Fremont Indian State Park is one of the often-overlooked gems in Utah It is an amazing state park that anyone with an interest in Native American culture, history, or art should put high on their list to visit I have visited Nine Mile Canyon many times over the years When I finally visited Fremont Indian State Park, I was dazzled by the amount and quality of rock art lining the canyon walls To me, it was as fascinating to visit as Nine Mile Canyon, though with easier access Even on a holiday weekend, we felt we had...

Tucked up near the northern Henry Mountains, along the transition zone between the mountain and desert environments, is the Rock Corral This natural feature creates a rock "corral" that ranchers used and closed with a log fence to contain animals Long before ranchers, however, Native Americans also used the area Signs of their time at the site are found in petroglyphs they left behind, as well as one of the largest concentration of grinding areas I have seen I assume the ancient peoples collected grasses and seeds ...

The Spiral Jetty was named the official state work of art by the Utah legislature in 2017 This work of art was created in the spring of 1970 by American sculptor Robert Smithson His vision of the Spiral Jetty was likely built on the north side of the Great Salt Lake to take advantage of the blood red color that predominates in the water of the very salty north arm of the Great Salt Lake where pink-tinged salt loving bacteria and algae grow Construction spanned 6 days using heavy machinery Smithson wasn't happy with...

Near the Colorado-Utah border on I-70 in Rabbit Valley lies The Trail Through Time The 15-mile trail is a stone's throw from I-70, but transports visitors back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the area The trail is part of the active Mygatt-Moore dinosaur quarry that has been designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern As the trail winds its way along the benches, it visits several sites where dinosaur fossils can be seen in the rock This is like most dinosaur exhibits in the wild I have visited in that t...

The Mule Hollow trail climbs about 1200' in just over a mile to the old Mule Hollow mine I could not find much information about the history of the mine, however it was surely mined in the late 1800's or very early 1900's, when mining first flourished in Big Cottonwood Canyon One can likely assume the name comes from the mules used to pack equipment up to the mine Currently this isn't much left of the site, with a couple of tracks and some metal pieces from the old camp strewn about a large tailings pile Some hunti...

Tucked away in the high plains of central Wyoming, Legend Rock is one of the state's most remarkable archaeological sites Located northwest of Thermopolis, the site stretches along a sandstone cliff face adorned with hundreds of ancient petroglyphs These intricate carvings - some towering several feet in height - offer a window into the lives, beliefs, and artistic expressions of Native peoples who lived in the region long before written history Legend Rock is particularly well-known for its association with the Di...

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...

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 ...

Is the top 10m of the big rappel free-hanging or is it possible to pass a knot Reason I ask is my longest rope is a Imlay 75m 240 feet, so was thinking of extending 10m off the anchor with another rope, which would mean the person rappelling would need to transfer their rappel device across the knot joining the two ropes together I've done it before with a free-hanging rappel it it's pretty fiddly!