Kokopelli's Trail (Dome Plateau)

Our last ride in Moab was one of the more challenging rides of the trip. Doing a little inquiry of The Google this morning, I discovered that Kokopelli's Trail actually runs 142 miles between Loma, Colorado and Moab, Utah. Our ride was a mere 30 miles over what is known as the Dome Plateau portion. We were hot, tired, and thirsty by the end of the day. Along the way, we saw some beautiful scenery and some interesting waypoints. I have quite a few pictures to show you, so warm up that coffee and let's get started.

Just after leaving the staging area, we rounded a corner where we could see off into the distant landscape. We would not see another person until day's end.

I zoomed in a little so you could see the towers off in the distance.

Our first stop on this ride was at this point, where we were expecting to see "two great arches." One was easy enough to see. It's just to the right and a little above center in the image below. We rode back and forth trying to find the second. It was described as "camouflaged among the rocks." We were never able to make it out.

Moving on, we were able to pick out the more easily seen La Boca Arch. You can find it almost exactly in the middle of the image below.

Moving on, we came to a series of wind caves carved into the side of this huge rock. A natural spring ran in one, and there was a cattle trough built here to take advantage of this water source. It was hard to tell if it's in use today. Only about half held any water, and it was pretty green and icky looking.

Inside the cave, we found the source of the water. The dark egg-shaped area near the top center of the image below is where the water comes from. Below that, a pool of water. There was some sort of man-made "cap" there too. I have no information about its function.

There were other caves here as well. I didn't take any pictures of them, but you can see some images of the caves at this site right here.

Moving on, we came to some long-ago abandoned cabins, the remainder of an old mining mining operation. My earlier inquiry of The Google was to see if I could find any more information about these cabins, but I could not...only that they existed.

Walking inside the one above, I looked to the left and saw this:

Looking straight ahead, there is still an old jacket hanging from a nail, as if someone just stepped away for a moment. Now the dust of many years has settled over it.

Looking up, whoever lived here used anything available to plug drafty holes, including sheets of corrugated cardboard and lids from metal cans.

Looking right, I saw this:

To the right was a second cabin.

Moving around to the front it looked like this:

Inside, it looked like this:

I liked the windows and walls of this one.

The walls were constructed from railroad ties and railroad spikes.

Walking just a little ways into the rocks, we discovered this dwelling on the side of the hill:

Below it, the remains of the mining operation.

Looking back, we could see straight on to the cliff-side dwelling.

Below, and over the edge, we could see the road we still had to travel...about five miles back to our truck from here.

Once we had the ATV's loaded and strapped down, we headed back to Moab, 35 miles west. Along the way, we shadowed the Colorado River. Off in the distance in the image below, you can see Fisher Towers.

Here's another view, closer up, in the image below. We were driving through an area known as Castle Valley.

Looking ahead, we could see these two formations in silhouette.

It seemed a perfect way to end our days here in Moab. We've had a wonderful time here and everywhere else we've been on this trip.

Today we'll start our trek toward home. Our first stop along the way is Antelope Island State Park. Wikipedia tells us that Antelope Island has an area of roughly 42 square miles (109 km2), and is the largest of ten islands located within the Great Salt Lake. It lies in the southeastern portion of the lake, near Salt Lake City, and becomes a peninsula when the lake is at extremely low levels. We're not sure what the water level is like now, but if necessary, there is a 7.2-mile causeway connecting it to the mainland. We may wish we had time to spend more than one night, but I'm sure we'll be back this way again. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can.

Given it's remote location, I won't be surprised if we have no internet or cell signal, and so I may not write again before we get home. We should arrive back at the Three Cats Ranch by Sunday. If I don't write sooner, you can expect to hear from me again on Monday. Until then, thanks for traveling along with us. It's always more fun to travel with friends.