to CR 311 - East Boulder Point and up to Route 491 and home.  Lost?  Refer to the map I posted on June 12, 2014.

 

The next posts I do on San Juan County roads will be more fun as I did make it down to, and out of, some canyons.  No screaming, but lots of expletives and white knuckle driving.  Till then...

 

Mary Cokenour

Where Do Those San Juan County Roads Go?

From Monticello, along Route 491 to Colorado, there are a slew of San Juan County roads to the right and left. Looking at a map of the area, there are also many canyons listed; anyone with an explorer's attitude wants to know what there is to find and see in these canyons. My dog, Jenna, and I have been trekking up and down the roads, south of Route 491 and east of Route 191, to get to these canyons; it's been no easy task, let me tell you. Unfortunately, many of the roads, even though they are listed as "County" roads, dead end at farms and the canyons may or may not be seen in the distance.

Along both sides of the roads is farmland; "no spray" and "organic farming" signs posted along the fence posts as well as the "private property" and "no trespassing" signs.  The main crops are beans, sunflowers, alfalfa and wheat; along with the occasional orchard.  Looking at the richness of the recently tilled soil explains why the pioneers decided to come up closer to the Abajo Mountains; also explains why they kicked those ranchers from Colorado and Texas out of the area.  Now I was able to access a few of the canyons via two of the roads; I'll be writing those up as separate posts.  For now, I'm going to simply post the map I've created with the legend that goes along with it.  As I find new roads and sites to see upon them, the map will be updated. 

The Map

Updated June 15, 2014

The Legend

San Juan County Roads South of Route 491 and East of Route 191

The mileage locations of each road is based upon the starting point at the intersection of Main and Center Streets of Monticello, Utah.  The majority of property along both sides of the roads is privately owned; "No Trespassing" signs are posted.  Many of the farms have "No Spray" signs posted as they practice organic farming; the primary crops being beans, alfalfa, wheat and sunflowers, and the occasional orchard. The Utah/Colorado border is 16.4 miles, again, using the intersection of Main and Center Streets in Monticello, Utah as the starting point.

Main Roads - accessed directly off Route 491

3.5 miles - Monticello Landfill which utilizes the northern end of West Boulder Point Canyon.

4.1 miles - CR 307 (Edge of the Canyon); a small section of West Boulder Point Canyon can be seen; it ends 3 miles at farm.

5.1 miles - CR 308 (Hallers); ends 1.6 miles at CR 337 (North Dude Ranch Road).

6.2 miles - CR 309 (West Boulder); top of Boulder Point can be seen in the distance; ends 5.7 miles at farm.

8.2 miles - CR 311 (East Boulder Point); small side view of Boulder Point Canyon can be seen; ends 1.7 miles at farm.

9.2 miles - CR 364 (Johnson); ends 1/2 miles at farm.

11.2 miles - CR 312 (Horsehead); road through Eastland; 19.2 miles before it ends at Cactus Park (oil tanks and pump jack location); a separate loop road has ATV trails along it; overlooks include Horsehead, Big Water and Montezuma Canyons.

12.2 miles - CR 355 (Long Draw); ends 1.7 miles at CR 339.

13.2 miles - CR 366; closed road.

14.3 miles - CR 314 (North Lockerby); ends 1.5 miles at CR 339.

15.3 miles - CR 377; ends 1.4 miles at CR 339.

Secondary Roads - accessed from the Main Roads off Route 491

CR 337 (North Dude Ranch Road) - 2.1 miles in length; runs between CR 307 and CR 309.

CR 338 (Boulder CTF Road) - 5 miles in length; runs between CR 309 and CR 312.

CR 339 (East Lockerby) - 5 miles in length; runs one mile west of CR 312 to CR 377.

CR 340 (Pearson) - 8.7 miles; Pearson Canyon and Point viewpoints; ends at padlocked gate.

CR 341 (Coal Bed) - located 1.4 miles west of CR 377 along CR 339; road through Coal Bed Canyon.

CR 343 - merges with CR 341 at .9 miles; splits off from CR 341 at 5.4 miles.

CR345 - Cedar Point; settled 1918; mainly wilderness area.

CR 351 (Eastland) - 3 separate roads of central Eastland; LDS Church and Fire Department location.

CR 353 - off CR 312 - ends 1.4 miles at farmland.

CR 354 - off CR 312 - ends 1.1 miles at abandoned homestead.

CR 366 - closed road.

CR 367 (Shupe) - off CR 312; ends 1.4 miles at farm; dirt road at .9 miles leads to CR 338 or CR 339.

CR 372 (Monument Canyon) - located 11.8 miles along CR 341; 6.5 mile road through northern section of Monument Canyon; ends at CR 348 (State Line).

CR 381 - off CR 340; ends half mile at farm.

Mary Cokenour