Friday, November 3/2017

We woke up to sunshine and warm temperatures this morning and that is always a good thing.   It looks like shorts and t-shirts will be the attire for today.
Booko was busy outside this morning and when he did come back, he had a bone from what I assume was a deer leg in his mouth.   Well he was ever so pleased with himself and was more than happy to bring it into the trailer where I promptly threw it into the garbage!  He was not impressed!!
With the sun shining, I got the coffee on to perk and started catching up on the blog!!   With all the scenic back trails we have been taking, the cell service has been very poor and we often are in a "no service" area  when we park for the night.   This is why I was two days behind this morning!!

Headed out

I got breakfast ready this morning (bacon and eggs) and got the dishes done up while John was in the shower.  We then packed up and headed over to Sand Island Campground where we were able to fill up on water and get rid of our garbage.  It is always a crap shoot as to whether or not the water is still turned on at the campground but for the last few years, we have been lucky and have been able to put on enough water that it gets us all the way back to Wickenburg.  That makes life a whole lot easier!!

Utah 191 north

Once the water was filled and the garbage put into the trash bins, we headed back into Bluff to put on fuel and find an ATM machine.  With that being done, we headed north on 191 until we reached our turn on West 95.  It would be a short day of travel as John wanted to find a spot not too far along this road to set up camp for the weekend.  There is some serious football that needs to be watched and we had plans of doing just that.  It would also be good to just sit for the weekend without doing any travelling!!  And, the best part would be that it would be WARM!!  With any luck, we would also have cell service!!

Utah 95 west - new pavement!!

Utah 95 took us along the tops of several Mesas and down into several large washes.  This area is covered with Anasazi Ruins and some are easily accessible.  John and I have been here several times and have been lucky enough to see  many of the ancient sites.  It truly is incredible to see how the ancient ones lived so long ago!!

And THAT...is a long way down!!

Sharp turns, curves and big, deep drop offs and guard rails
that are too short!!

Lots of color again along this road

Miles and miles of hills and dales and desert

A stop at some Anasazi ruins

The Mule Canyon Ruins lie right along the side of the highway and one would be remiss not to stop and take to opportunity to view something that is so easy to get to.  The Ruins are believed to be a small Anasazi village used for living quarters and religious ceremonies.  The masonry structures that remain visible were made from sandstone blocks set in wet soil mortar.
The ruins included a 12 room "room block" (where it is believed that 3 or 4 families resided), a Kiva and a Tower.
The room block was used primarily for sleeping, storage and shelter during bad weather.  Most, if not all the daily chores and activities of the Anasazi were carried on out of doors.
The Kiva was primarily for religious ceremonies and may have also served as a community meeting place or work area during inclement weather.
The Tower function is unknown but thought to have served in a Religious / Observatory / Communication capacity.
The unique thing about this particular structure were the tunnels (now sealed) that connected all three structures.  Tunnels were rarely found in Anasazi sites and a specific purpose for the tunnels in unknown.  Other than the obvious which, is a sealed passageway from structure to structure.

The Tower

The Kiva

The Room Block

Road we are going to dry camp on
Also know as Baullius Road

Once done checking out the ruins we headed back down the highway to a rather obscure little dirt road and looked for a campsite that would do for the weekend.  We were lucky enough to find a nice spot nestled in the juniper trees and proceeded to set up camp.  Before too long, the trailer was level, the slide was out and the campfire was going.   It was time for an adult beverage and settle into our weekend retreat!!

Our spot for a couple days

Booko loved the freedom to roam and check out yet another new spot.  OH MY......there are tons of new smells here too.   Good Grief, his poor old nose is on overload.   There are tons of deer track here in the red sand but there is also lots of prickly cactus for him to avoid.  I did mention to John that it is probably time to get a pair of pliers out.  We

just may need to pull some stickers out of his feet sometime in the near future!!

Eventually, it was time to head into the camper as there was a football game on TV and it was time for me to get the pizza  made and into the oven!!  Again....it is my turn to cook.   Oh well, I am good at pizza so it is not too much of a hardship!!  
Booko was tired after his busy day of checking out the site and keeping John and I safe from predators - although all I really saw tonight was a bird!!   But, perhaps Booko saw more during his travels although I really doubt it!!   Life is Good!!

Moon peeking through the Junipers

Booko had a hard day