Chugging Along the Swell

San Rafael Swell is an extraordinary geological area. It has canyons, buttes, and other features that have been created by the forces of erosion over the millennia since the earth here was pushed up into an anticline dome. Most of the roads through the Swell are primitive, making it both fun and challenging to see these striking rock formations and layers.

We set out for the day to explore the region southwest of where we were staying. We went down gravel roads that turned into 2 wheel tracks in the dirt and sand until we found Dutchman Arch. This is not the largest arch, but it is just the right size for us to enjoy walking around and on top of it. Suki easily climbed around the lower levels of rock and Tom even coaxed her to walk out over the top of the arch. I don’t think she liked being out there, but as long as Tom was there, she was okay. I carried Cassie around the adjoining rocks and took photos while they explored the top. While Cassie can’t really see or hear much, she sure seems to enjoy sniffing all of the surrounding odors on our hikes.

Before crossing back under the interstate, Tom saw some other trails and decided to drive down them. We found ourselves next to Locomotive Point, which had an area surrounded by a wooden fence to keep the the cattle out. When I walked behind the fence, I found a couple interesting pictograph panels on the rock. I do not know what they represent, but they were detailed and very interesting. When we stood back away from the formation, we could see one large face of the sheer wall near the pictographs had some sheets of rock broken off. This left some lighter stone in the wall next to the oxidized ones. We imagined one looked like Africa, and the other could have been a cherub, with its small wings, but the face seemed more demonic.

There was much more to the ride this day, to be continued in the next blog.

Today, we loaded into the pickup, Tom, Mason, the dogs, and me. We bounced around about 120 miles of rough roads for a good part of the day, seeing several sights along the way. It was fun to have Mason around and see things from his perspective as a rock climber. We ended the day at the RV with homemade burgers and baked potatoes.

Several opportunities were missed by me today, causing Tom some very unnecessary stress. He asked a few times about the side roads we were passing. Instead of fumbling with the apps on the phone, trying to find information while trying to keep from bouncing out of the seat because of the road, I should have told him I could not find anything, instead of continuing to try to look, I remained quiet and left him unanswered. I also failed to resolve the issue as soon as I knew Tom was frustrated. I apologize for that and hope I continue to learn from it, and be better.

Tomorrow is another day to explore and get things right. I am thankful to have Mason here visiting for a few days. It is nice to catch up with him.

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