Sunday, September 22 – We visited three sights today beginning with the Moki Dugway. The breathtaking ride up the Moki Dugway is an experience not soon forgotten. Stunning views open from the Dugway as it winds its way up an 10% grade, 1200 feet from Cedar Mesa to the Valley of the Gods.
The Dugway got its name from the ruts DUG into the trail so wagon trains climbing the mountain could put their wheels in the ruts and not slide off the side of the mountain. Can't imagine horse-pulled wagons climbing this grade. The road does have a “wash board” texture. Why does this happen on dirt roads? Any ideas?
Up we go.
One of the many switchbacks.
This guy is nuts doing this drive with this load!
At the top of the mesa, a road leads west five miles to Muley Point. It provides a wonderful view of the valley below. We could see the Four Corners region (The spot where NM, AZ, UT, and CO meet.), to the east lies Sleeping Ute Mountains near Cortez, CO, to the southeast is Shiprock, AZ and to the southwest are the Corrizo Mountains in New Mexico.
Our third stop was Goosenecks State Park. This is one of those sights Paul has been wanting to see for sometime. We were here about 30 years ago, and it's a memory that stuck in Paul's mind. It's an awesome view of the San Juan River meandering through the red rock over a 1000 feet below the overlook.
We walked along the rim (no guard rails, so be careful and don't trip) to take in several different views and to get some pictures of the river curving below.
We then drove out the path along the canyon rim to check out some boondocking (camping without hookups) sights. We are considering moving up here for a night or two if the weather cooperates. Unfortunately, the weather guesser is calling for rain, high winds, and possible snow or hail. That would make camping on the rim pretty scary and in our minds a No No!
Vicious wildlife is everywhere.
We intended to continue on to Natural Bridges National Monument, but the skies were looking threatening (heavy thunderstorms predicted for this afternoon). Marsha was getting nervous about descending Moki Dugway during or after a heavy rain, so we decided to return to the campground and put off visiting the Bridges until tomorrow. That will require another pass through the Dugway.....don't remind Marsha!
We will be back with the living tomorrow. Headed for Cortez, CO. The campground assures us that we will have WIFI and cell phone…yipppppeeeee!
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!
Never heard of the Moki Dugway...what an interesting day you had. Must put that on our must-see list. :-)
ReplyDeleteFrom the pictures you showed we can understand why Paul would want to return to the area. Kathy feels the same about the Bighorn Mountains. Be Safe and Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteIt's about time.
Stunning... gotta go there...
ReplyDeleteMarsha, did you put fingernail marks on Paul's dashboard going up Moki Dugway?
ReplyDeleteVery exciting and great pictures!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos but you're way past the limit of blog comments I allow in a day.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're back in the land of the living! for now anyway. We've had a horrible time with cell or internet signal in New England.
ReplyDeleteWe have heard that a trip to the Four Corners is a must. I never knew about the Moki Dugway though. Looks like a rather harrowing drive--one I would not to do after a big rain that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are stunning.
Learning lots from the two of you. The views are so amazing! BTW Paul, can I ask what kind of tires you have on your RV? Inquiring hubby minds want to know. :)
ReplyDeleteSure is some amazing scenery there, thanks again for sharing.
ReplyDeleteFull hookups is something we are looking for today as well.
Wash board on gravel roads. I have heard that it is from the grader blades skipping when they plow the road..... I love the pics you posted. Now I have one more reason to visit that area.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got to drive the Moki Dugway. Definitely a neat experience. This was one of our main routes to several hiking areas so we got very good at it.
ReplyDeleteGooseneck would have been a lovely place to camp. What an amazing view! But it is wickedly scary in the wind. The wind was terrible the day we went. It was so strong we were actual afraid to get to get too close to the edge because of the gusts. But it sure is neat to see the river wrap around three times. But the real beauty is those two tanned gods you captured in your shot!!!
You got some beautiful photos from above:) Also, keep forgetting to mention the great header photo!
Weather guesser! hahahahaha
ReplyDeleteDave loves that label!
Sue
I give you credit. I would have fainted and been off the mountain never to be heard from again.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous place.
ReplyDeleteWe camped a couple nights at Muley Point. It was one of our favorite boondocking sites. Of course, we had been at Natural Bridges so we didn't have to drive the RV on the Moki Dugway!
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