Local Geography and History Field Trip – Three
by Mrs. Mallard
Hello, my friend, hello. Here is the second half of our spring break field trip to southeastern Utah. You can see the first half here.
On the third day of our trip we began in Valley of the Gods.
But, I didn’t get any good pictures in the Valley. (Nice windshield wiper above, no?)
Our destination was Muley Point. Muley Point is on top of a butte, and the road we used, the Moqui Dugway, is a narrow dirt road that has been carved into the side of the butte. Sketchy! From the lookout at Muley Point you can see the winding canyons carved by the Colorado River. It was breathtaking. (Although it looks like a steep drop-off, I was more nervous when the kids stood overlooking Lake Powell a couple of days before because It was a STEEP drop into the water!)
If you click on the pictures, I think they enlarge and you can see Monument Valley vaguely in the distance. If it had been a clear day, Monument Valley would have been easy to see.
(Yes, his hair has gotten too long and yes, every pair of pants has holes in the knees!)
Teal found a hollow sounding rock, so they are checking it out.
Wigeon was with us, just not near the edge.
After leaving Muley Point, we went to Natural Bridges where my great-great-grandpa was the first custodian/ranger. Here we saw Horseshoe ruins, but I just use my phone camera, so I can’t zoom in at all and probably shouldn’t even post the picture below!
My dad joined us that evening.
Day four we returned to Hovenweep to walk the canyon rim trail. It was very cold and windy, but I was so glad we went back to take a closer look.
After hiking around Hovenweep, we went to Mule Canyon Ruins. They had a restored kiva that was pretty cool.
The kids really loved Butler Wash, so we returned so my dad and grandma could see it.
And that was the end of our trip! It was so much fun! Thank you for stopping by to look at the pictures. I hope you have a fabulous day!
P.S. Remember my fortuitous sprouts? Yeah, they’re dead… We finished the garden boxes, though, and I think we have enough time to start again.
What an amazing field trip, Rachel! I seriously may have to copy you and take my kids down there next year when we do this block. We have a lot of family history in southern Utah as well.
This is fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing these pictures! We lived in Utah for many years, and so I feel like I was just given a trip home.
The kids looked like they really enjoyed it!
Thank you Lisa! We had such a terrific time, and kids love hearing about their ancestors. We spent most of our time looking at ruins, but there are also a lot of petroglyphs in the area. My kids have seen petroglyphs many times so we focused on the ruins, but I would definitely include them if you decide to go.
Thanks Sara! How small is this world that I happen upon your blog because of Waldorf Homeschooling, but you used to live in Utah?!