Pensive Putterman, just off Kane Creek road, is another short, easy tower to summit Due to it's proximity next to the road, climbing it often draws a crowd of on-lookers If you are doing Happy Turk Hoodoo across the road, be sure to climb this as well

Home and Marge is a unique tower, or rather 2 towers than have leaned on each other over time Similar, I assume in the first ascenders mind, to how Home and Marge lean on each other in a symbiotic relationship Not very interesting climbing leads to an amazing summit on a unique feature I recommend this one!

One of my favorite short canyons in Moab, Bow and Arrow Canyon has a bit of everything scenery wise Between Longbow Arch, Polka Dot Petroglyph, and stunning views of the Colorado River and Behind the Rocks, it is a diverse outing Bow and Arrow Canyons is not a very technical or narrow canyon If you are looking for tight slots or technical challenges, look elsewhere The canyon is more of a short outing that makes an enjoyable evening canyon Note: Why the name Mike Stimola, who showed me the canyon and is the owner o...

Mineral Fork, as its name suggests, has a rich mining history There are two major mines in the canyon The Wasatch Mine sits at about 8,800 feet and the Regulator Johnson Mine that sits at a lofty 10,121 feet, near the top of the canyon Mining was started in Mineral Fork in the 1880s The mines were looking mining silver, gold, copper, and lead Between the Wasatch and Regulator Johnson Mine, there were over 5,500' of tunnels, though neither mine produced much Today the old mining road is now a hiker and ATV trail The...

The Factory Butte area is about as close to a lunar landscape as I think you can get on earth! The terrain is sparsely vegetated, grey, rocky, and muted Though stark, to my eye, it has a unique beauty and is a lovely place to spend some time The Skyline Rim Overlook visits the edge of an escarpment where the grey lunar-like landscape around Factory Butte changes to colorful badlands below It is a dramatic spot with big views The area east Skyline Rim is home to both NASA’s Mars Research Station, as well as the Burp...

Kelso Dunes is likely the most visited attraction in the Mojave National Preserve The dunes encompass a massive 45 square miles with the tallest dune reaching about 650 feet 200 meters above the surrounding landscape It is the largest sand dune area in the Mojave Desert The main dune, described here, is steep, sandy, and quite beautiful! I was amazed on our mid-winter visit how many others were visiting but also making the steep loose trek to the dunes lofty summit Kids, families, and those that are young at heart ...

The Valley of the Gods is a scenic sandstone valley that is similar but not as dramatic as Monument Valley While not as famous as its neighboring parks such as Monument Valley or Canyonlands National Park, it offers similarly stunning landscapes It is much less busy than the more well-known Monument Valley and, unlike Monument Valley, primitive camping and hiking in Valley of the Gods is allowed Notes: The one main road through the Valley of the Gods is, generally, a well maintained dirt road Though dirt, many seda...

On the western side of the Henry Mountains is a remote region called Cave Flat The area had piqued my interest for a long time It is the winter range of the Buffalo herd, and a place I was hoping to do a long hike and find some solitude It turned out to be a gem! This route meanders down Bullfrog Creek that starts as a wash and slowly deepens The creek is often dry About 4 miles from the trailhead, the creek cuts into sandstone, deepens, and becomes much more interesting It is about this point that water begins com...

We had ourselves quite a day of it on Fri. 5/19/23. Camped the night prior about 5 miles in on the Poison Springs Canyon Rd. (2 low clearance Subaru Outbacks made it no problem) in a beautiful grove of Cottonwood complete/rife with surprise petroglyphs all over the campsite. Left camp @ 10am (which in retrospect was about 2 hours too late for the journey ahead) with a group of 7 in 2 high clearance vehicles bound for the confluence of Poison Springs Canyon and the Dirty Devil (beautiful drive,...

This site is fascinating! The mine consists of large tunnels going into the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison rock formation The tunnels go back less than 200 feet, but are honeycombed, leaving open areas held up by pillars of rock It is quite a site to see Though visible from the highway, it is not frequently visited up close, but well worth the short hike to visit it in my opinion Visiting requires a true 4-wheel drive vehicle in most conditions, but walking from the paved highway is very reasonable and only adds ...