Valley Of The Gods
The area was called Valley of the Gods and it had a rough road through it. We had no idea what we'd find, but it had a good name so we thought we'd check it out. We were so surprised by what we found that we already can't wait to go back.
There is a little Monument Valley hidden down by Bluff that we didn't even know about. The valley is surrounded by a huge mesa and dotted with smaller mesas and bluffs. Everything has a name (even if we didn't know it) and it was popular with rock climbers. We were finally seeing other people on the road.
It was definitely a popular area. We stopped at the kiosk and were immediately annoyed with the hand-drawn map of the valley. It wasn't going to be much help. We knew we wouldn't get lost, but we wouldn't know the names of anything until we got back home and processed the pictures and GPS track. But it didn't make too big of a dent in our enjoyment of the trip.
It was definitely a gorgeous area. It seemed like it should be a national park. The road was already there, and it seemed like it could make some money for the state. They would need to make some good pull outs and maps at each one, and a Visitor Center could sell books and maps. Some hiking trails through the area would also add to the attraction.
But here it stood, a little dirt road snaking through spectacular scenery. We met many passenger cars negotiating their way through the cracks in the trail, though SUVs seemed to do just fine.
The little bed and breakfast was really out in the middle of nowhere, which was cool. Just past the inn was the end of the trail. We wanted to see the dugway but we were running out of daylight, so instead we opted for one, final trail. We turned south to check out Johns Canyon.
What an awesome and almost-secret trail!
