Nowhere to be: Grand Gulch Area of Utah

I forced myself to leave the Moab area as I really enjoy it and the surrounding area. Decided to head about a 100 miles to the south and check out a little town called Bluff. I had read about an area outside Bluff called Comb Ridge and I wanted to spend some time camping and hiking in the area. The area has a lot of Ancient Pueblo Indian ruins and petroglyphs to check out. Tilted at an angle of almost 20 degrees, the ridge is an ancient rock formation tapered along the desert landscape of southeastern Utah. A linear north to south monocline, this immense sandstone formation is nearly one hundred and twenty miles long. In the Navajo tongue, this cataclysmic upheaval is translated "Rock Extends in the Form of Narrow Edge." This blunt rock extension occurred nearly 65 million years ago when tectonic plateds deep in the earth slipped, leaving a rugged scar across the face of the once smooth stone. I really liked the area because it is remote and nothing is really marked. You simply go out and explore on your own to find the ruins and art work. Very unlike a national park where every trail has signage, maps, warnings, etc., etc. Here, you're on your own to go wherever you want. Additionally, Valley of the Gods is nearby and I personally like it much better than Monument Valley. After spending a couple of nights in Bluff catching up on laundry and other matters I headed out to the Grand Gulch and Valley of the Gods for a few nights.

Road leading into Valley of the Gods

Some photo work from camp

Hiking in the Comb Ridge area is really good. You simply pick out a wash or canyon area and take off. Nothing is really marked and you kind of just go out and explore. Hiked into this big cave high above the canyon below and hung out for the afternoon.