Canyon of the Ancients Area, Rural Montezuma County (West of Cortez) to Blanding, Utah

September 11, 2022

On the Rez

We hit the road early again on the second day, in order to make some good time before the relentless sun became too strong. Right after sunrise, Montezuma County Route G was pleasant to be riding on again as the surrounding landscape was illuminated by the early morning sun. The morning was cool, giving a hint that Autumn is coming.

A view along Montezuma County Route G, heading West in the area of the Canyon of the Ancients..

We estimated we would be riding on the county road for about 15 miles before turning onto any other roads. The road wound around occasional corners, revealing red rock cliffs and formations that captured our attention. There were some people living out here but residences were spaced widely apart and there were long stretches between them. Even though very few motor vehicles passed by, one should not become complacent. There are plenty of places to pull off the road in order to check out any rocks or to take a photo.

A scene out along Montezuma County Route G, in far Western Colorado.

As we approached the border with Utah, the land seemed to open up, becoming more barren in appearance. The Garmin called for our "turn" to occur at the Ismay Trading Post (ITP). In reality, it was the same road, which bore slightly to the left and down an incline. On approach, the ITP looked like an abandoned building. For all I know, it is one. Upon closer inspection, there is a faded sign at the top that identifies the structure.

At the bottom of the little incline, we crossed a dry stream bed, a cattle guard in the road, a nearly hidden county route marker, and a couple of campaign signs. We had entered Utah without any pomp, circumstance, or even a welcoming sign.

Montezuma Creek, in San Juan County, Utah... "Pretty spare out there."

We were on Native American Lands and had been since the Ismay Trading Post area. One of the proprietors at our previous lodging site commented that things were, "pretty spare out there." She was right. Indian Reservations are sovereign entities and nearly separate from the surrounding state and county authorities. As such, the reservation roads seem to have the bare essentials but not very much signage or advertising. It is actually a rather nice change from the over-commercialization that is seen in most other places.

We followed ITP Road to Cajon Mesa Road, which we would be on for another 14 miles. These roads were nearly deserted. The few people we saw in vehicles seemed surprised to see us but they nearly all recovered and gave friendly waves.

I saw a dead horse in a ditch alongside the road. It's skull was nearly completely exposed save for some hide on one side of it. Obviously, it had been there for quite some time. I wanted to retrieve the skull, clean it up, and display it at home but didn't think it could be carried successfully on my bike. After having passed, I had a little regret about not having stopped to examine it more closely. Since the Old West definitely has its allure and its influence on we Americans, one simply must have a bovine skull or that of a horse, on display in the library at home.

We turned left and our road was now called Navajo Route 5068 or Hatch Trading Post Road. The Navajo Route 5068 signs appeared at most intersections but the actual name of the road seemed to change without notification. If you're from around there, you probably don't need any signs to tell where you are. It is only we interlopers who need help. A passing motorist told us to stay on this road because it is the only paved one around. Although we had our route very well mapped out, we appreciated his friendliness and confirmation that we had chosen a good road.

The lay of the land, out there on the rez.

We saw several signs for the Hovenweep National Monument, which is a village where indigenous people lived from 10,000 to 2,000 years ago. Since getting there would have involved a 28-mile (roundtrip) detour on a gravel road, we opted out. However, if you happen to have time on your hands and/or access to a motor vehicle, Hovenweep would be nice to explore.

We learned these were the reservation lands of the Utes, Piutes, Navajo, and Hopi Indians. The landscape was wide open and arid. I wondered how anyone successfully farmed or ranched here. Water seemed to be non-existent as every stream bed we passed over was completely dry (see photo of stream bed above). No grass grew anywhere. The only vegetation seemed to be sagebrush and small rounded clumps of xeric weeds with yellow flowers along the road sides.

There were occasional small clusters of homes, sometimes well off the road. The occupants had to have sources of water in order to sustain themselves. Perhaps water is available from very deep wells.

All I knew for sure is that despite the desolation and complete lack of any services for a traveler, I was really enjoying this ride. Long and flat stretches of road were before us. We were infrequently passed by motorists, oftentimes being all by ourselves out there. It was a cyclist's dream. Little did we know this would also be a pattern for much of the remainder of our entire trip. I was liking Utah, a lot.

Fred cruising along on Reservation Road.

Almost as soon as I said that I didn't think we would have any unpaved roads to ride on today, our nicely paved road became gravel. There were half a dozen homes lining the road to our left and two barking dogs came out to "greet" us. My thought was, "How did such a great ride so suddenly deteriorate?"

Thinking quickly, I remembered that yesterday, I had purchased some dog treats at the farmers market in Cortez. Putting the bike between me and them, I pulled out the bag and began offering some to the fiercely barking canines. Upon realizing that I had food, they immediately turned into garden variety tail-wagging family pets. By the time Fred got there, the "threat" had been completely de-escalated.

The Reservoir, I mean, Reservation Road Dogs that turned from man-eaters into friendly pets upon seeing my dog treats.

Someone was looking out of the upstairs window of one of the homes but nobody came out to see what was going on. One of the dogs became so distracted that he nearly got hit by a motorist coming from the other direction. I got that person to slow down and the dog mostly off the road so disaster was averted. We met up with the motorist later on that day at our camp site. She was friendly and positive about the whole encounter.

Chuck paused briefly, somewhere out there, on the rez.

A bit further down the road, we came to a "T" intersection, literally in the middle of nowhere. Jack-O was there with the truck. Chuck and John-F had gotten there before Fred and I. There was a house and they had talked with the owner who said we could camp there if we needed to. That was mighty nice of him, but since we were only part way through our ride for the day, it was too soon to stop. We took a break and then continued on toward our destination for the day, near Blanding, Utah.

Middle of nowhere intersection of Reservation and Hovenweep Roads, where Jack-O was waiting and we took a break.

After a short break, we continued on toward Utah Route 262, the first state highway we would see since having entered the state. On the way to it were more of the same wide open roads and peaceful riding conditions. Along the way, we saw more unusual rock formations and landscapes. We made good time but also took time to stop, observe, and get a few good photos. Eventually, we made it to the intersection with Route 262.

Once we got onto SR-262, it went for a short distance before taking a deep dive down into a valley with two completely dry stream beds. These washes were named Montezuma and Recapture Creeks. They resembled dirt roads from the bridges above them but were really highways for water that had flowed through some time in the past. Some H2O would be really nice, right about now but I don't reckon anyone would want to be down there when it did come through.

The junction of UT-262 and US-191. We headed onto US-191 toward Blanding.

Route 262 meandered along through some more interesting landforms and rocks before finally meeting up with US-191. It was becoming hot by this time of day. We figured we had around 15 miles left with a big hill on US-191, visible from where we were standing. A sign at the intersection pointed in the direction of a place called Mexican Hat. The intriguing name comes from a rock that resembles a sombrero. To see it involved another side trip for which we did not have the time (or inclination) to do. Since we weren't getting anywhere by standing here, I took off to get over that big bump in the road ahead and to put some highway under my wheels on the way to Blanding.

The lay of the land out there in Southern San Juan County, Utah.

We passed through the small Native American village of White Mesa that straddles US-191. Besides a nice community garden at the local church and an open gasoline station, not much else seemed to be happening in town on this Sunday afternoon. We rolled on through without stopping.

The road continued onward toward Blanding. With a slightly downhill grade and a tailwind, we were able to make pretty good time. At a gas station near the intersection with Utah-95, we convened the group and then rode about 2 miles further North on 191 to our final destination, the Blue Mountain RV and Campground. The magnificent Blue Mountain itself was ahead of us, making a nice backdrop.

We arrived to the campground and settled in after having spoken with the owners. They had 3 dogs that I fed with the remainder of the treats I was carrying. My motto is that it is very important to establish good relations with the dogs and their owners.

The proprietors were an older Native American man and his wife. The man was surprised and subtly impressed that we had come through the Indian Lands to get there. He told us the vast majority of people come from Monticello, to the North. I'm not sure how that way may have been but I was happy with our route and very glad to have seen the area through which we had passed.

Drought tolerant plants growing along the walkways in the Blue Mountain RV Park, where we camped.

If you want low traffic, mostly flat terrain, and the road(s) less traveled, our route for this day is highly recommended. Be sure to carry plenty of water if you go that way... because, "it's pretty spare out there," as someone once said to us.

Today's ride: 62 miles (100 km)
Total: 124 miles (200 km)

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