Exploring Canyon Ruins

We had an amazing adventure recently. We spent a couple days camping and exploring ancestral Puebloan ruins in southern Utah. It was the Bears Ears National Monument region (yes, the region where he-who-shall-not-be-named wants to drill for oil). It was gorgeous. Recent rains brought the foliage to life. Every cactus was in bloom in wild magentas and yellows.

We spent a lot of time in several cliff dwelling ruins where we found wall paintings, petroglyphs, and remains of lives lived in the canyons. Park rangers at the Kane Gulch Ranger Station said there was more water running through the canyons than they had seen in 20 years. It was enthralling to be surrounded by so much life and almost a millennium of human history.