USA 2019: Moab to Mexican Hat.

Today we left Moab (forever to be remembered for Bob Evans' Macaroni Cheese. A bargain at 2 for $6 and a guaranteed non-fried, non-breadcrumbed cheap eat) by Interstate 191 heading south for Bluff and then via 163 west to Mexican Hat. There we stayed at the Hat Rock Inn. Both the name of the place and the inn alluded to a nearby rock that was in the shape of a Mexican hat. It wasn't.

First stop: Hovenweep National Monument. Not the sort of sign you want to see just before you set out to walk the trail. In the event, no rattlesnakes were seen. In fact, the only reptile on show was a fleeting glance of a very small lizard.

By happenstance, I got talking to a school teacher and a group of junior school children. They seemed excited that I was from England and were very keen to tell me that this was a 'water year' when more rain than normal had fallen and some cacti were in bloom. The first they showed me was this Miniature Yucca.

The next was the, by now familiar, Claretcup Cactus.

The last was what I thought them describe as a Beryl Cactus. Mr Google tells me there is no such thing but there are lots of Barrel Cacti. Beryl/Barrel: close enough to cause confusion. But very attractive nonetheless.

In the distance is the Sleeping Chief Mountain Range. An information board said that the chief's head is to the left, his folded arms come next and then the rest of his body. I can sort of see it now that it's pointed out. Legend has it that the chief will be aroused when his tribe is in mortal danger. Given the near genocide wrought upon them by the 'white man', if he hasn't appeard by now, I guess he never will. Or maybe he's waiting for the complete extinction of his race?

There were lots of Cliffrose blooming and filling the air with their sweet-smelling perfume. A heady experience.

However nice the flowers, the reason for making the detour to Movenweep was to see buildings made and left by the pre-Puebloans. Those were saw were built around 1230-1275 and abandoned by the early 1300s. Why were they abandoned? No one really knows but drought, climate change and warfare are cited as possible reasons.

What we see now are just the vestiges of thriving, well developed communities of several hundred people.

The buildings, and hence the communities, were located at the heads of canyons where there would have been a reasonable source of water. This was complemented by a series of dams and irrigation trenches.

Shaped stones were used as the building materials. Surprisingly, even though Movenweep has been a National Monument since the 1920s, there has been very little done by way of archeaological investigation. Where is the USA version of Time Team when you need them? There's certainly a lot there to be uncovered.

A roadside cross. It says 'In Memory of Mark Tsingine'. Let's remember Mark, if only for a moment. Who was he? And how did he die at such a remote spot? Tsingine is a Navajo surname according to Mr Google.

We were going to stop in Bluff for coffee and a snack but were pleasanatly surprised to see the sign 'historical fort with free admission'. So there we went first. I was expecting a fort as seen in your typical Western film but Bluff Fort was not like this stereotype. It was founded around 1880 by Mormon settlers from Salt Lake City. They built some 60 cabins around a square and stayed there for a few years until they were convinced that it was a safe place. After that, they gradually built more substantial houses nearby and founded the town/city of Bluff. And, yes, it was named after a nearby bluff.

Once the original settlers had moved out, the fort went through various uses and finally into gradual decline until it was taken over by a preservation foundation, who now look after it. Each cabin has been restored and, as they know who the original settler occupants were (the Mormons are good at keeping records), descendants have furnished each one with memorabilia. There were some very poignant stories about the hardships the settlers faced and, in particular, very sad stories about the multiple deaths of children, due to disease and injury. The persistence of the settlers is impressive.

All of this happened not that long ago. In the lifetime of Mrs P's grandfather 'Dolph, who was born before the fort was established. Our house had beens tanding some 40 years before these cabins were built.

An old trumpet hanging on the wall of one of the cabins. I wonder when it was last blown and by whom?

As we do, we gravitated to the town cemetery. This grave caught my eye as soon as we entered. It's the headstone of Frank H Karnet, who was a 'PVT 1 Cav. SP/AM War'. It took me a little while to figure out that this meant he was a Private in the 1st Cavalry and had fought in the Spanish/American War of 1898. As one who spends time looking at military graves in the UK, I was interested to find out more. This is a little from Mr Google, or should it be Senor Google:
"The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see action. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and disorganized in comparison to its status during the American Civil War roughly thirty years prior. Following the sinking of the U.S.S Maine President William McKinley needed to muster a strong ground force military group swiftly, which was done so by calling upon 125,000 volunteers to assist in the war efforts. The U.S. was fighting against Spain over Spain's colonial policies with Cuba. The regiment was also called "Wood's Weary Walkers" in honor of its first commander, Colonel Leonard Wood. This nickname served to acknowledge that despite being a cavalry unit they ended up fighting on foot as infantry".

The cemetery was on a hill overlooking the town and the nearby San Juan River. A rather attractive setting and it struck us that it was as close to a 'Boot Hill' that we've ever come. There was a row of unmarked graves containing the bodies of unknown miners and travellers. Who were they? What are their stories?

There were many headstones belonging to the families of the original settlers and some continued some of the sad stories we'd read about back in the cabins at the fort. Take the headstone of John Adams, who was married twice. One side details the death of his first wife, Mary Barbara Bolanz, and six children.

On another side, the deaths of his second wife, Mary Ann Leach, and nine more children, are engraved. A reminder of tough, tough times.

As we got closer to our hotel for the next two nights (Hat Rock Inn in Mexican Hat) we could just make out our destination for tomorrow - Monument Valley. Something to look forward to but now the hot tub awaits us.