Montezuma Creek TR

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As we left our property in Old La Sal a strong wind blew across the vast land of canyons. A wall of red dust rose thousands of feet in the air, reminiscent of a scene from one of the Mummy movies, completely obscuring the 12,000 ft La Sal peaks.
This would not be the best day to enjoy most of what the four corners area had to offer, but as this would be mostly a driving adventure we figured the weather would be fine. Our destination was a trip through Montezuma Creek. This trip had long been on my bucket list of places to explore. It would not disappoint.
We drove to the south end of one of my favorite towns of Blanding, turning onto an unmarked dirt road next to the American Gas Company. The surrounding desert was filled with the dyeing rusty carcasses of propane tanks. The road headed southwest and would eventualy deposit us into Montezuma Creek.
Not many miles along this access road we passed through a small canyon and I noticed some small caves worn into the rugged rock face. I was not expecting to see ruins in this tiny canyon and we almost drove right by. Something in the cliffs caught my eye and I told my wife, Michelle to stop and back up. She always drives on our adventures while I navigate. Through the years she's turned into a 4 wheeling expert. Sure enough there were several masonry walls nestled into the caves with some small rock art panels. It was a nice surprise that only heightened our anticipation for what we would find in Montezuma Creek.
We finally made it to Montezuma Creek and turned north. The canyon walls protected us somewhat from the gale force winds blowing overhead. I could see why this canyon would have been popular with prehistoric people. The creek had cut a wide gorge though the canyon, creating perfect little plains to farm on.
Not far into the canyon we would be rewarded with our first rock art panel. This one was easy to spot as the white outlines of the petroglyphs boldly stood out from the black desert varnish face they had been pecked from. Hiking up to the base of the panel we could see the abstract rendering of elk and bison, as well as men on horseback giving us a clue that these were not drawn by the Anasazi but by the Ute