The Wolfman panel and Muley Point

Since we had been doing a lot of hiking every day up to this point we figured we should take a "rest day", so that's what we did today.  We only did a couple of very short walks today but still saw some incredible sights!  We were heading into the Cedar Mesa region of southeastern Utah which has quite a few locations of Indian ruins and rock art.  Our plan for the day was to check out a couple of areas that were supposed to have some interesting petroglyphs, then work our way up towards Natural Bridges National Monument.  Our first stop of the day was what is known as the "Wolfman" panel in Butler Wash not far from the community of Mexican Hat.  It was less than a half-mile walk to see the panel, and it was fascinating indeed.  On the side of the cliff near the bottom of the wash was a very nice series of images carved into the rock.  It is always fun to sit and contemplate these images and what they may have meant to the people that carved them. 

After our visit to the Wolfman panel we headed for a road known as the "Moki Dugway", which is sort of a shortcut road between Mexican Hat and Natural Bridges National Monument.  As you head towards the Moki Dugway from the valley, the road is paved but as you approach the base of Cedar Mesa the road turns to gravel and gets very narrow, then it starts to climb.  The Dugway is a gravel road with a series of steep inclines and 180 degree switchbacks as it ascends 1,200 feet to the top of Cedar Mesa.  At the top of the dugway a 5 mile dirt road goes through BLM land to an overlook known as Muley Point.  The overlook has very dramatic views south over the twisting, entrenched canyons of the San Juan River and to the desert beyond.  You can even see part of Monument Valley far off in the distance.  We took in the views for a while then decided to head further up the mesa.  Our plan was to camp at Natural Bridges, but as we drove towards the monument it started to snow and the temperature dropped from the mid 50's to the mid 30's.  We didn't want to have a miserable wet and cold camping experience so we instead headed for the town of Blanding where we stayed at the Super 8.  This turned out to be a nice treat because they also had a hot tub and for the second night in a row we were able to relax in the soothing waters of a whirlpool :-)