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This cap rock took on whimsical and fascinating form from every different angle.

0 ACTIVITIES DAY FIVE OF TWELVE 0

After a good night’s rest at Farmington, New Mexico we left at dawn, as was our custom on this trip, with three major destinations in mind: Bisti (pronounced: Biss Tie) badlands; Chaco Canyon; and Bandelier national monument. We had motel rooms reserved at Santa Fe.

The hike into the rock and clay formations at Bisti turned out to be my favorite stop on the entire road trip. I had never been there before. We were the only ones there, the weather was bright and clear, and the formations were absolutely amazing. I used my small Garmin etrex to make certain that we would hike to one of the two “good spots” and back out, in the most time efficient manner.

There is another good section of Bisti that I know, one day, I will return to visit. Same with the De-Na-Zin area. Always something for another road trip. After Bisti we made our way to Chaco Canyon and visited Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Bonito. I had been to Chaco three times before but never in a situation where I wasn’t rushed for time. Ed and I enjoyed our walks to both ruins and took our time.

After Chaco Canyon it was clear (using the ETA on the NUVI navigator), that we weren’t going to make Bandelier with enough light to really enjoy it, so for the first and only time on this road trip, we altered our route solely as a result of “running out of time”. There were several times we altered plans due to weather and dirt (mud) road conditions.

So instead of traveling the highways that would lead us to Bandelier from Chaco, we checked the map and took a scenic but more direct highway into Santa Fe (highway 96 instead of highway 4 that would have taken us to Santa Fe via Bandelier).

We got into Santa Fe right at dark, in time to check out the historic town square, the cathedral, and get a good meal. The next morning would follow a now established and predictable routine: On each and every day of this road trip, Ed and I would load our gear back in the Jeep right at or just before dawn, always looking forward to the new day’s destinations. The way a road trip should be.

0 3,875 MILE/12 DAY ~ 4 CORNERS ROAD TRIP OVERVIEW 0

At the start of year 2011, I made tentative plans to take a two week solo “road trip” through the Four Corners area (The Colorado Plateau), during the last half of March. Then, if my wife could get the time needed off from her part time job, I also planned a “road trip” vacation to the Southwest, in April with her.

When I put the plan together for the March trip, I decided to see if an old friend of mine, Ed (Flickr’s: OldWrangler), might be interested in joining me. I volunteered to take my old four wheel drive pickup truck and split the gasoline expense with him. We would each get an inexpensive motel room on the road to serve as “base camps” to hike, photograph, and explore back roads in the Four Corners area.

Not only did Ed accept but he also proposed that we take his brand new 4-door Jeep Wrangler instead of my old pickup truck. That didn’t take any thinking on my part. I LOVE Jeeps and Ed and I have always got along well (decades ago, I worked for him and we had taken a fun road trip together back in 2008, along with my friend John and my youngest son). The deal was sealed.

We left my house in Central Washington early Monday morning on the 14th of March. We returned 12 days and 3,875 miles later on Friday evening March 25th. We spent a lot of time drinking Diet Pepsi from the ice chest and keeping the hits of the 60s (and occasionally the 70s), cranked up high on the Jeep’s Sirius satellite radio sound system. Sing along music! “Road trip” tunes.

Weather often dictated changes to our proposed route and activities. We stayed flexible, and in the end we visited the large majority of places we had hoped to see, when the road trip began. We had sun and clear skies, snow, dust storms, and high winds at times. Ed’s Jeep had an outside temperature display. We drove in everything from18 degree weather to temperatures in the 70s in New Mexico.

Here in outline form are the places we saw, hiked, photographed, and visited during the 12 day road trip:

Mon 3.14.11
* Interstate travel from my house in Central Washington to Lehi, Utah

Tue 3.15.11
* Scenic back roads ( Hwys: 6, 89, & 31) from Spanish Fork to Huntington, Utah
* Dirt road travel to “The Wedge” and down Buckhorn Wash to I-70.
* Side trip to the Head of Sinbad petroglyph and then on to Moab.

Wed 3.16.11
* Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands NP (Mesa Arch & Upheaval Dome)
* The Shafer “Jeep” Trail down to the White Rim road and back to Moab.
* Hike to Delicate Arch & visit Windows section in Arches NP.

Thu 3.17.11
* Newspaper Rock in the Needles district of Canyonlands NP
* Attempt back road travel thru the Abajo Mountains to Monticello
* Edge of the Cedars museum in Blanding, Utah
* Hovenweep - Square tower group lo

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An overhang of sandstone has protected this naturally flat desert varnish panel for ages. It has become the place for ancient and more modern travelers to state: "por aqui paso" (I passed this way). This is on highway 211 entering the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park.

0 ACTIVITIES DAY FOUR OF TWELVE 0

Day Four was pretty much a “travel” day on this road trip. We left Moab Thursday morning and headed for Farmington, New Mexico. We took a short trip west into the start of the Needles district of Canyonlands NP to see Newspaper Rock. Years ago, my wife and I had traveled into the Needles district with our four wheel drive Isuzu Trooper, driven the sand wash down Salt Creek and Horse Canyon to hike to Fortress and Castle Arch.

Ed and I decided at Newspaper Rock to back track a short ways and try a paved “loop” route into Monticello. We climbed high and steadily on FR 174. The views were outstanding. At a “T” we turned right to a small frozen lake set in an aspen grove (Shay Road to Aspen Flat). Returning to Forest Road 174 we almost made it to the summit, when we ran into snow on the road too deep to tackle. A newer car had been left in the middle of the road, where they had become stuck.

We retraced our route down the side of the Abajo Mountains (Abajo translates to “under” in Spanish), then on to Blanding, Utah. Here we had one of the best meals on the trip (Homestead Steakhouse).

We visited the modern “Edge of the Cedars” Native American museum at Blanding then drove to Hovenweep National Monument. I kept shaking my head at all the changes that had taken place over the years since my wife and I made trips to the area. In the 70s the Edge of the Cedars was just a dirt trail to an overlook and pour over by some cliff dwellings.

Back then, we had driven miles of dirt road to Hovenweep, to an unmanned small ranger’s station and parked right next to Castle ruin. We hiked down into the canyon to square tower ruin. On the last trip I filmed my wife and our kids hiking the area with a VHS movie camera.

But now, Ed and I drove his comfortable Jeep on paved roads all the way to a large modern well staffed visitors’ center at Hovenweep, where the trail out to Castle ruin is paved. No longer are you allowed to hike down into the canyon floor beside Square Tower ruin. That said, the loop hike along the rim that has been developed, the excellent visitors’ center, and the helpful rangers - - make a visit and hike worthwhile. It also provides more protection to the ruins that unfortunately, occasionally are vandalized.

From Hovenweep we headed for Farmington via back roads, with me constantly having heated arguments with the GPS navigator I choose to call “The NUVI lady”. She is usually right but when she errs it is a big one. We didn’t travel the route we intended to Farmington, but we got there. Shiprock was a footnote stop on the way to Farmington. With rain in the area we didn’t want to take any of the dirt roads leading close to it, so satisfied ourselves with “roadside” snapshots of the brooding volcanic neck that was such a classic landmark to early travelers (Shiprock).

0 3,875 MILE/12 DAY ~ 4 CORNERS ROAD TRIP OVERVIEW 0

At the start of year 2011, I made tentative plans to take a two week solo “road trip” through the Four Corners area (The Colorado Plateau), during the last half of March. Then, if my wife could get the time needed off from her part time job, I also planned a “road trip” vacation to the Southwest, in April with her.

When I put the plan together for the March trip, I decided to see if an old friend of mine, Ed (Flickr’s: OldWrangler), might be interested in joining me. I volunteered to take my old four wheel drive pickup truck and split the gasoline expense with him. We would each get an inexpensive motel room on the road to serve as “base camps” to hike, photograph, and explore back roads in the Four Corners area.

Not only did Ed accept but he also proposed that we take his brand new 4-door Jeep Wrangler instead of my old pickup truck. That didn’t take any thinking on my part. I LOVE Jeeps and Ed and I have always got along well (decades ago, I worked for him and we had taken a fun road trip together back in 2008, along with my friend John and my youngest son). The deal was sealed.

We left my house in Central Washington early Monday morning on the 14th of March. We returned 12 days and 3,875 miles later on Friday evening March 25th. We spent a lot of time drinking Diet Pepsi from the ice chest and keeping the hits of the 60s (and occasionally the 70s), cranked up high on the Jeep’s Sirius satellite radio sound system. Sing along music! “Road trip” tunes.

Weather often dictated changes to our proposed route and activities. We stayed flexible, and in the end we visited the large majority of places we had hoped to see, when the road trip began. We had sun and clear skies, snow, dust storms, and high winds at times. Ed’s Jeep had an ou