Ancient Monuments are Full of Wisdom: Utah Day 7

Dear Maia, Isaac, and Virtual Wanderers,

It’s the last full day of our trip and we have no concrete plans because we changed course due to the monsoons. It seems odd to wish for rain, but I do because it is hot at Sand Canyon. Early morning wasn’t too bad, so I enjoyed lingering at the campsite with the dogs. No tent to pack up today. I munched granola until it started getting too hot outside. We headed into Bluff for brunch (after all, I need another meal after eating all that granola). I looked at the trading post that is next door, too. They have some nice stuff. I’m glad for the dog-friendly porch in the shade.

I have wanted to go explore ruins on Comb Ridge forever. But, there are barriers. Time, familiarity, etc. Today, however, I wondered if I could get past the barriers for just a simple hike. I researched possibilities and found some shorter hikes on gjhikes.com – my favorite regional hiking website because it has photos and directions! Cave Towers is the name of the place. My concern was my Honda Fit in a mud parking lot. So, I decided to stop at Edge of the Cedars State Park in Monticello (now we are at 5 Utah State Parks, 2 National Parks, 2 National Monuments, 1 National Recreation Area, and 1 Tribal Park) and ask the ranger. The ranger said there was enough room on the pavement to park a small car at Cave Towers and gave us a detailed map of Bear’s Ears National Monument (so add another National Monument to our list, above).

We mosied around Edge of the Cedars for a bit first. Then, up we drove up Utah 95 through Comb Ridge and found the trailhead. It was just as the ranger said – we hiked from the road to the parking lot, then up the trail. It was muddy in places – obviously, some vehicles drive beyond the parking lot. I had screenshots of the instructions from GJ hikes. It all looked like it should as we got to the little circle path near the ruins. I was still a little anxious about it because it was new to me and my phone was shooting severe storm warnings from Green River. I could see the monsoon clouds in that direction. Where would they go next?

We found one ruin and the trail was fun. If I had read the GJHikes info better, I would have realized we needed to look down the canyon from the ruin we found to see more ruins. I think the monsoon was making me feel hurried. Oh, well. Maybe we will go back. I want to see Butler Wash ruins next time, too.