South of Moab in the Cedar Mesa region, there are a number of Native American ruins to explore. We visited a few.
The one in the featured image above is called Fallen Roof Ruin and is in Road Canyon near Blanding, UT. It’s a little over a mile hike into the canyon from the trailhead but the climb back out with a heavy photo backpack is a workout. This ruin is a cliff dwelling about 100 feet above the canyon floor and is one of the more famous Ancient Puebloan ruin sites. The rock pieces that have fallen from the roof have exposed a colorful display with very interesting patterns. Getting a good composition requires some precarious positioning not far from a very high drop off.
Another cliff dwelling nearby in Mule Canyon is called House on Fire ruin. It’s a much easier hike than Fallen Roof ruin. It’s shown below.
These ruin sites have been preserved pretty well considering the amount of traffic they get every year. Most people seem to respect their historical significance and just take photographs. There are signs inside the dwellings instructing people not to go inside and not to remove any artifacts that may be there.
Other interesting sights in this area are the Native American rock art or petroglyphs. Some of these are rather high up and you have to wonder how they got up there to carve these. One well known set of rock art is called the Wolfman Panel near Bluff, UT. Several images are below.
It’s interesting to try to figure out what these images mean. It also looks like some have been the victim of target practice with apparent bullet holes in various locations.
Another panel was in Arches NP on the hike to Delicate Arch. It’s at the Wolfe Ranch site and is shown below.
The Moab and Cedar Mesa areas were fantastic areas to explore and photograph. Such a wide variety of landscapes, hikes and Jeep trails. Canyonlands was a pleasant surprise with it’s grand vistas and few crowds. Even though we spent several weeks here we just scratched the surface. Canyonlands alone deserves much more time. There are also areas we didn’t get a chance to visit like Bryce and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Next time.
