Hol(e)y Rocks, Phoney Rocks & Booking Shocks
... and More Red Rocks
Off to Mesa Verde today, another Puebloan Indian settlement, possibly the most famous, maybe the original, but certainly one of the most spectacular. I drive straight past the visitor centre (there is rarely anything of value there unless you are registering to hike the back country and there is a museum further in which I figure will be time better spent) and start the 20 mile dive through the park to the settlements.
The drive is a long and winding road with spectacular views and the Mesa lives up to its name.
Some vistas further along are vaguely reminiscent of the Great Smoky Mountains.
The museum turns out to be something of a bust. Every museum where there were displays of Indian artefacts are going through a period of readjustment and negotiation with the tribes about what can be displayed. The upshot being that this is not the first museum I have visited on this trip with most of the exhibits removed.
No matter, that is not really what I have come to see. On to the mesa loop drive and some viewpoints…
The main event of course is the Cliff Palace. I get some good shots of this but I am getting no closer. You are allowed to walk around it but you have to book a tour (another strike against my organisational prep). I ask the ranger about it. A couple nearby helpfully chip in that they had to book weeks in advance. The ranger suggests that I can ask about any cancellations / returns, but that would involve a 40 mile round trip (at least if a ticket was available) back to the visitor centre. I begin to regret my earlier blasé attitude towards calling in there…
No matter. I decide that the overview will be fine. I am not too disappointed as I managed to spend time wandering around Pueblo Bonito in Chaco. This may be bigger and is impressively carved out of a cliff, but I’ll make do. One woman waiting for the tour was clearly quite nervous about heights. I briefly toyed with the idea of seeing if I could make her crack to free up a place before deciding that the thought was unworthy of me.
So here is the view. Enjoy, you are as close as I was.
I carry on around the mesa loop road, taking in some of the other settlements along the cliff - there was a population of thousands here at its peak, before it was abandoned in the mid-1200s. The same as all of the other settlements. Whatever the vague suggestions of historians, this says “plan” to me.
I get to another viewpoint for Balcony House. The crowds have dutifully pulled over and walked to the viewpoint, only to be greeted by a sign saying that it is the cliff below the viewpoint and we can’t see it.
I call shenanigans on Mesa Verde and decide to just head towards Moab and see what fun I can find along the way. I could walk some trails, but the heat and altitude suggest that would be foolish.
As I pass back through Cortez on my way north, I spot a weed dispensary called Doobie Sisters. Good name. My mood instantly starts to improve.
I drift into Utah (customary greeting from the car - this freaked me out a bit last year but is clearly a standard feature) and I see that the state slogan is “Life Elevated”. I’m not sure whether this refers to altitude or to the Mormon population being of a higher spiritual level. I guess we’ll see.
I stop for a brief photo op and leg stretch at Wilson Arch (at this point I do not realise that I will have very much had my fill of arches by the end of tomorrow).
… and then hit the road again.
Just before I get to Moab I spot what looks like a worthwhile roadside attraction. So it turns out to be. I make some rapid lane changes and swing into the parking lot of Hole N” The Rock. I know, I know, there is something very weird going on with that punctuation and I nearly slip into grammar rage, but I am too pleased to have stumbled upon a nice bit of eccentric roadside Americana. You need these things to have an occasional break from the full on natural beauty.
Now this is a 5000 square foot house carved out of a rock, home to Albert and Gladys Christensen. It was originally a diner and there is a bell in the kitchen that Albert used to ring if the diner was quiet and he wanted to do some blasting to extend the house. I opt for the house tour (no photos allowed unfortunately) but it is a weird place (who could have guessed). Not just the living spaces, but it is full of equipment related to Albert and Gladys’ hobbies.
Albert was a keen artist and amateur taxidermist. His first attempt is there - the donkey that used to hall of the rock out for him - and it does not do the poor beast any favours. Gladys was a keen lapidary and her rock grinding and polishing equipment is there. Apparently after Albert died she closed the diner and and opened a rock shop. The guide showed us soe examples of her wares. It turns out that she found collecting rocks from the desert a bit tiring and discovered that she could grind and polish bits of coke and beer bottles and sell them as desert glass. Fair play, have to keep funding that dynamite for home extension.
So spirits much raised I head into Moab for some evening repast and a few very welcome beers.
The next morning and the weather forecast predicts yet another 100F day. Just what is needed for day out in the rocks and dust! Today I am off to Arches National Park. As luck would have it, and considering my issues at Mesa Verde, I had checked the Arches NP web site and it turns out they are trialling a timed entry system this year and you can’t get in without a ticket for an allocated slot. It looks like a may have to check ahead for other places on my itinerary…
Anyway, Arches is full of spectacular rock formations but, after about 3 or 4 hours hopping in and out of the car and walking some trails, the heat has had its way with me and I am all arched out.
I see a couple taking many photographs with sponsored goods - clearly more Influencers. I wonder, not for the first time, if there are any companies for whom a curmudgeonly old boy is on brand. Just saying, I am open to being paid to sit in exotic locations, sipping IPA or modelling comfortable shoes or elasticated waist pants.
For my final stop of the day, I’m off to see some more Petroglyphs. I don’t take much persuading to visit these, but the Intestine Man Petroglyphs sound particularly intriguing. You can see it though.
I say that was the last stop, but I pass the Moab Giants on the way back. This is a dinosaur park that I don’t feel the need to pay to go in, but don’t mind a few cheeky photos from above.
On my way walking the mile or two into town from the hotel for some food that evening, a bus pulls over and asks if I want a lift. Apparently Moab are trialling a free bus service and the driver says that she always stops if she sees someone walking, but that a surprising number of people just look at her as though she is a serial killer (that middle aged woman driving around in a bus is a classic serial killer MO) and refuse to get in. It’s over 100 degrees, I’m straight on! Damn civilised service.
Well, that is more or less it for the southwest. I’ll be heading north tomorrow. Much as the scenery here is stunning, I think I may have had just about enough of red rocks, heat and dust. A change of scenery will be very welcome!