Route advice please!

[Cummins12V98]

Drove thru Arches National Park today, AWESOME!!! Probably Canyonlands National Park tomorrow.

 

[BarryG]

You best make sure and hit Dead Horse Point. Especially if going to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands NP. Also if you have the time and going to Island in the Sky check out the schaefer trail to get back to Moab. Take a couple hours as it is slow going but it is a great way back to town. It is not hard core wheeling at all. In fact it is not wheeling. I once saw a mid 70's caddy sedan deville on that road. Wouldn't recommend that but truck 2wd no problem.

 

[kthaxton]

You best make sure and hit Dead Horse Point. Especially if going to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands NP. Also if you have the time and going to Island in the Sky check out the schaefer trail to get back to Moab. Take a couple hours as it is slow going but it is a great way back to town. It is not hard core wheeling at all. In fact it is not wheeling. I once saw a mid 70's caddy sedan deville on that road. Wouldn't recommend that but truck 2wd no problem.

While it's certainly doable......I wouldn't want to do the Shafer Trail in a 1-ton Dually (I assume that is his only travelling "commuter").

Also make sure you go see Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands.
...and hit all the cool mtn bike trails
...and hit all the cool hiking trails
...and run a river
...and do some 4 wheeling
...and hit the zipline

So much to see and do in and around Moab.

 

[Cummins12V98]

After looking down on Shafer Trail yesterday the wife said she would have killed me if I took her on that windy SOB. Heading to Bluff, UT today anything worth looking at around there?

 

[kthaxton]

The Edge of the Cedars Museum in Blanding is really neat. It has Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloan to be politically correct) artifacts from the local area. The region is riddled with cliff dwellings.

If you're game for a little side trip and don't mind some hiking, you can head east on 95 (split at the south end of Blanding), you will be in what i consider the best place to hike in Utah, Nearly all of the canyons in the area contain cliff dwelling/ruins, but you need to hike (I can give more specifics if interested) Some hikes are easy, some are not. Many of these sites are still in a fairly primitive state, you will still see pottery shards and corn cobs that are at least 700 years old.

If you are interested in seeing some ruins, but not hiking, there are two spots where you can pull off the highway and just do a little walking to see some ruins. One is the Butler Wash Ruins which are really not that far from Blanding on the East side of Comb Ridge. The other is a bit further and called the Mule Canyon Ruins which are pretty unique. A bit further on 95 will bring you to Natural Bridges National Monument.

IMO, it would be sad to not stop and see these things if you are in the area.....sight seeing!

 

[BarryG]

Kthaxton gives some good advice. The Cedar Mesa area has so many ruins and hikes it is unbelievable. Some if not most are probably beyond what you want to do like Grand Gulch one of the best sites for ruins in the country. There are others like the ones he mentioned that are pretty easy. Might I suggest you pull out a map and make a day or two of it out of Bluff. Head to Blanding as suggested take 95 to the sites he suggested and at Natural Bridges once done head back east to 261 and head south across Cedar Mesa (if you want hiking there is a ton here) but even if you don't the road is pretty and higher in elevation and will be a bit cooler. Towards the end of 261 take the turn off to Muley Point it is a few miles to the end of the Mesa to some fantastic views. Then go down the Moki Dugway (261 is good paved road except for the Moki Dugway no trailers allowed sharp turns and steep but no problem any car can make it). At the base of the Moki Dugway you have a choice to go through the Valley of the Gods and hit 163 or continue down 261 take the turn off to Goosenecks of the San Juan State Park (one of the finest examples of an entrenched meander anywhere in the world and make sure and look to the east to see again the epitome of stratification of geologic layers and how they warp etc. Then on to 163 at which point you could blast south to Monument Valley thinking it is 20-25 miles down the road. Then head north on 163 back to Bluff or then take the Valley of the Gods Road. You could do it in reverse as well. Also to the east of Bluff is Hovenweep National Monument which is a bit different than your typical ruins just in the way they were built as well as where they were built. Nice walking trail around the ruins. The Town of Bluff is a tiny little place but you could spend weeks in the area and not see all there is too see but you could see the major items in a couple days. Unsure of your route from Bluff but if heading south on 163 you could forgo Monument Valley as you will be passing right by it and no issue getting in there at least to the view point with a trailer (Monument Valley also has decent restaurant with good views of the valley nice spot for lunch if inclined. The drive through the valley easily doable in your truck but no trailer. They do have tours called affectionately "shake and bakes" Also please make sure and have water with you and wear a darn hat out there. It can be quite hot and the elevation is higher than you think and the humidity probably wont be over 10-15% this time of year. Gouldings Trading Post just to west of Monument Valley is worth a stop if you have the time nice trading post though it has changed to your more typical tourist type compared to 30 years ago when even then it was still the real deal to a large degree. They have a nice little museum as well.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Lots of great info thanks! Unfortunately not much hiking, the wife's asthma is bothering her.

Tomorrow we are heading to Torrey, UT to see Capitol Reef. Then to Bryce Canyon.

 

[Cummins12V98]

This was a surprise for me! I was there with my parents about 50 years ago. Brought lots of memories. It's on 191 South of Moab.

The history of this is really amazing.

 

[BarryG]

If headed to Torrey assume you are heading across 95 to 24 at Hanksville. There is a burger place just as you enter in to Hanksville they have pretty good burgers. There is also a gas station in Hanksville similar to the Hole in the Rock outside of Moab. Hanksville is quite the thriving metropolis and fully up to date ...NOT. Also tell your wife you just have to stop and do a quick hike it is right along the way you don't even have to turn off the highway. The two of you will be through it in no time and back on the road http://www.climb-utah.com/CM/blackhole.htm. Once you cross the Colorado River at Hite a bit farther you will cross the Dirty Devil River bridge. After that is a fairly steep uphill section of road and just short of the top is a turn off to a view point that overlooks Hite and Lake Powell. Worth the 10 minutes to have a look see. Normally when Powell is filled the lake goes well up the Dirty Devil and Colorado river Cataract Canyon. You will see how far away the water is from the boat ramp at Hite. Capitol Reef is a great place probably a bit toasty this weekend. If headed to Bryce from there the trip up and over the mountain on 12 is great. Hopefully the sky is clear and clean. 20 years ago you could literally see over 100 miles from a few of the scenic turnouts. You can still see a long way it is just not as clear as it used to be. There is a nice Museum in Boulder I think it might be called Anasazi State Park. Once out of Boulder you will get to the good part of Highway 12. between there and Escalante the road is probably one of the most scenic roads I have ever been on. It is just eyeball busting scenery. Enjoy the scenery

 

[kthaxton]

What's interesting....is that many of us that frequent the area go by Hole In The Rock...and go "meh" and keep going. I stopped there one time a long time ago, I thought it was kind of lame. It seems they have more décor now however.

 

[kthaxton]

Once out of Boulder you will get to the good part of Highway 12. between there and Escalante the road is probably one of the most scenic roads I have ever been on. It is just eyeball busting scenery. Enjoy the scenery

Agreed, I have always told people that is probably the most scenic stretch of paved road in Utah.

 

[Cummins12V98]

What's interesting....is that many of us that frequent the area go by Hole In The Rock...and go "meh" and keep going. I stopped there one time a long time ago, I thought it was kind of lame. It seems they have more décor now however.

For me it was cool to see something from 50 years ago traveling with my parents. They have added a few things since then for sure.

 

[kthaxton]

Yeah, I can understand that the nostalgia thing.......I was just mentioning it as an FYI.

I think the greater the distance you traveled from, the more interesting it is.

My recollection was we walked in, and they had bins of rocks and fossils and basically was the same as any of the tourist gift shops back in Moab.....so then we walked out.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Yeah, I can understand that the nostalgia thing.......I was just mentioning it as an FYI.

I think the greater the distance you traveled from, the more interesting it is.

My recollection was we walked in, and they had bins of rocks and fossils and basically was the same as any of the tourist gift shops back in Moab.....so then we walked out.

So you did not go thru the tour of the home/restaurant that the old guy blasted out of solid rock? It really is impressive what they did.

 

[kthaxton]

Nope, I guess that part wasn't visible (from near the entrance) when we went . Like I said, all we saw was the typical touristy gift stuff......and nobody was around. It was actually kind of strange.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Today was AWESOME !!!!! Went to Monument Valley Navaho Tribal Park we drove around the whole course. Then we hit 261 North and drove 3 miles up a steep gravel road with switchbacks called "Moki Dugway" it looks over the "Valley of the Gods". It was an eye opener for sure! The wife was a bit freaked at first then got used to it.

Tomorrow heading to Torrey, UY to check out Capitol Reef National Park.

 

[Cummins12V98]

The climb was amazing!

 

[jeepit]

Switch backs look interesting!! My wife wouldn't like it.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Has anyone driven Shafer Trail and Moki Dugway? How does Moki compare to Shafer?

 

[Cummins12V98]

Switch backs look interesting!! My wife wouldn't like it.

I have to admit a sharp #2 would not penetrate da Sphincter a few times on the trail.