Bluff, Utah

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We left New Mexico on Tuesday and drove into Utah.  We're staying at an RV park in Bluff and there we met up with our friends Dale and Karen.  Tuesday afternoon we took a short ride north to Sand Island which is a park on the San Juan River known for it's petroglyph panels caved into the cliff sides.  It was a short hike up the path to the 100 yard art panel with carvings that are 300 to 3,000 years old, including Pueblo, Ute and Navajo styles.






After Sand Island we stopped at a cool place just outside of the RV park called Bluff Fort.  It’s a replica of an 1880's Mormon pioneer settlement.





Yesterday we drove down to the Monument Valley region to pick up our Navajo friend Nathan.  
He has grown up all of his life there and was able to take us on an amazing hike up to a rock formation called the tear drop.



We then hiked up to some of the many caves carved by the wind and water sculpting into the rock.


One of the cliff caves had an ancient structure still standing. 



Nathan also told us a lot about the history of the Navajo people and their surrounding landscape.


It was a great day with our friends, a fun and sometimes challenging hike, and the chance to experience some of the most beautiful landscape in this country.





That brings us to our adventures today.  We started off the morning with a drive to Hovenweep National Monument in Blanding UT.  It's largely known for the six groups of Ancestral Puebloan villages and its kiva, there is evidence of occupation by hunter-gatherers from 8,000 to 6,000 B.C. until about AD 200. 


We hiked around the site and actually climbed down the canyon and up the other side! It was a challenging hike but so worth it.  






Finally, our last stop today was at Edge of the Cedar State Park also in Blanding.  Here are a few shots of the site and the inside of a Kiva located there.






It's been a very exciting few days and we're off tomorrow to a new location.  Can't wait to see what's next!


















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