Return to Mule Canyon Cave Towers.

I've previously posted about the first time visiting the Cave Towers at Mule Canyon with Four Corners Adventures, so here is the return visit the next day.  On that first visit, I mainly stayed on the left hand side of the canyon area; this is about the right side.  The high winds were gone, the sky clear and sunny; walking the ledges was a piece of cake, and no holding the camera with one hand, while the other held onto a tree for support.



Now, how to find the Cave Towers (aka Seven Towers), from Highway 191, going south from Blanding, go 19.3 miles along State Highway 95.  On the left hand side of the highway you'll see a dirt trail with a gate across it; just open the gate, go through and make sure to reclose the gate.  About 2/10ths of a mile, you'll reach a parking area with an informational board; the ruin site is only 4/10ths of a mile further on, so you can either hike to them or drive.  If you drive, make sure you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle with high clearance, skid plates would be a beneficial addition.

View from Parking Area.

As I said in my previous post on Cave Towers, the seven towers are distributed along the rim of Mule Canyon.  Roy and I climbed to the partial tower seen on the right hand side; use a walking stick for extra leverage on the sandy upward trail.  Within this tower is still one of the original wood beams, and a view of the puebloan ruins along the canyon's wall ledges.

Mule Canyon Wall Ledges with Pueblo Ruins.

Some of the towers are completely collapsed, but as you travel from one tower to another, you will notice that the other six are in view to each other.  Their placement protected the canyon, the secret spring that ran within this area, and watch guards were in sight of each other.  Smart strategy!

Ruin on Ledge Below Collapsed Tower.

The advantage to being able to walk the ledges, along the right hand side, is being able to better view the ruins tucked into cave openings and along the wall ledges.  A zoom lens on the camera is a huge help in seeing them properly, and we also had binoculars.

Pueblo Ruins Along Wall Ledges

 

 

 





Ruin Near Mesa Top.

My previous post on the Cave Towers included photos of Mule Canyon, so here I concentrated on pillars, pinnacles and walls.

 

 



Walking back to our vehicle, we found two interesting things, well interesting to us at least. The first was a stone which seemed to have a circle with lines radiating from it; was this a carving of the sun, or simply natural weathering from sun and rain?  The second was a gathering of dried juniper berries on the path itself.  The nearest juniper bush was about 10 feet away; the wind might have blown them there, but they were so neatly together.  More than likely, they had gathered by a bird or small creature.

Like the rest of Mule Canyon, this area is quiet, serene and beautiful; come visit, however, leave it as clean and complete as when you first entered.

Mary Cokenour

House on Fire Ruins and Trail.

Mule Canyon/Texas Flat Road has already offered us adventures exploring Lower and Upper Arch Canyon, Mule Canyon, Texas Flat and Bear Cave; and now we needed to do House on Fire.  Dallin Tait of Four Corners Adventures had shown us exactly where to access the trailhead; the best time to see the fiery illusion was between 8am to 11am; by 12 Noon it would be in full shadow.

We loaded up our backpacks with water, healthy snacks and other necessities, plus a sturdy walking stick for me.  Although it was one mile in, one mile out, we would be sliding down into a dry wash, and climbing back up sandy slopes.  Having a "third leg" to lean on would be a huge help; it also aided in testing sandy patches between rocks to see if they were secure when climbing up to ledges.

The road is located 19.6 miles along State Highway 95 (from Highway 191, south of Blanding).  The trailhead is located 3/10ths of a mile, left hand side of the road, there is parking on both sides, but watch you don't go too close to the edges.  The beginning of the trail is steep going down and back upward; expect to do a bit of sliding on the sandy soil; again, a walking stick helps. 




Going Back Up.

Going Down.





Once on level ground, we found a survey marker in a sandstone wall from 1958; the information board only 20 feet away with a map that, well it wasn't much help.  What did help was paying attention to the trail and seeing where others before us had walked; this especially helped going into and out of the dry wash many times.







Into and Out of the Dry Wash Often.

There were deer making their way through the dry wash, the brush and eventually upward to the cliff sides.  We didn't see or hear any mountain lions, but saw prints in the sandy soil; they were watching us I'm sure.  When doing this sort of hike, do not go alone; injuries could occur due to falling, sliding, tripping, losing footing on the rocks on the dry wash floor, and animal attack.  If you absolutely have to do it alone, make sure to let someone know where you are going, when to expect your return, all pertinent information about yourself, and contact information for next of kin.  You might think I'm kidding around, but Search and Rescue for both Grand and San Juan Counties are two of the busiest in the state of Utah.



Back to the hike, the scenery is gorgeous along the trail; there are many other alcoves (ledges with a roof) which seemed perfect for ruin sites.  Perhaps there had been at one time, and they have totally been destroyed; or the ancient Indians did not see the use.  I climbed up to one such alcove and it was lovely up there; miniature arches at the edges; potholes and nesting areas.  As with House of Fire ruins, these alcoves are also ablaze from the rays of the sun; yet the temperature was cool inside.

Not using a pedometer, one can estimate a mile on natural terrain should take about 45 minutes; we estimated one hour with photographic stops.  We had just turned a corner, as we walked through the dry wash, and suddenly we saw the edge of a ruin through the brush.  As we continued forward, the entire site opened up to us....breathtaking, spectacular, blazing with fire due to the tilting of the mushroom dome and desert varnish streaks on the inside of the roof.  The climb upward is steep and there are two spots we found for making the trek up and down; by the way, there is a geocache located at one of the spots.  There is enough room to lie down or squat at the openings to peer inside; there are warnings there about climbing inside; the stone is old and fragile, so no damaging it! 

Looking Inside a Room

House on Fire Video

Surprisingly, we did not find any rock art around the site, not even moving through the rocky hallway to the far left of the ruins themselves.  Exiting the hallway, we came out on a ledge that we could follow back to the ruins.  There is an excellent view of the canyon beyond (there are more ruins as you travel along; this could be an all day adventure), and a cave across the dry wash.

After returning to our vehicle, we indulged in a light lunch; next on the agenda was Cave Towers.  I had been there the day before with a group, but the 35-45 mile/hour winds made ledge walking a bit sketchy.  This new day was clear, calm and perfect for taking my hubby there, and showing him the wonders.

Mary Cokenour

Ode to the Old West Cook.

Chuck Wagon, Ranch House, Wagon Train; the cook had one of the toughest jobs of the Old West.  Not only was he responsible for providing meals, but they better be good ones if he didn’t want to find himself staked out over an ant hill, or worse, lynched.  Provisions, many times, ran scarce which meant nothing could be wasted, it had to be transformed into something belly filling, and definitely not make anyone ill.  We take for granted supermarkets with every food item imaginable; we take for granted that restaurants and fast food joints are just around the corner.  Not so easy for all, not just the Utah, pioneers of the 1800s, and early 1900s where the next meal might be sucking on cactus juice, or roasting rattlesnakes.

Which brings me to the tale of Harry (or Henry, presuming that was his full name) Hopkins; cook for the LC (Lacy (ey) Coleman) Cattle Company.  After the horrors of being a soldier during the Civil War Era, Harry decided to move to Colorado, join a ranch, be a cowboy; and he must have been a darned good cook.  Eventually, he found himself in San Juan County, Utah; continuing the cowboy life and running the kitchen there as well.   “Wash, a Ute Indian, reported a white man had been killed by lightning near the head of Devil Canyon.  Investigation showed that Hopkins, the L.C. cook, had been shot in the back – supposedly by an Indian.  He was found by Hickory Dennis and another cowboy lying face down with a pair of field glasses in his hand.  Before coming to the country he had been a cook for the riders on the Disappointment range in Colorado, at the time several Indians had been killed in a fight with the cowboys.  The Utah Settlers felt certain that the Utes had taken revenge on this inoffensive man.” ~from Saga of San Juan San Juan County DUP; page 94.

History of San Juan County by Albert R. Lyman filled in more of the story (page 62-63); “"In the late spring or early summer, while the new settlers were farming at South Montezuma, and making such preparations as they could to move to Monticello the next spring, the Ute known as Wash came in reporting a dead white man somewhere up the creek. Parley Butt went with him and found the body of a man named Hopkins. He had been cooking for the L. C. outfit and someone had apparently shot him from ambush while he waited on a log fence for the outfit to return.  He had crawled a short distance from the fence before he died."   Only 3/10ths of a mile from the grave is an old corral; could this have been the “log fence” where Harry was shot, and he crawled with the last of his life energy to where he is buried now?

Back then, the Indians blamed the white people; white people blamed the Indians; cowboys from competing ranches blamed each other, the Mormon settlers or the Indians.  Since all the people from that era are long dead and buried, and history is usually written by the victors, we'll probably not find out the true story, unless someone finds a written confession from dear old great grandpa. 

We came upon Harry‘s grave on one of our gallivants through the Manti-LaSal Forest in the Abajo Mountains one spring day.  Riding past the NFS campground at Devil’s Canyon, there is a junction six miles inward; the flip of a coin decided which trail to continue on.  At 7/10s of a mile (on CR 110/FR 084 eastward to Hwy. 191)), we got a real surprise...Harry Hopkins Grave.  Who was Harry Hopkins, How did he die, and Why is he buried off this forest trail poked at my curiosity; the research began. 
 

Now some folks asked me, “Why do you care so much about him?”  Simple answer really, because I can, and someone should.  One of the basic fears we have about dying is not being remembered; not having our life story passed on, or even our grave visited.  While an Eagle Scout Project by Cameron Palmer gave Harry a trail marker and information board; it wasn’t cared for after a while.  The plastic covering over the information sheet did not protect the paper, so it is extremely faded and illegible (May 2016); by November 2016, someone had torn it down completely.   I found out that local Sue Morrell and her husband often ATV up to the grave, fixing the fencing if needed.  While another visitor had placed plastic flowers near the headstone; Roy and I cleaned the dead leaves and debris away to make his name seen clearly.

So, to honor the memory of this Old West cook, I give to you my recipe for “Cowboy Stew for the Crock Pot”.  I’d like to imagine I would have made a good ranch cook myself, but then again, electricity has spoiled me.

Cowboy Stew for the Crock Pot

 Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean roast beef, cut into 1 inch pieces

4 russet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 1 inch pieces, parboiled
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into ¼” slices, parboiled (or use 8 oz. bag of baby carrots)
1 large onion, rough cut into 1/2” pieces
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. paprika
2 (28 oz.) cans vegetarian beans
2 cups barbeque sauce

Preparation:

In 6 qt. crock pot, set on low, mix together beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, salt, pepper and paprika.  Spread beans over top, then bbq sauce.  Cover, let cook 6-8 hours; beef will be very tender.  Serve with cornbread or biscuits.

Note on leftovers, if there are any; the gravy will thicken and become richer.

 

Mary Cokenour