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ASK A LOCAL

“It is very difficult for me to designate a favorite archaeological site. If I had to pick it would be the next place I find that I’ve never seen before. After 15 years of trekking in Grand Gulch, for example, I still find new sites.”

Larry Sanford, llama trekking guide, Bluff

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After a star-filled night at the Natural Bridges Campground, pack your gear, fill your water jugs and get going. The overgrown (and not terribly evocative) roadside Mule Canyon Ruins are 27 miles along. Pottery here links the population (c AD 1000 to 1150) to the Mesa Verde group in southern Colorado. A few miles further are the even more intriguing Butler Wash Ruins, associated with the Kayenta group (c 1300 AD) of northern Arizona. Scramble a half-mile over slickrock boulders, following the cairns, and be rewarded with an overlook of a cliff dwelling with sacred kivas, habitation and storage rooms.

To learn more about the area’s ancients, your next stop should be Edge of the Cedars State Park (really a museum) in Blanding. The trove of archaeological evidence here has been gathered from across southeastern Utah. Outside, climb down the rickety ladder into a dark, earthy-smelling ceremonial kiva c AD 1100. Can you feel a power to the place? The encroaching subdivision makes you wonder what other amazing sites remain hidden under neighboring houses.

Unlike the state park, Hovenweep National Monument exists in splendid isolation. Most of the eight towers and unit houses you’ll see in the Square Towers Group were built from AD 1230 to 1275. Imagine stacking clay-formed blocks to create such tall structures on little ledges. The masonry skills are impressive indeed, but what caused the need for defensible settlements? You could easily spend a half day hiking around the gorge’s ruins, thinking about how much we don’t know about the people who lived here.

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GO WITH A GUIDE

Sadly enough, many invaluable area archaeological sites have been vandalized by pot-hunters. The old maxim “take only pictures” bears repeating. Do not move or remove any artifacts; it’s against the law. The best way to explore afield is with well-informed, responsible guide outfits like Far Out Expeditions (www.faroutexpeditions.com) and Buckhorn Llama Company (www.llamapack.com).

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You can afford to take your time on the route; your base camp for the night is just 40 miles west and south in the tiny-tot town of Bluff, which has fewer people than places to stay. The best is Recapture Lodge, an old-fashioned, multistory wooden motel where long-time resident owners and staffers know and care deeply about the region.

Then again, if you really want to rough it, you can. Three miles east of “town,” scrubby vegetation and the trickling San Juan River help cool things off at Sand Island Campground & Petroglyphs. You oughta stop here to see the freely accessible alien and equine-esque figures carved high into the rock wall (from 900 to 2500 years ago) anyway.

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DETOUR

Think of the gravel road through Valley of the Gods (aka “mini Monument Valley”) as a do-it-yourself roller coaster, with sharp, steep hillocks and quick turns around the sandstone monoliths. Allow an hour-plus for the 17 miles between Hwys 163 and 261. And be careful; this author’s little Volkswagen made it – barely. You’ll need a 4WD if it’s rained.

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Wherever you stay, make sure to eat at Cow Canyon, a rambling house-restaurant where local ingredients star on a daily-changing world-food menu. And in the morning try Native American fry bread (saucer-shaped fried dough) in a bacon-and-egg sandwich at Twin Rocks Trading Post. The attached shop and gallery vends crafts by Navajo and Ute artisans.

Another desolate 47 miles through undulating rockland and you are back where you started. But, we’re warning you, after your time in the stark splendor of these ancient sites, you may just hate to get back to civilization.

Lisa Dunford

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