Sinking, Swinging, Tunneling

Buckhorn Draw Road took us north from where we were camped out. It is a better maintained road than many we have been on lately, but the cloud of dust kicked up behind us was enormous. The pictographs and petroglyphs, paired with bridges, arches, tunnels and caves made for a adventurous day.

We were traveling down Buckhorn Draw Road when Tom noticed a circular wooden fence off the edge of the road. We backed up, turned in, and drove completely around it. The sign there only identified it as “The Sinkhole.” We got out for a minute to investigate, and it is about 20 feet in diameter and at least as deep. The walls show multiple layers of fractured rock that have been undercut and sunken in. The fencing appears to be there to keep people and livestock from falling into it, since you would need to be rescued to get back out.

Continuing on our way, the higher desert landscape soon gave way to larger rock formations. The first ones were more isolated, but they gradually became more grouped and finally became a solid wall as we reached the San Rafael River. Some of their names, like Bottleneck Peak and Assembly Peak, were easy to now how they got their name, but others, like Window Blind Peak, were less so.

At the San Rafael River is a historic swinging bridge. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1935 and 1937, and is the only remaining swinging bridge in Utah. With its concrete abutments and anchor points, thick timber floor, and a cable that was bigger around than my forearm, it should not have been a surprise that the bridge did not actually move or swing. With the construction of this bridge, a large area of the Swell that was previously considered inaccessible was opened up for grazing and automobile traffic. At the time, the San Rafael River was considered too treacherous to cross. The San Rafael Swinging Bridge is just for pedestrians now.

After crossing the bridge, we encountered several pictograph and petroglyph panels near the road. One of the panels was over a hundred feet long and depicted several scenes. There were plaques there to help identify some of the images, and they hinted at some possible meanings, but no one really knows exactly what they represent. There are more modern adjacent to the Native American Ones. These date back to pioneer times, and one is names and dates carved into the rock, and another is bullet holes that spell out the initials TKG.

Further down the road we encountered a natural cave halfway up the rock face. I climbed up to sit and there is plenty of room inside. It also appears that people have built fires inside, since the ceiling is covered in black soot. Disappointingly, there is also some graffiti there. This is also an area where dinosaurs roamed. We stopped just past this site and I hiked up the small slope to a level place where a dinosaur footprint is preserved in the sandstone. Balancing on one foot, I used my shoe to get a perspective of size.

There are also some tunnels in this area, known as the Morrison Knudsen Tunnels. Between 1948 and 1952, the Department of Defense constructed several horizontal tunnels and then set off explosives above them to determine their stability. This was the height of the Cold War, and they were trying to identify natural places that could withstand explosions. The soft sandstone here did not perform well, as the tunnels were abandoned and no installations were ever built, but the tunnels are cool to see. We hiked up to one of the tunnels and Cassie and I even crawled inside since the door could be opened. It is over 300 feet long and about 8 feet in diameter. The only thing I disturbed was a bat we woke up from its resting place. We also saw a natural arch just down the cliff from the tunnel. We had to enjoy it from the valley floor though, since we determined it would be too dangerous to climb up to it. After that we headed to the Wedge Overlook, but we will save that for later. Post #4 on the San Rafael Swell will be coming soon!

Today was filled with sunshine and warmth, but we could not enjoy it because of my actions, or better yet, my inactions. I feel like the Humpty Dumpty in the room: broken and unfixable. There are so many things I should have done better. I can be more motivated. I can be more helpful. I can be better at bringing up topics and and trying to resolve them. I can take the load off Tom. The feelings of worthlessness and failure are strong, but with some determination and support I can beat them. There are times when I feel I can’t do anything right, and each bad move compounds with the next. The only positive thing I can remember doing is making good burgers and roasted veggies for supper last night, but unfortunately, it used a lot of power and we are not catching up solar-wise today, so that is tainted too. I am thankful that at least the girls are getting some much needed rest today.

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