Moki, Gods and Goosenecks

Hi Blog!

On Tuesday, September 26, 2017, we set out on a driving adventure. There were three attractions we wanted to check out - Moki Dugway, Valley of the Gods and Goosenecks State Park. Here's one of the "gods" from Valley of the Gods, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Our day started with a drive south out of Blanding toward Cedar Mesa. Utah Highway 261 runs north to south across and down the cliff face of the mesa. The Moki Dugway was constructed in the 1950's to provide a way to haul ore from the Happy Jack Mine on Cedar Mesa to the mill in Halchita, near Mexican Hat. The State of Utah recommends that only vehicles less than 28 feet and 10,000 pounds attempt to negotiate the dugway. All the same, we saw two RV's PULLING TRAILERS, and one bicyclist weaving all over the gravel road, try to negotiate the road.  So the road's classification as "dangerous" is due to more than its steep, narrow, winding nature; it also is due to the lamebrains that are on the road.

Here we go!

The Moki Dugway is a staggering, graded dirt switchback road carved into the face of the cliff edge of Cedar Mesa.  It consists of 3 miles of steep, unpaved, but well-graded switchbacks (11% grade), which wind 1,200 feet from Cedar Mesa to the valley floor near Valley of the Gods.

This route provides breathtaking views of some of Utah’s most beautiful sites.  Scenic views of Valley of the Gods and distant Monument Valley open at every turn of the dugway.

The term, "moki" is deried from the Spanish word, moqui, a general term used by explorers in this region to describe Pueblo Indians they encountered as well as the vanished Ancestral Puebloan culture.  "Dugway" is a term used to describe a roadway carved from a hillside.

If you look closely, you can see a little white SUV working its way up the cliff face in the photo below.

Once down the Moki Dugway, we turned northeast into the Valley of the Gods.  Valley of the Gods is a scenic backcountry area in southeastern Utah, near Mexican Hat. It is a hidden gem with scenery similar to that of nearby Monument Valley. Valley of the Gods offers isolated buttes, towering pinnacles and wide open spaces that seem to go on forever.

Monument Valley is located on Navajo Nation land and visitors exploring the area usually travel with a Navajo guide. A permit from the tribe is needed before you can hike into the backcountry.  Valley of the Gods offers similar scenery without the tribal restrictions; it is located on BLM land and is open for hiking, backpacking and camping.  In fact, we saw several sets of boondocking campers who found spectacular sites with views of their favorite sandstone formations.

A 17-mile dirt and gravel road winds through the valley. It was sandy and bumpy, with steep sections. It was fun!

Valley of the Gods has appeared in a couple TV shows. The 1984-1987 CBS show Airwolf used a mesa in Valley of the Gods as the secret hiding place of the super-helicopter Airwolf. And two episodes of the BBC science fiction TV show Doctor Who were filmed here.

After our drive through the Valley of the Gods, we went over to Goosenecks State Park. The Goosenecks of the San Juan River provide a view of a geological phenomenon known as entrenched meander. It looks a lot like a continuous series of horseshoe bends, and it put the famous Colorado River "Horseshoe Bend" to shame.

There is more than one horsheshoe bend in these goosenecks. Throughout millions of years, the San Juan River has cut into the landscape. The rock surrounding it is so strong that the river's direction changes often, causing an appearance of a "gooseneck."

Over a distance of one and a half miles, the San Juan River flows for more than six miles through the twists of the entrenched meander.

The canyon walls reveal the 300-million-year old rocks of the Pennsylvanian period.  Near the Goosenecks State Park is the Honaker Trail which leads from the river to the top of the canyon.  It was along this historic trail that early detailed studies were done on the Pennsylvanian period limestone, and is known as the “type locality” for the Honaker Trail Formation, a rock layer laid down in the Pennsylvanian period. Under the Honaker Trail Formation lies the Paradox Formation. Geologists flock to this site for education because the Gooosenecks provide a very accessible place to study the Paradox Formation.  Geologists are interested in the Paradox Formation layer because rich amounts of oil have been found in this layer of rock in other areas.

We hiked the rim road out to its furthest point. Off in the distance was Monument Valley. We took one look at this rock formation and said - "Live Long and Prosper!"  Giving equal time to other opinions, the campground host at Goosenecks State Park related that many people see this rock as two feet, as if the owner of the feet were lying in bed and you were looking at them from the foot of the bed.

According to our GPS, we were standing next to the Second Narrows, a spot that is much-photographed by the river rafters. Just past the Second Narrows is an intermittent stream that pours over the edge of the cliff, in the right of the photo below:

In this photo, Dave takes a peek over the edge to see if he can see any boats going by. Over his shoulder are the RVers parked next to the rim. Be careful - that's 1,000 feet down!

We hiked back to the picnic area and enjoyed our lunch while watching different groups of school kids work with several park rangers on various projects, like constructing a dinosaur from dinosaur bones, and identifying the different rocks in the area. They were having so much fun, we were tempted to join them.

Our ride back to camp was uneventful. There is so much to see and do in this area of Utah, we just don't know what to do next. So stay tuned!