Canyonlands, Goosenecks of the San Juan River, and the Moki Dugway, Utah, April 2006 - Page E
Around noon on April 22, 2006, we reached Lake Powell in Glen Canyon. We are on Highway 95 where it
crosses the Dirty Devil and Colorado Rivers.
This is taken from the overlook west of the lake.
The bridge over the Dirty Devil River.
An informational sign about the community of Hite.
One of my favorite travel stories is about my first trip to Fry Canyon on Christmas Day, 1979. I had spent
the night in Natural Bridges National Monument. I only had a little bit of gas left in my car. I could either
go east to Blanding (a moderate sized town), or I could go west. Since I wanted to go west, I decided to take
a chance on there being gas in Fry Canyon. My special topo map said there was a gas station in this small town. So,
I took a chance and headed west. When I arrived in Fry Canyon, it looked almost the same as it does in these
pictures. There was the general store and a few trailers behind the store. Yes, there were some gas pumps
outside the store. Somehow, I had expected a bigger town. It looked like the entire population numbered only
a couple of dozen people. I walked up to the front door of the store and I saw a note posted there. The note
was very simple. I cannot exactly remember the name, but this is an accurate reflection of the note.
"Fry Canyon has gone to the Johnson's for Christmas."
Yes, the entire town had gone to someone's house for dinner. I looked at my topo map and discovered that
the road to Hanksville was mostly downhill. I had about a little over a gallon of gas left. It was 75 miles
to Hanksville. I decided to chance it and go to Hanksville, since I had no idea when Fry Canyon would return
from the Johnson's. I coasted with the motor off for more than half of the way to Hanksville. I literally
coasted into Hanksville on an empty tank. A very nice man was working inside his store when I went up to his
door to see when he would reopen the day after Christmas. He told me he would turn on the pumps so I could
fill up without waiting until tomorrow. Another story about the friendly nature of a lot of small town people.
The Moki Dugway
This sign says it all.
The Goosenecks of the San Juan River
In this one mile stretch, the river actually travels over five miles. The canyon is approximately 1,000
feet deep. The Goosenecks are on Highway 261 a few miles north of Mexican Hat in the southeastern corner
of Utah. The San Juan eventually joins the Colorado River north of the Glen Canyon dam.
Click here to visit the
official Gooseneck State Park website
Click here to see a video I took of the Goosenecks area in 1992
Satellite view of the Goosenecks
Satellite view of the Goosenecks
Courtesy of AGRC / Digital Utah
Click here to see a VERY LARGE satellite view of the Goosenecks from Space Imaging.com
Click here to see a video I took of Mexican Hat Rock in 1992
Mexican Hat rock
Utah 2006 Main Page
Utah 2006 Nine Mile Canyon Petroglyphs Page #1
Utah 2006 Nine Mile Canyon Petroglyphs Page #2
Utah 2006 Goblin Valley Page #1
Utah 2006 Goblin Valley Page #2
Utah 2006 Canyonlands, Goosenecks of the San Juan River, and the Moki Dugway Page
Utah 2006 Mesa Verde Page #1
Utah 2006 Mesa Verde Page #2 - Spruce Tree House
Utah 2006 Mesa Verde Page #3 - Cliff Palace
Utah 2006 Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs Page
Utah 2006 Arches National Park Page #1
Utah 2006 Arches National Park Page #2
Utah 2006 Black Dragon Canyon & other places Page
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