Ducks in the Pond

Category: local geography

Local Geography and History Field Trip – Three

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.   

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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!)

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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.

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(Yes, his hair has gotten too long and yes, every pair of pants has holes in the knees!)

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Teal found a hollow sounding rock, so they are checking it out.

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Wigeon was with us, just not near the edge.

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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!

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My dad joined us that evening.

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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.

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After hiking around Hovenweep, we went to Mule Canyon Ruins.  They had a restored kiva that was pretty cool.

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The kids really loved Butler Wash, so we returned so my dad and grandma could see it.

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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.

Local Geography and History Field Trip – Two

Hello there!  The wrap up of our Local Geography and History block was a trip to southeastern Utah to see Ancestral Puebloan ruins and visit a town that one of our Mormon pioneer great-grandfathers had founded.  You can visit the first two posts about our block here and here.

We started our trip by visiting Anasazi State Park in Boulder, UT.  Here we visited the museum and looked at the wall remnants of the ancient village.  There was also a kiva we could look into and a replica of what the structures would have looked like when they were standing.

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Teal has been a rock hound for years.  This is what I saw a lot of on the trip.

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We left Boulder and travelled to Bluff via Capitol Reef and the outskirts of Lake Powell.

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Before we got to Bluff we visited the Anasazi ruins at Butler Wash.  This was the first time the kids had seen ruins built into the cliffs and they found it captivating.

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Bluff, Utah was settled as the San Juan Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.   One of my great (to the N’th) grandfathers was called as the bishop of this mission.   Descendents of those early settlers have recently erected a replica of the Bluff Fort to commemorate its founders.  This is where we began day two.

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This is inside one of the cabins.

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I think the area is so beautiful!

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After visiting the fort, my grandma took us to see some delicate little wildflowers that only bloom in alcoves in the four corners area.

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After admiring the flowers, we were off to Hovenweep to see “some of the finest examples of Ancestral Puebloan masonry.”

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What a day!  Pintail doesn’t look very happy in the above picture because we weren’t able to walk around the entire canyon that day.  We ended up going back two days later, though, because we didn’t want to miss out.

I didn’t realize how many photos I wanted to share, so once again I’m going to have to meet you here tomorrow.  Come back for photos at Muley Point, Horseshoe Ruins at Natural Bridges, and the Mule Canyon kiva.  Have a lovely evening!

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