On March 22nd and March 23rd, I got together with a group of folks to head on off to the ruinatious lands of southeastern Utah. This motley crew included myself, my wife Ely, and of course our dog Buster. Arriving late the previous night were old friends from college Anne and Aaron (along with their little son, Sean), as well as Ely's younger brother Ben. This was going to be a well thought out trip (read-two weeks advance planning), and fun, if not adventure lay ahead.
Considering the group size, I knew we didn't stand much of a chance of following a set schedule of things (especially with a toddler!). We woke up not too late, and got around, and ready to rock and roll. We were on the road, in two seperate cars, by 10am, headed down the road to Kayenta, Monument Valley, and lands beyond. The only thing for sure we had to do was make it to Bluff, as we had reservations that night at the Recapture Lodge.
Our first stop was Sand Island, located along the San Juan River

The San Juan River drains a huge area of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona, and finally dead-ends into Lake Powell below Clay Hills
We stopped and had lunch, and explored the river by the boat ramp. Sean was very excited by all this flowing cold water. The dog thought it was pretty cool too - I disuaded him from swimming in it, though. He was more interested in another group's dog anyway.

What a place for a picnic!
The bluffs on the south side of the river are on the Navajo Nation, and require a permit to hike to. The north side of the river (around Bluff anyway) is managed mainly by the BLM. On both banks, there are a profusion of archeological sites. Sand Island is one of the easiest to get to.

A classic San Juan Linear Basketmaker anthropomorph. Fairly common throughout the Colorado Plateau, this sort of imagery seems to come from "power visions" or trances (or so the experts say).
Not the first time for Ely or I to Sand Island, but you notice new things every time. You could spend hours just looking at all the images carved on the cliff, ranging from Archaic to protohistoric times (not counting the modern graffiti).

The group takes in the sight of this prehistoric message board. The images continue up and downstream along the cliffs, well beyond the limits of the trail. Some are visible from the dirt road

We took our leave of Sand Island, and after checking into the Lodge, we headed on out towards Hovenweep National Monument. The maps still list the road as being dirt, and while that's incorrect, it might as well be true. It true Utah fashion, the roads suck. The closer you get to Hovenweep from Bluff, the worse they get. At one point, there is a random stretch where it appears that they simply forgot to pave. They might have been better off just leaving it all dirt.
The end of the trail is worth it though. We only had time to check out the main group of ruins on this trip, but some of the group (myself included) has visited Holly and Hackberry ruins as well. The trail around Little Ruin Canyon is easy and flat (except for crossing the canyon at the southern portion of the trail), and its about a mile long. Buster had a blast, and kept wanting to chase after rabbits. I can't wait until the walls are built in our backyard so we can trail him how to behave. For now, I'm just thankful for the leash.

Stronghold House from the canyon bottom.

Twin Towers

Two-Story House (which probably wasn't a house) with Stronghold House across the canyon

Twin Towers, Two-Story House, and Tower Point Tower, with Sleeping Ute Mountain in the distance

Hovenweep Castle

After finishing the loop trail, we headed back to Bluff, the sun in our eyes the whole damn way. We ate at the Twin Rocks Cafe (so-so; the frybread at Cameron and Blue Corn in Page is better), and returned to the rooms, playing cards until we all were too tuckered out to do much else.
On to Day Two