A Quick Jaunt to Cedar Mesa

[MonikaC]

I managed to get away for a few days and visited some ruins I hadn't been to before. I'd tried to find Citadel West previously, but the directions I had were so jumbled that all I ended up doing was driving & hiking around, searching in vain. I finally realized that 3 locations had gotten mashed together & made my way there this time. It still took hiking up to the wrong ledges several times before I went to the other side of the canyon where I could look across and finally spot it. It was well worth finding as it must be rarely visited as there were numerous potsherds, generally left in situ. Fewer than a handful had been taken out of context & left "on display". I had neither the camera body nor macro lens for nice shots of them, but did take some iPhone shots. Some shots I processed both in color & in B&W and would love to hear which ones you prefer. I posted them all here instead of color here & B&W in the B&W forum as it's easier to compare when they're next to each other.

This is the granary that I was able to spot from across the canyon.

And the main ruin.

A closer shot of the farthest right structure.

The first ruins I came upon, east of Citadel West. This is where most of the potsherds were.

I don't think I've ever seen the turquoise color leaching out from a water streak before. Maybe one of you geologists can elucidate?

And since I seem to be going backwards in time, this is 5 Kiva Pueblo, just outside of Blanding. It's a short walk from the parking area and most of the way down to the creek is littered with broken bottles and trash. When I heard another vehicle pull up, I was nervous about vandalism because of it obviously being a party area and packed up & hustled back to my vehicle (which was perfectly safe). None of the other tourists who came by ventured down the trail. There is also a natural bridge shortly before this pueblo. I stopped & looked, but didn't go to the base, which is where I think one would have to be in order to isolate it from the cliff behind.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Quite an interesting place.

 

[AlanLichty]

Sweet - I really like the look of Citadel West. Those ruins don't appear to have been hit with much conservation work and are in pretty good shape. No clue what the blue would be coming from as I am not aware of anything like copper deposits in those formations. Maybe @Douglas Sherman could help with alternate mineral sources that could leave something like that.

I never visited 5 Kiva Pueblo since I found myself dependent on hitching rides with you and Doug last time I was in that area. There weren't a lot of places I could safely explore driving that 25' beast I had. I suspect that most of the easy access ruins near Blanding would be prime places for the local teens to gather and drink beer.

 

[MonikaC]

Sweet - I really like the look of Citadel West. Those ruins don't appear to have been hit with much conservation work and are in pretty good shape. No clue what the blue would be coming from as I am not aware of anything like copper deposits in those formations. Maybe @Douglas Sherman could help with alternate mineral sources that could leave something like that.

I never visited 5 Kiva Pueblo since I found myself dependent on hitching rides with you and Doug last time I was in that area. There weren't a lot of places I could safely explore driving that 25' beast I had. I suspect that most of the easy access ruins near Blanding would be prime places for the local teens to gather and drink beer.

It was really nice to find somewhere that obviously had little traffic. Most people are going in/coming out of Grand Gulch & eager to either get into the main canyon or back to their vehicles. I did see 2 people who were hiking out, but mine was the only vehicle at the TH. There is graffiti on the cliff above the ruins, but if you're on the ledge, you won't see it.

You have a regular vehicle now, I think, so you could easily visit 5 Kiva Pueblo. I've heard that the museum in Blanding is very good (Craig Childs wrote about stealing a piece of from there & wanting to replace it in a more culturally appropriate place, but realized that since he didn't know where it came from, it would be as inappropriate as having it in the museum. I don't remember what he said he did with it)

You could also go to the overlook for Fry Canyon Ruins. I think. Hard to photograph in context with the deep narrow canyon & river below, but worth seeing.


Here are some of the potsherds (hard to photograph in situ but I tilted one to shoot, then moved it back)

 

[AlanLichty]

Some of that pottery appears to be in situ as you mentioned. Rare these days. My Tacoma 4x4 would have no issues at all navigating around the roads in that area and has little in common with that rolling apartment I was driving last time I was down there.

I have spent an afternoon at the museum in Blanding and agree it's a pretty good museum. A lot of that material came out of the Recapture Wash mitigation project that was done in the late 1970's under the direction of Laurel Casjens just before they filled the reservoir. Several of my classmates at the University of Utah worked on that project so it was nice to see how their finds/efforts were incorporated into the museum's displays.

 

[JimFox]

Hey Monika, I was just wondering what you were up to. Now I know!

What great old ruins. Cedar Mesa is a place I have never explored, always an excuse while driving by not to stop. I am thinking that I need to make a trip just for that place. I really like what you captured, you did a great job of making one feel like they were there.

 

[MonikaC]

Hey Monika, I was just wondering what you were up to. Now I know!

What great old ruins. Cedar Mesa is a place I have never explored, always an excuse while driving by not to stop. I am thinking that I need to make a trip just for that place. I really like what you captured, you did a great job of making one feel like they were there.

If you like that kind of thing, Cedar Mesa is a veritable treasure trove. And the hiking is beautiful, with rock terraces stepping up/down and usually numerous pools of water. Access used to be free & easy, but now you need to pay to play; minimal, but well deserved, particularly now with budget & staff cuts. It's gotten much more use over the years and the places people were shunted to (away from the high use areas) have gotten crowded, too. That said, there are still little trod areas.