Entrenched Meandering

travels in the Colorado Plateau

This is the fourth blog post concerning the camper van trip we took this spring; these pictures are from the first two weeks of April. Following our stay in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument along the Arizona-Mexico border, we drove north, spending time in Sedona, Flagstaff and Monument Valley, all in Arizona.  We then continued into southern Utah, visiting Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef and Zion Natural Parks, along with lesser known areas. Geographically speaking this was all within the Colorado Plateau, a high desert region of mountains, canyons and eroded landscapes. This is a land of such vast and varied beauty as to be almost beyond belief.  It is an astonishing place; every day we saw spectacular sights, all different than the days before.  

Pictured above is an entrenched meander of the San Juan River, taken from the rim of its canyon at Goosenecks State Park in Utah. Reading the information placard I learned that an entrenched meander is a symmetrically eroded loop of river canyon that extends into bedrock, and that this section of the San Juan is among the world’s best examples of such entrenched meandering. I had never heard the term before. I suppose it is silly to be inspired by a geologic feature, but I keep thinking about it. It would seem that meandering in the sense of taking time to get somewhere and in feeling free to be distracted and open to diversion is probably a good approach to retired life.  Likewise, to be entrenched, in the sense of paying attention and appreciating such leisure, must surely be worthwhile.


Here are photos from our meanderings. I took way too many.  Please feel free to increase your scrolling speed as required.

There is lots of red dirt and red rocks in the Colorado Plateau. These pictures are in the Wupatki National Monument in northern Arizona.
Almost all of America’s pueblos and cliff dwellings are located in the Colorado Plateau. This is Wukoki Pueblo in Wupatki National Monument. It is thought to have been inhabited from about 1100 to 1250 AD.
Two views of Wupatki Pueblo, the largest pueblo in the Wupatki National Monument.
The pueblo is built right into the rock formations
Two smaller pueblos on the rims of Box Canyon, Wupatki National Monument
Lomaki Pueblo in late evening, Wupatki National Monument.
Again, the pueblo is built right on the underlying rock

Paragraph

Dinosaur footprint, outside Cameron, Arizona.
This is the view from US Highway 163, looking north toward Monument Valley
Monument Valley is on the Navaho Nation in northern Arizona. Tourist access is limited to one dirt loop road and one hiking trail. The road is visible crossing the middle of this photo.
The buttes are all named, this is West Mitten Butte.
Moccasin Arch in Monument Valley. The rock formation is of DeChelly sandstone.
Petroglyphs in Monument Valley
West Mitten Butte in the midday sun. The hiking trail makes a circle around its base.
This is Forrest Gump Point on Highway 163. This view is from the north of Monument Valley looking south. Tom Hanks ran up the road here in the movie.
Another view of an entrenched meander of the San Juan River at Goosenecks State Park, just north of Mexican Hat, Utah.
Our van is visible on the canyon rim, along with other RVs, at the Goosenecks State Park campground. It is ten dollars per night; no water but plenty of room and a memorable view.
A beautiful evening just outside our van door; probably not a good camping spot for sleepwalkers.

The next eighteen photos are from the day we spent hiking the Honaker Trail, five miles by van and mountain bike north of Goosenecks State Park. This must surely be among the county’s most dramatic hikes; it descends 1200 feet in two miles from the canyon rim to the San Juan River. The trail was constructed by Mr. Honaker in 1894 to service gold placer mines along the river. It was apparently never used much however as the pack animals kept falling to their deaths and there turned out to not be enough gold in the river to profitably mine in any case. While the trail may look scary in the photos it is quite safe, at least for people. There are just a few places where you need to use your hands, but there are no exposed edges to fall off of. Maybe the Forest Service has improved it since Mr. Honaker’s time.

The last two miles of the road were too rough for the van, so we continued on mountain bikes.
It is 1200 feet down to the San Juan River from the rim of its canyon. The trail is only a foot or two wide and is hard to see in photographs from a distance.
Craig at the start of the Honaker Trail at the canyon rim.
Laura on the right a little ways into the canyon.
The trail is visible in the lower left.
Laura on the left, well below the canyon rim.
One of the few tricky spots on the trail.
This is looking upstream, about half way down.
Getting closer to the banks of the river.
And finally, out of the rock and onto the river bank.
On the banks of the San Juan River.
After lunch and a rest, it is two miles back up.
Laura just below the canyon rim.
Out of the canyon! The start of the trail is marked by the rock cairn.
And a scenic ride back to the van.
Back at Goosenecks Campground, with a view across an arm of the canyon.


We then continued northwards to Moab, Utah, where we picked up son Nathaniel from the airport. He was able to spend six days with us which was really a treat.  Nathaniel is always cheerful and livens up any occasion. On the way to Moab we spent time in the Valley of the Gods area and then in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.

This is in the Valley of the Gods, a scenic area of Bureau of Land Management land north of Monument Valley. It is much less visited than Monument Valley.
I felt I was stretching my eyeballs for most of our two month trip with such expansive horizons most of the time. In North Carolina, we have vistas from the tops of our mountains, but usually our horizon is limited by our closer hills and dense forests. This is in the Valley of the Gods.
Early morning in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.
Most of our Canyonlands hikes were over sandstone. This trail is marked with small rock cairns; one is visible just to the right of Laura.
Native American pictographs in Canyonlands.
It’s Nathaniel! We were happy to see him. This is in Dead Horse Point State Park, close to Moab.
A view from the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. The La Sal Mountains are in the background
These sandstone pinnacles are the Fisher Towers, northeast of Moab.
The Titan pinnacle on the left, Laura on the right.
Nathaniel at the end of the trail, at Fisher Towers.
The Colorado River, upstream from Moab.
This is the last picture! Craig and Laura on an overcast evening in Monument Valley.

9 Comments

  2. Oh WOW I am so JEALOUS! I have not been there in decades1 Did you recognize my HAND PRINT?!
    LOVE TO YOU THREE !

  3. Fabulous pics and I always appreciate the witty captions! Thanks for sharing.

  5. Always spectacular and informative! Very nice to be experiencing these places without crowds and with the opportunity to spend quality time there.

  6. Great photos and text- you capture well the allure of the Colorado Plateau and its geologic and scenic wonder. Glad you got in a diversity of hikes and bike rides, as well as viewing some of the archeological delights.

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