The Valley of the Gods, is Bureau of Land Management area. The Valley of the Gods is sometimes called the little monument valley.
There is a 17 mile dirt road going through it and I have read of many bloggers and other campers dry camping along this dirt road so we thought we'd give it a try. I had read that entering the valley from the Bluff, UT side was a good way to go so that is what we tried. Well we did manage to make the turn off the main road onto the dirt road but that is when things took a turn for the worse. The road was narrow and crossed a creek which had some water in it. Luckily there was a man in a pickup parked there while his wife was taking pictures and also lucky there was a fairly large turnaround area. Let's remember I'm 31 feet long and that's not counting the tow hitch and car. I pulled up to ask the man what he thought about me driving in and he just shook his head no. He said that there were some very tight turns and he didn't think we could make them. So I unhitched the car, (because with the car hooked up behind the rv I can't back up, it's not good for the hitch and the car seems to develop a mind of its own), and had enough room to turn the rv around and then hooked the car back up. That's when we decided to go to Gooseneck State park. After getting settled into our spot at Gooseneck we took the car and drove the 17 mile dirt road in the Valley of the Gods to see what it was like.
(Sorry but I couldn't get this paragraph to left justify).
We started our drive from the other end of the dirt road and it starts out nice. It's in good condition and wide enough for two cars to pass. But about 7 miles in it gets very bad. There are steep hills which bottom out in washes and then start right up the other side. No way could we have done that. I have a long wheel base and there are several places where I would have gotten centered high and a few places where I would have been stuck at the bottom. To be fair entering from the Bluff end there are some very nice boondocking spots about 2 or 3 miles in and one could come back out the same way but I'm glad we didn't try it. We did see several trucks with campers on them that did just fine and a few campervans as well.
We did have a nice drive through the valley in the Honda but we're glad we didn't try to take our expensive piece of rv equipment in.
We did have a nice drive through the valley in the Honda but we're glad we didn't try to take our expensive piece of rv equipment in.
Claret Cup cactus in bloom.
San Rafael Prickly Poppies in bloom.
Evie and Joy
Prickly Poppies up close.
See you later.
Evie and Joy
That's a great new photo for your blog. Drama captured.
ReplyDeleteI want one of those yellow flowering plants....and a prickly poppy. That poppy looks like weeds I kill. Maybe I should have waited for them to flower to see what I had.
What an adventure. How fortunate those folks were there to head you off that roadway.
The landscape is so vast and endless. I enjoy thinking about the years when all that was under an ocean. Any place around to find fossilized sea creatures? I would think that the way the land sides erode there must be plenty for the pickin'.
If I were closer you would have a supper guest.
So many adventures, so much time. What a great way to live.....as long as you can connect to the interwebs.
Happy Trails.
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