Serene Wandering

We enjoyed our stay near Lake Havasu last spring and documented it in the post Arizona: Done and Done. We enjoyed hiking amongst the desert wild flowers, learning about Parker Dam and motoring along the Colorado River.  Of particular interest was the London Bridge!

We enjoyed our stay so much that we have had a bit of a buzz since about whether this could be a permanent landing spot for us. So, we are here again on our way south.

There were exhibits about native peoples and wildlife.  There was information about the Colorado River and the decisions made to capture and distribute its water. But the exhibits that really caught our interest were the ones about the history of Lake Havasu City and the buzz to grow the town.

As with so many things, the story starts during WWII. The Army Air Force established airfields for training pilots and crews of USAAF fighters and bombers. Seven sites (creatively named sites one through seven) were built along the Colorado River with Site Six located at Lake Havasu.

Site Six was also used for rest and relaxation by Army Air Force personnel. When WWII ended, the military closed the landing field but planned to continue to use the facility for recreation. However, in an odd bit of irony and patriotism, the military found that the property was privately owned. They had assumed it was state land but it was  really owned by Corinne and Victor Spratt of Needles, California. The Spratts had allowed the military to use their land without comment because it was needed for the war effort. Ironically, the Spratts hadn’t charged the Army Air Force a fee for occupying their land but the military asked them for a token amount to pay for the improvements. The Spratts eventually developed a small resort on Site Six.

A dozen years later, in 1958, Robert McCulloch happened upon the area while looking for a place to test his company’s outboard motors. He purchased most of the Spratt land.

But McCulloch didn’t stop there. He decided to create a city in the middle of nowhere and needed to create a buzz. What better way than to buy the London Bridge,  which he did in 1967. He teamed up with Bud Graham, who had previously worked with Walt Disney, and made it happen.

 

 

The bridge arrived in Lake Havasu and was reassembled across the narrow part of the peninsula using existing sand to support the arches.

When dredging under and around the bridge was complete, the peninsula was an island utilizing the London Bridge for access.

With their new focal point ready, McCulloch needed to to build and populate the city. He offered incentives to businesses to establish themselves in Lake Havasu.  McCulloch moved his chain saw manufacturing plant to Lake Havasu.

During 1970s winters McCullough advertised his desert city in newspapers to those in the east and midwest. When interest was expressed, they received a follow up visit from a salesman offering a free trip to Lake Havasu. McCulloch even provided free air travel on one of his own airplanes. Who could turn down that buzz?

Years later, retirees and tourists are still drawn to Lake Havasu City and its mild winter weather. Although summers are hot, so is the opportunity for water sports. The London Bridge is still a major draw and others have added to the buzz.

To improve safety on the lake, and to create additional buzz, the Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club installed and maintains 26 lighthouses in the vicinity. Lake Havasu has more lighthouses than any other city in the country.  Lighthouses on the west side of the lake are replicas of famous west coast lighthouses and those on the east side are east coast replicas. Lighthouses on the island are replicas from those on the great lakes.

Another source of  buzz is the casino across the lake!  We were more motivated by the cheap way to get on the water than the casino but we enjoyed our evening.

We had appetizers and drinks in the lounge (a more typical buzz), dinner in the dining room and a very brief visit to the slots!  Randy lost $5 in two minutes and we still had 15 minutes to wait for the shuttle.   I put in my $5, bet $1 and pushed the button.   Lights and sounds went off like crazy! At the end of all the hubbub, I won $11.70 (to go with my remaining $4). It seemed like a great time to cash in and grab the shuttle home.

 

Activities during our last week in Mesquite have been all over the map! We had more fun with Boise friends Mike and Paula, a history lesson, met RV celebrities and enjoyed a camel experience!

I traveled back in time and back to St. George to visit Brigham Young’s Winter Home. Brigham Young was born in Vermont, raised in New York, and eventually traveled with his followers to the area now known as Salt Lake. He not only lived all over the map but expanded the map when he coordinated the establishment of more than 400 communities. One of those communities was St. George where he was one of the first “snowbirds” spending winters in this home-office from 1873 until his death in 1877.

As a historic sight for the LDS church, it is meticulously maintained and available for free tours.

All of the available wood for construction and furniture making was pine. Craftsmen painted pine to resemble other woods such as oak, maple, mahogany and walnut. There were many examples of this in finish work and furnishings throughout the house.

This was Brigham Young’s chest of drawers. He traveled frequently because of church and territory responsibilities and this chest went with him. The drawers were removed for loading and travel and put back into place on arrival. No need for a trunk!

We went the other direction (again) to Las Vegas and had lunch with the RV Navigators, Ken and Martha. We have listened to their very popular RV Navigator podcast (10,000 downloads monthly) for many years and have always enjoyed their banter. They travel extensively all over the map by RV, cruise ship and other modes and share their experiences with listeners. We hit it off splendidly and hope to join them on an adventure someday – maybe the Galapagos Islands in 2019.

The Camel Safari farm encompasses 176 acres and has 31 camels of two types. Dromedary camels, from Africa and Arabia, have one hump. The endangered Bactrian camel, from central Asia, has two. Contrary to popular opinion,  humps do not hold water. Humps store fat which can be converted to nutrition in times when food and water is scarce.  It is also wrong to assume camels like to spit.   They regurgitate their food as a defense mechanism. Get out of my face or ugly stuff is coming your way!

This is Barton, the camel Randy rode. He was very vocal and Randy imagined him complaining about having to carry a load today.

After our ride, the camels started peeing, and peeing… Although we were only in the peeing vicinity for about 5 minutes, we were told they can maintain the flow for 15 minutes. And when one starts, the next one starts and so on.

Camels can drink up to five gallons of water a minute and rehydrate faster than any other mammal. They usually require water every 10 days but can be trained to go longer. We are happy to say that all the camels on the farm seemed to have good access to food and water.

Adult bactrian camels weigh up to 2200 pounds and their shoulders stand 7 feet in height.  Dromedary are slightly smaller.

Camel feet have two toes with nails, but do not have hooves. The foot is divided into halves, covered by a thick protective sole and joined by webbing. The foot spreads and flattens to avoid sinking in soft sand.

Llamas and alpacas also have two toes and are in the camel family. These alpacas also live on the farm with a variety of other interesting residents.

There were a number of armadillos we could meet and touch. This small four band armadillo can virtually roll up in a ball for sleep or defense. The armadillo boys and girls are housed separately as they multiply prolifically and the farm doesn’t want to be responsible for armadillos taking up residency in southern Nevada.

This is Ambien, a two toed sloth who was very active during our visit. Ambien does everything upside down except urinate.   She lived in a small pen in her previous home but can now be inside or outside depending on the weather and her whim.

We were impressed by the care and concern the owner and workers at Camel Safari had for all their animals. There were several they had acquired from less fortunate situations  and are now able to enjoy a better life.

We are always amazed at the unexpected things we find here and there in our travels. Who would have thought there would be camels near Mesquite, Nevada! We really enjoyed our visit and learning about animals from all over the map!

 

Mesquite is a popular retirement town and there is a Del Webb community, Sun City Mesquite, nearby.  We spent an enjoyable afternoon touring the grounds, recreation center and model homes. We aren’t ready to “hang up the keys” anytime soon but do see the appeal of living in a community like this one. For us that means a nice little house, near a major airport, that is easy to leave for weeks or months at a time.

We viewed nine model homes and very quickly decided on a couple that would fit our needs –  a two bedroom, two bath home with a den (or third bedroom),  light interior, a large patio and a big bathtub. One of the few things we miss about our house in Boise is our big bathtub!

The other appeal of a community like this is great recreation on-site. The recreation center had a beautiful outdoor pool, an indoor pool, billiards, library, and art studios. There are exercise facilities and classes including line dancing.

Sun City Mesquite has pickle ball and tennis courts and its own highly rated golf course called Conestoga.  Mesquite as a town has more courses per capita than anywhere else in America.

Mesquite is also close to the beauty of southern Utah and the airport and entertainment opportunities in Las Vegas.  We’ve gone to both St. George and Las Vegas several times in the last few weeks.

Snow Canyon State Park is near St. George and we spent a day exploring. I have looked at reserving a campsite at Snow Canyon several times over the years but always hesitated because the sites with hook-ups were described as very tight.  The reviews were right and there is no way we, with a large trailer and slide-outs on both sides, could fit. But we did see some nice sites without hook ups that we would enjoy. Some places are worth visiting even if you have to rough it and Snow Canyon State Park is one of them.

 

 

One feature we liked at Snow Canyon were Moki Marbles.  The marbles are iron concretions that stay intact when the rock erodes around them.  These same type of marbles have been found on Mars.

 Randy is a retired engineer but hasn’t lost his love for tech gadgets.  This gizmo tracks the propane levels in our two tanks. We only open one tank at a time and when it goes empty we find out when the propane stove turns off while making dinner or when we wake up very cold because the furnace has gone out. One of us has to go outside and move the lever to switch tanks.

 

We operate that way so we don’t run the risk of both tanks being empty at the same time. This new gadget allows us to open the other tank when one gets low (instead of empty) so we can avoid the next “baby it’s cold outside” moment.

We were delighted to get a text from Boise friends Paula and Mike saying they were on the road in their motorhome heading south for the winter and coming through Mesquite! Whoo-hoo! It is great to see Boise friends when we are in Boise, and super cool to see them on the road!

They had season tickets for Boise State Basketball for many years, as we did, and the Broncos were playing UNLV in Las Vegas so we took that 90 minute road trip together. It was a great time to catch up and enjoy a Bronco win! They’ll be here a few more days so we’ll see what more fun we can cook up!

 

 

We made it as far south as Mesquite, Nevada and will be here a month. The RV park has gone through several owners (and at least two bankruptcies) so it is far from finished. In the meantime they are using every other space so the sites are huge. It is actually quite nice and very quiet.

Our friend Mike drove up from Bullhead City, Arizona to spend a couple of days hanging out. Mike and Randy played golf at Coyote Springs, one of the many courses in the area. They also worked on installing Randy’s new steps.

One evening Randy and I drove to the Tuacahn Center for the Arts, near St. George. We saw the best show called Fairy Tale Christmas! All the fairy tale villains, like Cinderella’s evil step-mother, band together to take down Santa. Of course, they fail and all live happily ever after but the show was very, very well done!  Bravo!

Another day we drove in the opposite direction for the Las Vegas Bowl featuring our Boise State Broncos against the Oregon Ducks. We had been at their two previous games (2008, 2009) so, since we were in the vicinity, of course we were going!

Because it is Vegas, there was Vegas entertainment during timeouts. We were fortunate to be near the stage!

  There was a very moving tribute at half time to the victims and first responders of the Las Vegas shooting. #Vegas Strong

We took a day trip to Nevada’s first State Park, Valley of Fire.  Last spring we tried to visit Valley of Fire but there was no opening in the non-reservable campground. That blog post was Nice and NOT in Nevada. We didn’t try to camp this time, but it would have worked if we had. December must be the perfect time to camp at Valley of Fire as there were plenty of open sites.   We’ll keep that in mind.   Instead we enjoyed hikes, scenic drives, and some special stops along the way.

Our first hike was Fire Wave.  After the rocks in our campground, Elko was loving the soft sand!

Our second hike was to White Domes.  Elko stayed in the truck and Randy and I took turns.

There were remains from the hacienda for the set for the 1965 movie “The Professionals.”

In other areas of the park we found other interesting sites including a beehive formation.

Three cabins built by the CCC in the 1930s and rented by park visitors for many years.

We saw a lone gravesite for Civil War Veteran Sgt. John J. Clark who died of thirst in 1915.

Valley of Fire State Park was very cool and we might come through again someday – in December if we want to camp!

Back in Mesquite, I noticed an article in the local paper saying the Salvation Army was short on bell-ringers.   I rang the bell for a couple of hours one afternoon will do so again on Saturday.

We send our holiday and Christmas greetings to each of you from Mesquite BC.

 

 

 

For many of you, you last heard from us in mid October from New Mexico. We’d had a great time at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and were continuing to explore the state.

Yet in the background, real life was happening. My father, Glenn, was hospitalized August 21st with stroke-like symptoms. When he was released, I flew to Vancouver for a visit. He was hospitalized a second time in September and I flew in again. In mid October, when he was hospitalized for a third time, I flew to Vancouver to stay. Randy and Elko followed with the trailer. Unfortunately, his “strokes” were then diagnosed as brain lymphoma.

My father passed away November 25th, a scant three months after his first symptoms. During dad’s last weeks, my mother, brother, Randy and I shared round the clock care and comfort. It was very hard to be there, but it would have been harder not to be.

I so appreciate retiring early and living this lifestyle which allowed us to relocate our lives when needed. I so appreciate nurses and CNAs. They are heroes. I so hate cancer…. my dad’s and my husband’s.

In early December, we left my mom and brother in Vancouver and traveled to Boise for Randy’s bladder cancer re-check. Praise God, all looks to be fine in Randy’s bladder at present. His cancer has a high reoccurrence rate, but we have a reprieve for now. I am thankful.

My mother, Beverly, is doing okay and with her encouragement we have renewed our travels. We are in the warm sunshine of Mesquite, Nevada. Life looks better in the sunshine. We will be here for a month and Randy will have his next set of maintenance treatments in nearby St. George, Utah. In between appointments there are lots of places to explore and things to do. We are glad to be here and are looking forward.

But first, a look back at my dad, the man we love.

The number one tourist destination in this region of New Mexico is Ruidoso Downs. Racing occurs throughout the summer season.   On Labor Day the winner of the All American Futurity receives the largest purse in quarter-horse racing, $3 million.  In contrast, the Kentucky Derby winner gets a mere $2 million!

More than 25,000 folks descend on this unassuming racetrack in the town of Ruidoso Downs. All was quiet during our visit as racing was done for the season.

We traveled further afield and found Fort Stanton, established in 1855. Like many forts in the west, it began as an outpost to protect settlers from Indians, in this case, the Mescalero Apache.

In 1861, Union soldiers abandoned the fort setting fire to it as they left so advancing Confederate troops could not benefit. A rainstorm put out the fire and left the fort and supplies available for a brief Confederate occupation.

Union Colonel Kit Carson and his troops reoccupied and refurbished Fort Stanton in 1862.  The fort served to monitor the Apache until 1896.

General “Black Jack” Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in World War I, began his military career at Fort Stanton.

Once military usefulness passed, Fort Stanton’s purpose was varied – encompassing almost all things!

In 1899 Fort Stanton became a Marine Hospital for tuberculosis patients. A seaman was required to have served a minimum of three months aboard a United States flagged vessel to be treated in the first federal tuberculosis hospital in the country.

In keeping with medical treatment protocols at the time, patients lived in open air tents and had a strict protocol of nutrition and rest.

Although many patients recovered, a nearby cemetery holds those who didn’t. The hospital was the primary occupant of the Fort Stanton facility from 1896 to 1953.

The Civilian Conservation Corps had a camp nearby from 1933 to 1940 assisting at the hospital and with the forest service.

One of the most interesting chapters in Fort Stanton’s history was when the crew of the SS Columbus, a German Luxury Liner,  were housed there from 1939-1945.

Britain was at war with Germany in 1939 and the SS Columbus was caught in the middle.
Under orders from Hitler to avoid captured by all means, Captain Dahne unloaded his passengers in Cuba and scuttled his ship off the east coast of the “neutral” United States. Over 500 survivors were rescued and taken aboard the USS Tuscaloosa. They spent time on Ellis Island in New York and Angel Island in San Francisco Bay before 410 of the crew eventually occupied the abandoned CCC camp.    Captain Dahne continued to command the men and operations at Fort Stanton.

In 1941, when the US formally entered the war, the men were reclassified as alien enemies. Life went on much as before, except a fence was installed around the camp. The men were repatriated to Germany at the close of the war.

Yet, Fort Stanton’s story is not done!

After the tuberculosis hospital closed in 1953, the property was given to the state of New Mexico.  Between 1963 and 2009, the state used the old fort for a series of purposes. It was a facility for the “mentally challenged,” a women’s low security correctional facility and a drug rehabilitation center.

The state eventually designated Fort Stanton a state monument and then a state historic site.  Many of the old fort and hospital buildings are available for viewing.

And continuing in the spirit of all things – I often tell Handy Randy that he can fix all things! He always demurs but those of you who know him, or know of him through the blog, know that I am right. He even impressed himself this time!

For awhile I have grumbled about a shade spot on my photographs.  I called about having the camera cleaned but the estimate was $175 just to get started.  Usually the spot was buried in photographic content and was just a nuisance but at the balloon fiesta it was really a problem.

We discussed getting a new camera but I REALLY don’t like learning new technology.  On a whim, Randy watched a video about cleaning the camera. He figured it was worth $10 to order a precision tool set.

When he got it, he set to work.

And to the surprise of no one,  he took the camera apart, cleaned some dust off the CCD, (the electronics part that captures the light for the image) and no more shade spot!

Whoohoo! He saved us about $400 for a new camera and me from having to learn new technology!   Like I said, Handy Randy can fix all things!!

 

I grew up with the story of Smokey Bear.  I even taught Smokey’s story as a kindergarten teacher. A bear cub was rescued during a forest fire and nursed back to health. He was named Smokey and became a messenger for the prevention of forest fires. Those basics are still there, but there is much more.

Smokey’s story actually begins in World War II. Forest resources were critical to the war effort and there was great concern about enemy attacks. After a Japanese submarine landed shells near Los Padres National Forest in southern California, the forest service created the Cooperative Fire Prevention Program.

The Wartime Advertising Council looked for an animal to lead the fire prevention message and used Walt Disney’s Bambi for one year. In 1944, after considering a squirrel,  they decided to use a bear and named him Smokey.

 

So what about the little bear cub in the fire we all know about?   It wasn’t until 1950 that he was rescued near Capitan, New Mexico. He was badly burned on his paws and buttocks and he weighed five pounds.

The cub was taken to a veterinarian in Santa Fe by Ray Bell, a pilot with New Mexico Fish and Game.  A local newspaperman nicknamed the little bear Hot Foot Teddy.  The veterinarian was able to treat the burns but the little bear wasn’t eating.  Ray Bell took the bear home where his wife and daughter nursed the bear every two hours and restored him to health.

When word of the cub spread, California wanted him as a living symbol of their flag. The United States Forest Service wanted him as a living representative of their campaign bear, Smokey.  The New Mexico game warden made the decision to send the cub to Washington DC.

With no budget to transport the little cub, Trans World Airlines (TWA) was approached and they agreed to take little Smokey to Washington as freight but would not fly an attendant.  Bill Piper of Piper Aircraft Co. came to the rescue sending a brand new plane to fly Smokey and his human tender to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Smokey began his work for the Forest Service and children came to know him and his message.

Another New Mexico orphaned black bear, Goldie, was brought to the zoo to be Smokey’s mate in 1961. She was also known as Mrs. Smokey. They never had cubs.

Smokey lived and worked at the National Zoo as a Federal employee of the Forest Service. He retired in 1975 at age 25, the bear age equivalent of 70 in human years, the mandatory retirement age for federal employees.  He was officially a member of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees.

Smokey died a year later and his remains were returned to Capitan, New Mexico and buried at the Smokey Bear Historical Park.

When Smokey retired another New Mexico orphan cub went to the National Zoo.  The new Little Smokey embodied the message until his death in 1990 when live bear representation was discontinued.

From 1950 forward, millions of children in the United States and around the world grew up with Smokey’s fire prevention message. In 1992, a Forest Service review considered the prevention message to have been very successful as human wildfires were reduced by half even though use of public lands increased tenfold. In fact, the message was so successfully received that the public had difficulty understanding that natural and prescribed fires were beneficial.

At the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta we talked extensively with the current coordinator of the Friends of Smokey Bear Balloon. He told us how the original thought of a Smokey balloon slowly gained momentum and was eventually approved by the US Forest Service. A public and government partnership funded the original Smokey balloon which took flight over the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in1993.

In addition to hundreds of appearances around the country, the Smokey Bear Balloon was the first non-Disney balloon invited to fly over Walt Disney World.

The original Smokey balloon snagged a radio tower at the 2005 Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and was destroyed.

The first Smokey Bear Balloon is also buried at the Smokey Bear Historical Park.

With public support, funds were raised for a second Smokey Bear Balloon. It continues to make dozens of appearances each year.   That balloon is aging and the future is uncertain. The Friends of Smokey Bear Balloon organization have the “rights” to the image but funding a new balloon and continuing operations going forward look challenging.

We are hoping for a future that includes Smokey Bear for our grandson and yours!

It’s Amazing!   That is what we said over and over again at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

We decided a year ago to meet Art and Beth at the Fiesta and coordinated arrival so we were parked side by side. Beth arranged a balloon flight and had a great time. We paid big bucks to fly over Lake Tahoe previously so didn’t plan to do so again.

 

 Friends Gerry and Kathy are balloon crew and Fiesta veterans. They advised, encouraged and provided opportunities and experiences that we never expected.  Kathy was a fount of information about individual balloons and Gerry knew everything about the science of it all. They helped make the Fiesta an amazing experience

Through them we met Cheryl, a balloon pilot and instructor.  She is also a member of the Fiesta Board of Directors.  In addition to providing entry passes, Cheryl told us stories about security, sponsorship, statistics, volunteering and the design process for their balloon Twisted.

 Her husband, Fred, is the pilot for Twisted, the balloon Gerry and Kathy crew for. We were invited to come out and crew.

The process looks complicated to a novice.  A dozen people were preparing Twisted for flight.

Randy had the job others didn’t want when it’s cold outside – standing in front of the fans for the initial inflation process!

 

 Art, happily babysitting Elko while Randy and I crewed, noticed Twisted heading toward a nearby field and walked over.  Elko found his dad in the balloon!

We spent two amazing mornings sitting at our campsite watching waves of balloons come over us.  With 550+ balloons at the Fiesta,  we were always noticing one we hadn’t seen before!

Special shapes are fun!   Next time we will plan to be there on special shapes day!

Enjoy the night glow video!

We enjoyed learning about the America’s Challenge Gas Balloon Race, one of only two distance races for gas balloons in the world.  The America’s Challenge was founded in Albuquerque in 1995.  The balloons are white to lessen the impact of heating and cooling  and filled with hydrogen, the lightest of gases.

 

Balloons launch consecutively from the same stage holding two pilots, oxygen, and all the gear needed for a 3-4 day flight. They have sand and water ballast.

Balloon routes were available on the Festival App and we monitored the race many times each day!

At the Balloon Museum we learned about the first balloon flight in France with a crew of a duck, sheep and rooster.  We learned about a failed attempt to land in the arctic and the beginnings of the Albuquerque Fiesta.   We learned about milestone flights across the country, across the Pacific, across the Atlantic and around the world.   We learned about balloons used in warfare.

We experienced another amazing thing away from the Fiesta grounds – a Musical Highway.   We traveled east of Albuquerque on Route 66.  Once there, Randy drove on the rumble strip at exactly 45 miles per hour and we heard America the Beautiful.    A video from youtube is here.     Other Musical Highways are in Japan,  South Korea and Denmark.   The only other Musical Road in the US, is in Lancaster, California, playing the William Tell Overture.   We’ll get there!

So much is amazing!

 

 

 

The title sounds as though we went to Four Corners, whirled the spinner, and chose Colorado.  Although some people travel that way, we don’t. Colorado was pre-planned but Four Corners wasn’t.

We had both been to Four Corners before, the only place in the US where four states meet.   We remembered a parking lot with a medallion and were ambivalent about going again. But when the sign says you are only five miles away – why not?

A  lot has changed in 40 years. It is now marketed,  requires $5 per person admission, and has a full complex with booths. It is actually quite nice.

After finding our campground in Cortez, our first stop was Montezuma Veterinary Clinic. Elko had been fussing with his ears and we found he has a double ear infection. Poor boy.  He’s had ear drops for several days now and is improving.

In our first adventure out of Cortez, we drove an hour west to Hovenweep National Monument.  During our drive on the plateau, we had wildlife sightings!

Randy saw this tarantula crossing the road so we turned around and took pictures! It was about 3 inches wide and five inches long.

Later, we saw open range horses. There was a herd of 10 horses and these two were quite comfortable in the road. They weren’t concerned as we moved slowly by.

We made it to Hovenweep National Monument and were surprised at the crowd. This place is an hour from anywhere but the parking lot was almost full.

 

At Hovenweep we saw remnants of Ancestral Puebloan culture in the form of round and square towers.

 

 

The Four Corners region was occupied by Ancestral Puebloans (previously called Anasazi) between 700 and 1300 when the peoples abandoned the region for unknown reasons.

The ruins at Hovenweep were thought to be built and occupied between 1230 and 1275.

The ruins were discovered in 1854 by a Mormon expedition and later named Hovenweep for the Piute/Ute word for “deserted valley.”  The ruins were surveyed by Smithsonian Institution representatives in 1917-18 and designated a national monument in 1923.

There are a number of similar ruins in the area on BLM land designated Canyons of the Ancients. It takes a little effort to get there, but is worth the trip!

Southern Utah is a favorite region for us because of superb scenery and interesting cultures. This week we visited an old favorite, Moab, and a new favorite, Monument Valley.   You may not have physically been to either, but you’ve been there in movies, TV shows, and commercials.

We have visited Moab several times and have wandered Arches and Canyonlands National Parks quite extensively. Randy went into Arches one afternoon and hiked to Delicate Arch but we also did some new things!

We enjoyed a Canyonlands Sunset Cruise with Rory – one of the most engaging tour guide boat captains we have ever experienced.

We saw people brave enough to climb these steep cliffs –  65% of climbers are female!

We saw jug arch, petroglyphs and amazing scenery. Dinner was pretty good too.

By truck, we traveled the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway out of Moab through more marvelous scenery. The first few miles out of Moab have an adjacent bike trail.

We hiked a bit and saw some climbers way up on this rock!

We traveled to Red Cliffs Ranch Lodge and the Moab Museum of Film and Western Heritage.  We learned more than 120 movies were filmed in this area.  Former owner of the site, George White, was instrumental in bringing the first movie, Wagonmaster, to the area in 1949.

Many movies, TV shows and commercials were filmed on White Ranch and the surrounding area. White worked for the Utah Highway Department and was instrumental in finding locations for film crews. He was also the founder of the Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission, the longest tenured movie commission in the world.

The film industry has been a source of income in the Moab area for many years as locals are hired as actors, extras and professional crew.  Animals and trainers are also employed. An auto tour allows you to find specific locations for movies and shows.

Movies, TV shows and commercials continue to be a lucrative industry for both Moab and Monument Valley.  The movie industry came to Monument Valley during the great depression.  Harry Goulding, owner of the local trading post, sought additional industry for himself and the Navajo people and spent his last $60 to take landscape pictures to John Ford in Hollywood. The rest is history.

Harry Goulding and his wife “Mike” came to the area in the 1920s, established their trading post and lived and worked with the Navajo for the next 40 years.  Although deceased,  both are still remembered fondly by local Navajo.  The new owners of the Gouldings enterprise value the past.

The immediate area holds a lodge, gift shop, grocery store, restaurant, theater, gas station, chapel and campground – all under the name of Gouldings.

We had one of the nicest sites in this campground and enjoyed some easy and accessible hiking within walking distance.

Although we have a view of Monument Valley from our campsite, we wanted to see more.  Monument Valley is a Navajo Tribal Park and some areas are publicly available with an entrance fee.   Other areas are available only with a Navajo guide. We opted for the whole experience and are very glad we did!

 

We saw arches and wild horses and hogans.

The beauty of this area isn’t exclusive to Monument Valley.  We found two other areas that especially appealed to us.

Goosenecks State Park has dry camping right on the bluff overlooking the river.  Some sites are worth not having hook-ups for.  Maybe next time!

Southern Utah NEVER disappoints!