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With three full days left in southeastern Utah, we have plenty of things we want to see and do. One of them is a fairly short hike of just over 2 miles. The House on Fire trailhead is not too far from the road to Natural Bridges National Monument and we could have easily worked the hike into our plans the day we drove past the turnoff for the trail. However, we had read that visiting this site needs to be done at a very specific time of day for the lighting to be just right. Normally the best lighting for pictures is either just after sunrise or just before sunset - the golden hour. We were told that this place is best viewed 10 to 11 AM. We head out and drive the 40 miles to the trailhead. There is a parking area with vault toilets right off Utah Route 95 but there are a couple of parking spots along the road right at the trailhead if they are available. We head down the dirt road and find no other cars parked so we are able to save the quarter mile in each direction.
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| House on Fire Parking Area |
Other than the short steep descent from the roadway to the trail, the hike is a relatively flat one along a creek bed. We find that the trail itself meanders from one side of the creek to the other and having been fairly dry recently, it is actually easier to hike along the dried up creek for much of the walk. There were a few wet or muddy sections but they were easily bypassed.
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| Start of Trail to House on Fire |
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| Muddy Section of Creek |
It’s a pretty area and we make it to our destination just before 9 AM. The “house” that will be on fire is actually some old cliff dwelling structures made from rock stacked beneath huge overhanging rock.
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| Flowers Along the Way |
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| Old Cliff Dwelling |
We checked out the “house” which was currently in the shadow of the overhang. We paid attention to the shadows to determine when the so called fire might show itself to us. We had never gotten a clear answer on whether the timeframe we had was provided in standard or daylight saving time so we sat and watched to see if the lighting effect was improving. At one point we heard another couple hiking in so we were optimistic that we were approaching the correct time. It turned out they were just here to see the building and weren’t looking to stay for the house to catch fire so they left after 10 minutes.
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| Looking Further up Creek |
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| Lizard |
We waited patiently for another hour and heard more people coming. Maybe this group knew when to show up and we had simply arrived too early. It ended up being 4 members of the firefighting crew working a wildfire a little north of us. It was quite interesting to talk about their jobs. They were part of a logistics team and were just about done with their responsibilities as this fire was pretty much fully contained. After they left, we surveyed the situation and decided that the “fire” effect wasn’t going to get much better so we started to walk back to the car. I will say that the sandstone ledge above the house does look a bit like fire bellowing out of the house. At least it was a quick walk back to the car.
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| House on Fire |
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| Another Muddy Section |
It was early afternoon and we were hoping to find a shady spot to have lunch. We knew Mule Canyon Interpretive Site was half mile away and we hoped there might be picnic spots there. The only place in the shade was right next to the kiva that is part of this site. We finished our lunch and checked out some of the other ruins.
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| Kiva |
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| Ruins |
As we head back along Route 95, we stop to check out a rather amazing portion of the road that curves through an opening that was blasted through a large ridge that runs north/south in this part of the state. Known as Comb Ridge, we have traveled through the opening several times now and find it quite fascinating. Unfortunately there is no parking near the actual cut created in the ridge but to some extent, the view from a few miles away is just as impressive.
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| Utah Route 95 Through Comb Ridge |
There were dark clouds to the north but the radar showed it fairly far away so we stop to check out Butler Wash. It’s a 1 mile out and back hike on BLM land on Comb Ridge. The trail leads over some smooth sandstone but there are stones placed all along where the trail leads. There is a surprising amount of vegetation growing along the wash and it’s mostly green so the area does get some rainfall occasionally.
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| Trailhead at Butler Wash |
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| Follow the Stone Lined Path |
It’s definitely not a flat walk but given the short distance, it isn’t too strenuous. The end of the trail brings visitors to an overlook to some cliff dwellings on the far side. According to the sign, this site was occupied roughly 700 years ago. It would be nice to get a closer view, but it doesn’t appear to have a safe route there. When we started to hear distant thunder, we decided to head back to the car. Being on the downhill side of a wash didn’t sound like a good idea with a storm higher up the ridge.
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| Cliff Dwellings |
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| Ruins Tucked into Cliff |
One of the “must see” sights in this part of the country is Monument Valley. Straddling the Utah/Arizona state line, this place is easily recognizable even if you don’t know its name. It’s about an hour drive from camp to the Tribal Park Visitor Center. There have been countless movies filmed here over the years. Many of them westerns although it may be most remembered from a scene in the movie Forrest Gump. In fact on the drive into Monument Valley, there are multiple large pullouts at a spot known as “Forrest Gump Point”. We had come through very early to arrive in time for an 8 AM tour so it wasn’t very busy.
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| View of Monument Valley from Forrest Gump Point |
The land is owned and operated by the Navajo Nation. There is an entrance fee ($10 per person) to drive into the tribal park where there is a visitor center, large hotel, restaurants and other shops. Options for touring the grounds include hiking some of the trails, a 17 mile scenic drive for an additional $15 per vehicle or hiring a local guide to drive you around. You can even go on a horseback tour if that’s your thing. We had picked one of the 2.5 hour tours with a local guide leaving at 8 AM. We arrived plenty early and checked out some of the buildings while we waited for our tour bus to arrive.
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| Early Morning View in Monument Valley |
It’s definitely a beautiful area with all the buttes and mesas and other rock formations scattered around the area. We waited at the lobby as our instructions told us but we weren’t sure how large of a group we were expecting. We had seen other open air tour buses or trucks so we were expecting one of them to show up and other people would be on the same tour. So we were surprised when our guide showed up in a GMC Yukon SUV and introduced himself. We were the only two on his tour this morning. We hop in the back seat and off we go.
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| Our Tour Vehicle |
The drive starts along the same road that makes up the scenic drive. Our tour guide shares much of the cultural significance of the various rock features. It was interesting to hear some of the stories passed down from previous generations. We stop at a couple of spots to get out and see things from a standstill instead of from the rear seat of an SUV on a somewhat bumpy road. He also periodically asks for my phone and takes pictures of us at some of his favorite locations for photos.
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| From the Valley Floor |
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| Panorama Picture of Us |
One of the side roads heads up to a location called John Ford Point. Named after the film director that shot so many films in the area. We had recently watched several John Wayne movies directed by Ford in preparation for our visit here today. There are a couple of small shops selling drinks and Navajo fry bread. We opted to take simple landscape photos instead of hiring a cowboy on a horse to ride out to the point.
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| Shop at John Ford Point |
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| Photos for a Price |
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| The "Point" |
As we proceeded back to the main scenic route there was a small group tour being led on horseback. About five miles into the drive, we turn down a lesser dirt road that has a sign stating only official Navajo guides are permitted beyond this point. We discovered that the other “roads” in the valley can be even bumpier and there are spots where the sand is quite loose and deep. We are hoping that we don’t need to help push the SUV out if we get stuck. We pass by an area with several buildings. There are numerous families that actually live in the valley. The mud huts are used for ceremonial purposes or as a sweat house. The few dogs laying on the ground didn’t seem to mind us driving past their house.
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| Tour on Horseback |
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| Adobe Huts |
We drive a mile past the home to the backside of a nearby butte to something called Moccasin Arch. There is a bit of an opening that extends into the side of the butte with a large hole in the “ceiling” above. Immediately to the right is an even deeper opening with a smaller hole above. Our guide stops and grabs a large pack from the truck and has us follow him in to the backside of the opening. With the large overhang, it feels like an amphitheater. He tells us where to sit next to him and he pulls out what looks like small homemade drum. He begins to play the drum and sing a native song. While we are seated there, another tour guide shows up with a couple of visitors and they listen in. As our guide finished, the other guide started to play a flute. The acoustics of the rock opening produced a great environment for both of them and it was a magical moment for us.
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| Moccasin Arch |
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| Our Musical Spot |
We next drive half a mile to another side of the same butte to see some petroglyphs and another hole in the rock ceiling above us. He asks for my phone again and shoots a panorama shot of us with the arch in the background. It reminds us of when we had visited Antelope Canyon near Page Arizona on a tour with a local guide and having him explain how to get all the various photos. These guides have a lot of experience with taking photos at interesting spots.
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| Petroglyphs |
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| Another Panorama Pose of Us |
Just to the south of the petroglyphs on a different butte is another arch - Ear of the Wind. There was another tour group here when we arrived and our guide gave us instructions while we were in the truck. We were to head up to where the other group is, look for the X carved into the stone on the ground and shoot our picture of the arch. We follow his instructions and find that the dead tree frames the large opening beneath the arch.
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| Dead Tree Frames Arch |
We were already at the 2.5 hour point on our tour, but we had one more place he wanted to show us before heading out. We stop to check out the delicate looking spire in the distance. This is known as the Totem Pole and the rock formation to its right is Yei Bi Chei. He explains that in Navajo tradition, these rocks are a line of spiritual dancers emerging from a wooden home or hogan.
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| Totem Pole |
We still have a several mile drive to get back to the parking lot by the visitor center. Doing a guided tour at Monument Valley was quite rewarding. While we didn’t see all of the sights along the full scenic drive, the spots we got to see and the stories we got to hear were very special. We did the drive out at a much faster pace so there was no more additional stops along the way. We debated about buying a pass to drive the full scenic loop on our own since we knew the Jeep was more than capable enough to handle the terrain, but we decide to see if we could get a hike in before it got too hot since it was late morning.
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| View of Monument Valley After Our Tour |
Back at the car, we switch into hiking gear and walk south past the hotel and into the campground area. Our goal was to find the Lee Cly and Mesa Loop Trail. This 2.7 mile loop has just about 400 feet of elevation gain. We are hoping it’s easy enough to do with the temperature in the upper 80’s already. We found the well marked trailhead but when the trail split in a quarter mile, we misread the signs and headed on a trail that started to go up the Mesa Rim. We likely only went a tenth of a mile before realizing our mistake and headed back down the steep rocky trail and found the proper path. At least we got an excellent view of the hotel and other buildings from our vantage point.
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| "The View Hotel" |
The trail follows along the base of Mitchell Mesa for about a mile. It doesn’t seem like the trail gets a lot of use but was easy enough to follow. There were even some sign identifying the names of some of the nearby rock formations actions. The only tricky spots are where there is a major wash coming off the mesa and needing to find the continuation of the trail on the opposite side. Things are bone dry, so there was no water in the washes. At the point where the trail loops around there was even a bench and covered shelter.
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| Mitchell Mesa, Mitchell Butte, Grey Whiskers Butte |
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| Near End of Loop |
We head up the trail called Miners Loop which heads towards Mitchell Mesa. It became a bit of a rock scramble and we figured that going much further was only asking for trouble. We proceed back to the small shelter and then picked up the other half of the loop heading back. The washes seemed to be a bit larger down here but we got across them without too much trouble. We found a couple of old vehicles sitting along the trail. I’d love to hear the story about how they came to be here. We make it back to the car with a 3.4 mile hike and just over 600 feet of elevation.
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| 1950 Buick |
It was early afternoon and we hadn’t had lunch. The plan was to find a picnic table in the shade to eat the food we had along. Unfortunately, they were all taken by other groups so we sit in the car with the AC running attempting to stay cool. There really wasn’t more we felt the need to see within the tribal grounds so we head to the Tribal Visitor Center just outside the fee area. There were lots of displays and their AC was functioning so we slowly walked around and read about the history of the Navajo people and this part of the country.
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| Mural at Tribal Visitor Center |
About 2 miles to the west is a place called Gouldings. There is a lodge, villas, fuel station, grocery store and probably more amenities. Many people coming to visit Monument Valley will use this place as their home base. We are here to visit the small museum that is located in the Goulding’s former house. Harry and his wife Leone, affectionately nicknamed Mike, moved to the valley back in the 1920’s where the built and operated a trading post.
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| Plaque Honoring the Gouldings |
During the Great Depression, Harry went to Hollywood to pitch the idea of using the valley as a filming location for movies. He connected with John Ford and in 1939, the movie Stagecoach with John Wayne was filmed here. Most rooms of the house have been converted to displays of memorabilia. We particularly liked the room with movie posters as well as lots of pictures of famous actors that filmed here. After finishing up the museum, we walk across the parking lot to the gift shop to see if there was anything we needed. We found some neat stuff but nothing we couldn’t live without.
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| Inside Goulding Museum |
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| Movie Memorabilia |
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| Living Room |
It was close to 3 PM and it had reached nearly triple digits so we knew we weren’t going to last for much more sightseeing so we head back north to camp. When we approached Forrest Gump Point, we saw that the place was teaming with people. There were easily 20 vehicles pulled over and more than a dozen people standing in the middle of the road. We pull over to take in the spectacle.
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| Standing in Road for Picture Seems to Be Required Here |
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| Afternoon View of Monument Valley |
As we continue to Bluff, we stop just north of the small town of Mexican Hat Utah to look for a geocache. The cache is located at a spot that gives a nice view of the rocks formation the town is named for. We found the cache, took in the views and finished the drive to our rig. What an eventful but long day.
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| Mexican Hat |
For our last full day in Bluff, we have a scenic drive we have been wanting to try but wanted to make sure the area was dry enough to safely travel the 17 miles of dirt road. We had spoken with the campground owner about exploring this area known as Valley of the Gods and had been warned to not attempt it if it had recently rained. There had been some rain earlier in our stay but we hoped it has dried up enough to not get stuck. We had printed out a map of the drive that highlighted of the rock formations along the way that have been named. The scenic drive has two entrances/exits and can be driven in either direction. The closer entrance to camp is about a 15 mile drive and has a substantial wash within the first several hundred feet. We had been told that if we can safely cross this wash the rest of the road will likely be passable so it makes more sense to begin at this eastern entrance. We make the turn and head down into the wash seeing it was wet but didn’t appear to be more than an inch deep so we drove across.
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| Entering Valley of the Gods |
The first part of the road was fine and most of it is wide enough for any oncoming traffic to safely pass. A mile into the drive, we stop to see if we could find a geocache. There are about a half dozen caches along the drive but some of them are fairly far from the road requiring a significant hike. This first cache was over a half mile from the road but it was one of the older caches hidden in Utah placed way back in May 2001 - roughly a year after geocaching was born. We had studied the map and terrain to determine the best approach and saw some sort of pullout that might work.
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| Our Path to Seven Sailors |
The name of the geocache is Seven Sailors after the name of the rock formation it is hidden below. The turnout we picked appears to continue even closer, but some rocks blocking the way make us think we should just park the car and hike the rest of the way in. It was mid morning and already in the middle 80’s, so we got our water bottles, dorky sun hats and hiking sticks to proceed in. We approached a rather large wash about an eighth of a mile in and had it been full, it would have stopped our hike. Fortunately it was bone dry and the only issue was finding a way to get down the 3 to 4 foot tall bank along the near side.
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| Tree Along Wash |
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| Substantial Wash |
The next stretch was uphill. Not too steep but since there isn’t a trail and there is a lot of fallen rock from the cliff, we take some time to pick a reasonable route to ground zero. Once we got within 100 feet, we start the search and make the find after 5 minutes. The view from here is not too bad and we just make out the Jeep sitting a half mile away. We retrace our path back to the wash and then the car - mission completed.
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| Below Seven Sailors |
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| View Back Towards Our Jeep |
Continuing along the scenic drive, we get to the next named formation - Setting Hen Butte. We stop to take a look and decide we could “see” the chicken roosting on the top of the butte. From here we circle around to Rooster Butte. There was another cache hidden near it so we parked and walked down to find it. The rooster was much less obvious but the view from ground zero to the northwest was pretty good with all the buttes in the distance.
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| Setting Hen Butte |
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| View from Below Rooster Butte |
There were lots of unique rock formations but as we continued on, it became more difficult to be sure what each one was named since there are a lot more than are listed on our map.
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| Is This Battleship Rock? |
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| Or Is This Battleship Rock? |
We only saw a few other cars during our drive. But at one point we came around a curve and slight hill to find a full sized pickup truck attempting to turn around in the road. The vehicle was definitely wider than the road at the point they were trying the maneuver so it required a significant number of small turns. At each turn it looked like they may get either their front or rear end stuck in the loose soil on the sides of the road and then we would be forced to help pull them out. Fortunately, after a couple minutes, they managed to get turned around and drive past us. It was unclear why they had picked such a tight spot to turn around but then as we continued down the hill we saw why. There was another wash to cross, it was perfectly dry but the drop off was fairly significant. Enough so that I got out of the Jeep to survey the situation. I figured if I aired up the suspension a bit, we would have no problem. I suspect that the pickup truck realized that with the length of their vehicle, they might get hung up as they went across.
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| Wash to Cross |
The road rises out of the wash over 300 feet in 1.5 miles before it starts down the other side from Castle Butte. We pulled off the road and headed to another geocache hidden below the butte. It was a bit after noon and a pretty spot so we took advantage of the location and had the lunch we brought along.
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| Looks Like Jeep Commercial Location |
The drive to this point has been generally uphill for those 7.5 miles and it’s clear that at least the portion of the road beyond there that we can see is downhill. There seems to be fewer interesting rock formations as well. The only named one - Lady in the Bathtub - seemed like a plausible choice. Besides being less scenic in the second half, the road has a lot of smaller washes to traverse and small hills that makes visibility of possible oncoming traffic impossible. So we keep an eye for traffic when we reach a high point and hope that we don’t come across other cars.
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| Lady in Bathtub |
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| Overlooking Second Half of Scenic Drive |
At about a half mile from the end of the scenic road, we discovered something unexpected. There is a home just off the dirt road with a sign out front for the Valley of the Gods Bed and Breakfast. It seemed like an unlikely spot for a home, much less a B&B! The scenic drive ends at Highway 261. I saw a sign pointing to something called the Moki Dugway about 1 mile to the north. I’ve heard of this before and thought we should check it out since we are so close. Unfortunately, Chris has also heard about it and was unwilling to come along on the 3 mile road that climbs 1200 feet up the side of a mesa. I think it reminded her too much of the Shafer Trail we drove back in Canyonlands National Park several years ago. I offered to let her wait down here and I would pick her up on my way back but that offer was rejected.
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| Moki Dugway Starts Here |
We turn back and drive past the road into Goosenecks State Park stopping at US Route 163. A couple miles to the east is a very unusual rock formation named the Raplee Ridge or Raplee Anticline. The ridge has colorful rock layering that has folds in it producing a wavelike appearance. We had hoped to get back here near sunset since it supposedly is even prettier.
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| Raplee Ridge |
We head back to camp and start preparing for the next days drive. We had a wonderful but hot time in Bluff. This would be a neat place to come back to get in more hiking but it would need to be in the spring or fall. Mid July is a poor time simply from the temperature at least while we were here. Our next reservation is near Bryce Canyon National Park at an elevation about 3500 feet higher than Bluff so we hope to have cooler weather Unfortunately we have two nights and over 300 miles to account for first. Our route is right by Page Arizona so the plan is to drive the 170 miles to the Elks Lodge in town and spend 2 nights. It will be likely to be just as hot there but we figure we should be able to get one of the sites with electricity for our stay. We’ve camped there before but that was back in May of 2017.
The majority of our drive was along a portion of the route we traveled on our tandem cross country back in 1991. None of the route looked familiar but I suppose a lot has changed in the past 35 years. We pulled into the Elks lodge and there were no other RVs in the lot. We hooked up and headed into the bar to register and pay when the bar had opened. They were having a special on certain beers on tap that afternoon. Dollar beers prompt us to have a couple of them. Then we headed into downtown Page for a nice Mexican dinner.
Since we had a full day in town, we wanted to get in at least a short hike early in the morning. We were here for 6 nights during our last visit so we have done some of the more popular hikes in the area. We picked one we haven’t tried before named the New Wave Trail. It’s just across the Colorado River below the Glen Canyon Dam. It should be a rather simple hike of just 1.3 miles and barely 150 feet of elevation. We arrive at 9 AM to a parking lot with just one other car. A couple of guys were just completing their hike and heading out so we should have the place to ourselves.
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| Beginning of New Wave Trail |
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| Rocks Line the Path |
The hike is along sandstone so the intended path is generally marked with small rocks to define the path. As we get a bit higher, we can see some of Lake Powell to the north. It’s clear why the trail gets its name. The sandstone has some color variations that makes it similar to the more famous hike - The Wave - about 30 miles west of here. Of course that hike is so famous that you need to win a hiking time in a lottery to even do the hike. We were able to do this hike without any issues.
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| Lake Powell Barely Visible |
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| Wave-like Rocks Patterns |
Near one flat section of the hike was a small pond of water. While I was getting a photo of it, a small bird stopped by for a drink and a quick bath. It looks like there are some interesting rock formations nearby that could be explored but it was starts to get hot so we wanted to limit our time out here.
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| Large Puddle |
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| Bird Gets Drink |
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| More to Explore |
The trail comes around the side and the back of a large rock before coming down a section steep enough that there was a switchback marked with rocks. As we came around the rock, we saw several cars in the parking lot and a small group of people heading up. With some of the detours along the way, our hike was about 2 miles and since it was approaching 90 degrees, we head out to get some prep work done before heading back into Utah tomorrow for Bryce Canyon.
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| Other Side of Rock |
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| More Stone Lined Trail |
