Bridges to Utah - Onward !

   Leaving Mesa Verde, after a pleasant three days at The Ute Mountain Casino and The Sleeping Ute RV Park, headed North on Colorado State Route 160, Picking up Rt 41 just before Fours Corner Monument. Rt 41 morphs into N-162 once you cross into Utah. We traveled thru Bluff Utah and continued on into Blanding for a couple of nights at The Blue Mountain RV Park. A beautiful RV park that has had meticulous upkeep and modernization.

  While in Blanding we drove the 40 miles to Natural Bridges National Monument and toured the three bridges on the scenic loop,

  This is outstanding, nine-mile, scenic loop providing access to a viewing area for each of the featured "bridges" in the National Monument. 

  It must be distinctly understood that a 'Bridge' is very different from an 'Arch'. An arch is shaped by freeze/thaw cycles and wind erosion whereas a natural bridge develops over millennia being scoured out by the action of water, chiefly by repeated floodings of the gorge where they are located

Gamble Oaks Beneath Sipapu

  All three bridges are accessible via hiking trails over some steep and challenging terrain. The hike down to Sipapu Bridge (Right) is the steepest in the park. A staircase and several wooden ladders aid in the decent. The Sipapu trail is 1.5 miles round trip and over 500+ feet of elevation change. Hard pass, thanks. 

  Sipapu is the second largest natural bridge in the United States. In Hopi mythology a 'sipapu' was a gateway thru which a soul could pass to the spirit world.

 Kachina is the next up, a massive bridge and considered the youngest of the three. The view from the overlook is difficult to see because of your angle-of-view, but the hike down to under the bridge is another 1.5 miles so we passed on the venue. The bridge is named for the Kachina dancers that play a central role in Hopi religious tradition.

Owachomo

  This brings us to the last natural bridge in the loop... Owachomo (Left)  Owachomo means "rock mound" in the Hopi dialect and is named after the rock formation on top of the southeast end of the bridge. The Tuwa Creek no longer flows under the Owachomo as it did thousands of years ago. This bridge has a very delicate appearance suggesting that it has experienced more erosion than the others.

  This bridge featured an "easy" trail of only 1/4 mile each way... with an elevation change of only 180 feet. Right... it might be only .25 miles 'as the crow flies' but it had the impact of a miles long hike. When you mix the steep terrain, the temperatures and the elevation... ugh... but soldier on we did. 

Owachomo Bridge

I am including the obligatory picture from directly below the span as a testament to the fool hardy decision I made. It would have been a shame to come all this way and not hike at least one of the trails. Standing beneath the span of the bridge, looking up to where my adoring bride awaited either my subsequent return or an impending myocardial infarction. 50/50... the outcome, debatable.

  The Monument does provide the option of hiking down to one of the bridges and then completing the nearly 10-mile loop trail to all three bridges. Not for the unprepared, inexperienced or physically wanting. The route along the canyon bottom is primitive, unmaintained and can be difficult to follow.

  The trails from the overlooks are fairly well marked. Staying on the path is essential as there is an odd looking, life sustaining 'biological soil crust' that is little understood, but it holds the fragile soil together, retains what little moisture there is and if damaged, takes 10-15 years to regenerate. 

Biological Crust

  We departed Blue Mountain in Blanding and set our sights on a few bucket-list destinations... 

"In Matters of Style, Swim with the Current,

In Matters of Principle, Stand Like a Rock"

- T. Jefferson