Small expedition

I study maps, looking for new places that are a little out of the way and perhaps worth the diversion. Places that might not be well known. Hmmmm, what's the deal with this spot?

Yesterday's mystery place was Muley Point, at the edge of Cedar Mesa, overlooking the meandering San Juan River gorge, with bits of Monument Valley in the distance. And dispersed camping. Sounds good. Sounds like it might worth the drive up the notorious Moki Dugway.

I had driven up Moki Dugway once before. It was a slightly anxious experience, but this time it was no big deal. The fact there was a lot of oncoming traffic the first time (including a huge beer truck) but none yesterday probably had something to do with my relaxed attitude. Driving down might be a different experience.

The road to Muley Point is supposedly impassible when wet. When dry (like yesterday) there's a one-to-three inch layer of orange dust/powder/sand until the road crosses into the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Then it's gravely. And white.

Before the actual point, there was a turnoff on the left. A mostly solid rock surface with evidence someone had camped there before. I checked it out.

An appealing thing about this spot was the lack of dirt. The day before, howling winds filled the air—and the Rolling Steel Tent—with dust. However, the wind was still nasty. And cold. But, hey, what a view!

I continued on to the actual Muley Point and, well, I wasn't the only one who studied maps for out of the way camping spots.

There was a Class C, a Class B, some tenters (I don't know what they managed to drive tent stakes into) and a couple in the back of a pickup. And some guy in van barging in on everyone.

But it's a dramatic location. Even more dramatic when the wind is blowing hard enough to make standing difficult. It would be a great place in the summer since it's at about 6,400 feet and therefore cooler than the valley below. But right now? Burrr.