#10 in the series.
We’ve been exploring the backcountry. With 1.3 million acres, we will only see a fraction of the Bears Ears. It has been rainy, cold and quite windy. So we spent some time exploring close to Hwy 95.
The overlook for Butler Wash Ruins did not disappoint. These little oases are amazing. Sometimes water below or farmable tracts above. But always sheltered from the weather.
House on Fire Ruin is quite popular and only a mile from the road. It’s an easy walk down the wash.
It gets its name from the striations in the rock ceiling above. When the light is good, the whole ruin looks like it’s on fire.
Sadly, this goldfish didn’t survive the dry season in the wash.
I was curious as to the species and just how in the world it got this far upstream!
One of the many mysteries of Bears Ears.
We ventured out on Arch Canyon road for a few miles until we came to a simple barbed-wire gate. The sign was completely bleached white. In the West, with all the BLM land and open range, it’s fine to go through and continue on. Not something we’d do back home.
But we decided to get back on the pavement, there are several things to see on Hwy 95.
Mule Canyon kiva was impressive. Situated at the high point, it had a commanding view. There were several structures and a couple of tunnels too.
A short hike to Cave Towers ruins finished up the afternoon. Beneath the tower remnants there is a huge cave-like alcove. One of the pour-overs spills into a swimming-pool sized pothole with maybe a 15-20 ft ledge above. I can just imagine some serious fun 1,000 years ago.
And I’m realizing that we focus on the seemingly fortified ruins up in the alcoves. In reality, maybe, there were structures and villages all over. The weather, the shifting sand, the flash floods, the cattle, the euroamerican immigrants have all erased or buried a lot of that. But the protected things hidden in the cliffs has fared much better. This land was not as empty as our history books would like us to believe.
The next day was beautiful and the wind was dying down. We chose to hike in Road Canyon, just off of Cigarette Springs road. The goal was to hike a few miles down the canyon, observe some ruins and return. But a little over half-way along, the brush got close, the sun got hot, and the water got low. Time to call it. No worries. We found a sweet tent-only spot on a point overlooking the canyon. And after I piled about 200 pounds of rocks to hold the tent down, the wind calmed magnificently.
The evening finished with a fine fire, a bottle of Telluride Red, and a silence you don’t experience very often. And the stars were outrageous.
I love finding Scorpius. The two claws radiate from the red giant star Antares. The tail hooks just above the horizon and is hard to see most of the time. Antares is 700 times larger than our Sun! If placed there its surface would reach past Mars and almost to Jupiter.
The “teapot” is part of the constellation Sagittarius. I have always thought it cool that its spout is steaming Milky Way stars up into the heavens.
Use the slider to find them and Hercules!
When the phone dies, you’ve lost your compass, and you have burned your map starting a fire to survive, maybe you’ll have a clear night! The Big Dipper is part of Ursa Major (The Bear) and is easy to recognize. And if you draw a line along the two stars in the dipper bowl you can find the North Star, Polaris. But what if it’s winter time? On the other side is Cassiopeia. She contains a set of stars shaped like a “W.” Just trace a line from the open side of the W to find Polaris in the same manner. Again, use the sliders to see!
The more you know, the less you need. – Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia
Tomorrow we are back at work! After loading up the gear, Apple Maps did an interesting thing…
…it decided we have a new home! Fascinating…
Leave a Reply