The area around Blanding is rich in archaeological sites This site, just south of town, is the Five Kiva Pueblo site Easy access, with a short hike, makes this is a fascinating place to visit if in the area It is one I had overlooked for many years as I passed through When we finally stopped to visit in 2024, we found it an amazing and fascinating site Note: A kiva is a circular underground room thought to have been used for spiritual ceremonies They were significant to the ancient peoples that built them and lived...

Everybody loves dinosaur tracks! Well, our family does, at least The Warner Valley Dinosaur Track Site is a well-known paleontological site located near St George, Utah It features numerous fossilized dinosaur tracks preserved in the sandstone of the early Jurassic Moenave Formation, dating back around 190 million years The tracks were left by various species of dinosaurs when this region was a muddy floodplain What we found particularly interesting about the site is the large number of tracks and different types o...

  March 05, 2014 Unfortunately, Arches now requires permits for canyoneering. Fortunately (for now), they are free and with minimal hassle. I just recieved the follow from the NPS: Officially starting Friday March 7, free day use permits, required for canyoneering in Arches, will be available outside the visitor center at an information/permit kiosk. With the exception of canyoneering in the Fiery Furnace, all canyoneers must fill out a permit, drop the copy of...

The San Rafael Swell has such an incredibly interesting and diverse history From dinosaur tracks, native peoples, early ranchers and homesteaders, miners, and even the Department of Defense! Above Buckhorn Wash, in the last 1940s, the Department of Defense quietly did classified testing in the sandstone here, known as the Morrison-Knudsen MK site The site, currently, has several large fenced off collapsed tunnels from this testing It is an interesting place to visit and ponder the history From the informational sig...

Great day for Behunin. Snow in Little Siberia area made for a slick approach. Some snow pack in the upper part of Behunin made sure that the little bit of flow was extremely cold but no real deep spots, except the 6th rap, first person will get good and wet but can guide everyone else over the pool.  Anchors seem fairly new with new webbing, however, webbing was tied directly to the anchors without rapid links so it will wear through quickly.  Be sure to take plenty of webbing if y...

Took a trip today to the Stuart Ranch rock art site which also has the ruins of the Huntsman cabin. The location is North of Glendale Nevada. To get to the site take highway 168 North out of Glendale. Right before the road crosses the railroad you take a right on Meadow Valley Road and follow this for 8.5 miles (all paved). When it turns to dirt go an additional 2 miles until you come to a metal railroad bridge on your left (you are paralleling the railroad). There is also a big sign that...

Though you would not suspect it today, the high desert of southwestern Wyoming was a sub-tropical ecosystem 33-56 million years ago During this time, a large lake covered the area near Kemmerer Wyoming and formed what is now referred to as Fossil Lake The lake and environment created a world-class bed of fossils that was first discovered in the late 1800's Since the late 1800's, the area has been mined for fossils by various locals It is home to many fossilized species of fish, reptiles, mammals, and a few differen...

King's Crown, to me, is one of the more interesting rock art sites to visit on the western side of the San Rafael Swell My first attempt to find the panel took a bit of hunting around, as King's Crown is marked in a different place on the USGS topographic map than the actual panel The panel itself is on a giant boulder that is surrounded by other boulders and overhangs One of my visits happened to be on a chilly, foggy winter day Walking around King's Crown in the fog, it was easy to imagine native peoples using th...

On the lonely road to Halls Crossing, in a corner of Utah that took me a long time to finally visit, is Castle Creek Ruin This small ruin, and small rock art sites nearby, are on the edge of Cedar Mesa When we visited, I didn't have any info on them, apart from there were some ruins near the road in Castle Creek The ruin turned out to be quite good, and very interesting to visit It is just a few minute walk from the highway and an easy visit if you are passing through the area Tucked in an alcove, the ruin has seve...

Did the loop as described Parked on the east side of the road just north of the suggested start pin, on a frontage road pullout There was a locked gate on the dirt road which the gpx track here parallels track is a bit to the south, then joins it Immediately encountered local tour operators running people in and out of the locked gate on this main dirt road in ATVs Did not see any no trespassing signs We headed a few hundred feet south, dropped in by a drainage pipe at a break in the fence, forded the river, t...