Dodging Raindrops in Utah- Sedona.biz

Valley of the Gods

Dodging Raindrops in Utah

By Beverly Lehnhardt | Sedona.biz

The plan was to drive to Valley of the Gods in southeast Utah near the Four Corners region where Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico all come together.

We would spend Friday night at Valley of the Gods Bed and Breakfast, a delightful-looking place we had discovered online that is within driving distance of the region's most spectacular natural attractions such as Monument Valley, Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Mesa Verde National Park, Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park. Saturday we would search out a campsite.

We had planned this camping trip for two months, knowing that early October is dependably dry, warm in the daytime and cool at night, and decked out with glorious fall colors. However, we awoke to pouring rain the morning of our departure and just hoped that it would soon stop and dry out. I can�t say we were undaunted�but we were cautiously optimistic�as we packed the van and headed north from Sedona.

Passing through Tuba City we saw several telephone poles snapped off at ground level, many low-lying spots in the road recently cleared of mud and debris, and innumerable large and small puddles from the previous night�s violent thunderstorms. This did not bode well for our long-awaited excursion�

But as we drove and the hours passed, our hopes rose along with the slowly clearing skies.

Mexican Hat Rock

We checked into the B&B and, with blue showing through the late afternoon clouds, we ventured into the small town of Mexican Hat for dinner. As the famous Mexican Hat rock formation came into view we did the �tourist thing� and stopped for the obvious photo op. Our intended destination was the Mexican Hat Lodge, �Home of the Swinging Steaks,� cooked on an outdoor barbeque.

We thought the outdoor BBQ would be closed due to the weather, but we lucked out and the wood fire was a-blazin�. The 18oz. steaks looked tempting but at a pricey $30 each, we opted for burgers with pinto beans, Texas toast (a variation on garlic bread), and salad, celebrating our victory over the rain with a wine cooler and a beer. The burgers were a full pound of ground meat, cooked slowly over the wood fire on a grill suspended above it, swung slowly back and forth over the heat. Certainly not gourmet fare but wood-fire tasty and filling.

Sitting outside at the BBQ�s bar we couldn�t help overhearing various conversations regarding the unexpected fall storms of the past day and night. A bridge was out in nearby Hanksville; people were stranded; some folks lost their car and travel trailer in a flash flood�and we were planning to camp? But surely it would clear up, dry out, and the weekend would develop into everything we wanted it to be� right?

After dinner we headed back to the B&B, spent the night in the last really comfortable bed we�d see for days, and departed on Saturday morning with blue skies and high hopes.

Being a painter, my husband, Wolfgang, has had a years-long love affair with this part of Utah and knew exactly where we should spend Saturday night.

San Juan River

From the B&B, we drove for about 12 miles onto the San Juan Rim in the Glen Canyon National Recreation area and turned left onto a mere trail that we followed for nearly a hundred yards until it just�stopped�at the edge of a cliff.

The cliff dropped nearly 1800 feet, offering fantastic views of the canyons of the San Juan River�the river itself was not quite visible from our vantage point. We pitched camp about 30 feet from the rim. Off to our right and some distance away was Muley Point.

Muley Point

We could see the twisting, winding, storm-battered excuse for a road that led up, up, up, finally disappearing around a tight bend. From the Muley Point Overlook, the San Juan River, Monument Valley, and the desert beyond would be visible but we were afraid the van might not survive that particular adventure.

Cedar Mesa, the cliff that towers high above Valley of the Gods, rose 1,100 feet into the air behind us, beyond the road on which we came. Occasionally, sizable rocks loosened by the latest driving rains would bounce down its side, creating thunder with their abrupt descents. It was startling, to say the least, when these bouncing boulders surrendered to gravity, but we knew a hundred yards was distant enough to be out of harm�s way.

Wolfgang Lehnhardt painting

My artist husband immediately set up his painting table and eagerly engrossed himself in his passion.

I was content with the sunshine and a good book.

Later in the day we hiked for several miles along the dirt road that led up to Muley Point, taking in the views, the solitude, and the sheer immensity of these wide open spaces�both horizontal and vertical. I was almost mesmerized by the silence�nothing but the sigh of the wind, the shriek of a soaring hawk, the crunch of the gravel under our shoes�

After a simple dinner, the warm afternoon temperatures quickly plummeted to cool, and then, as the wind picked up, coldly walloped our unprotected cliff-site. We retired early, diving into the cozy sleeping bags in the back of the van, grateful to escape the merciless wind.

View from campsite

We awoke early Sunday morning to discover that although the sun was shining on our immediate area, clouds were piling up rather ominously off in the distance. We decided to head in the direction of Lake Powell where the sky was blue and inviting.

After breakfast, we bumped along the dirt road back to the Moki Dugway, an unpaved roller-coaster of a road with spectacular views. It rose over 1,100 feet in only 2 miles, the tight switchbacks a challenge, with many portions of the road edge washed out from the recent torrential rains�and not a guard rail in sight.

Moki Dugway

Constructed in 1958 by the mining company Texas Zinc, the Moki Dugway was used to transport uranium ore from the "Happy Jack" mine in Fry Canyon, UT, to the processing mill in Mexican Hat. The term "mokee" or �moki� is derived from the Spanish word �moqui,� which was used by the 18th century Spanish explorers and settlers to describe the Pueblo Indians (now Hopi) they encountered.

The Moki Dugway led us up to Muley Point at the top of Cedar Mesa and we found ourselves looking down on the cliff where we had spent the previous night. The expansive vista included Monument Valley with its many extraordinary rock formations, the extremely muddy San Juan River and its numerous canyons, sacred Navajo Mountain, and the huge, coal-bearing Black Mesa. The sheer enormity of the panorama made us feel humble and very insignificant.

Slot Canyon hike

Leaving Muley Point we drove across Cedar Mesa, passing Grande Gulch�an area rich in Anasazi ruins�and traveled Utah 95 for about an hour, one of the most scenic routes in the state. We crossed the Colorado and Dirty Devil rivers at Lake Powell and took 276 south toward Lake Powell�s Bullfrog Marina. We stopped at a couple overlooks to enjoy the views, and then decided to go for a hike.

We crossed the highway and scrambled down a short embankment into a wash; the floor gradually sloped downward until the walls rose up nearly 30 or 40 feet on either side. My husband knew the area well and told me we were hiking a slot canyon known as Maidenwater. In places, the canyon was very narrow but most of the time it was at least 10 feet wide, shady and cool�a perfect place to hike on a hot, sunny afternoon. There were countless concretions in the canyon, unusual rocky �growths� on many of the rocks. And in several areas the canyon walls had eroded into interesting, almost cavern-like structures supported by natural, solid rock columns.

"Concretion"

Two tired hours later, we turned back, loathe to leave this geologically fascinating hike, but anxious to locate the night�s campsite before dark. We drove on to a place called Starr Springs and again followed a dirt road that turned off a dirt road to an even more remote dirt road, up and over a few hills and suddenly another breathtaking view stopped us in our tracks. This was it!

A mountain behind us; a couple others defining the horizon; Lake Powell a distant mirror reflecting the sun�s brilliance; and large, rolling hills in the immediate foreground�I simply didn�t know where to look first! As we set up camp, coyotes yipped and howled in far valleys, their sing-song voices carrying in the quiet vastness.

View from our campsite

We prepared and ate a quick dinner, finishing up as the setting sun painted the sky first with gold, then various shades of orange, pink, and purple, enhanced by the fluffy clouds that captured the ever-changing hues. Once the sun set, the temperature dropped abruptly and we again crawled into our cozy sleeping bags in the van�our dreamland almost as beautiful as the actual countryside in which we slept.

Monday morning brought another surprise�colder temperatures, snow on the distant mountain peaks, heavy cloud cover above, and a definite threat of imminent rain. The soil in this area was predominantly bentonite clay that would become extremely slippery, hazardous, and nearly impassable in a heavy downpour, so we skipped breakfast and packed up the van. It was time to depart!

We had barely left the campsite before scattered raindrops splatted on the windshield, but we made it to pavement before it started coming down in earnest. We arrived home safely and eager to sleep in our own bed once again.

It was a grand adventure and we consider ourselves lucky to have dodged the majority of the weekend�s raindrops. And we now know that early October isn�t always dependably dry and warm!

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