Bears Ears National Monument: The Bears Ears Buttes

Rainbow and Bears Ears Buttes, from Natural Bridges National Monument.

Bears Ears National Monument was declared by President Barack Obama on December 28, 2016. The new National Monument is comprised of 1.35 million acres in San Juan County in southeast Utah.

Bears Ears Buttes from Natural Bridges loop drive along White and Armstrong Canyons.

 In the very center of the National Monument are its namesake, the Bears Ears Buttes, up on South Elk Ridge overlooking the northern edge of Cedar Mesa and Natural Bridges National Monument.

This post will introduce those not familiar with this area to the Bears Ears Buttes themselves. Subsequent posts will show the other areas of the Monument.

Moonrise over the Bears Ears in winter, from Natural Bridges.

The designation of Bears Ears National Monument by presidential Executive Order, invoking the Antiquities Act, is contentious, as are all public land management issues. However, it is pertinent to note that Utah's "Mighty 5" National Parks -- Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Bryce Canyon -- all started out as National Monuments declared by presidential Executive Order, as well. All five were later upgraded to National Park status by Acts of Congress, which has the sole power to declare National Parks. The "Mighty 5" are tremendous tourist draws for visitors from around the world.

Panorama of Bears Ears after a late spring snow, from Highway 261 on Cedar Mesa.

Bears Ears is of a vast size, with greatly varied life zones. They range from high desert to subalpine forest. In this area you can drive from the desert of the lower San Juan River valley to the Ponderosa pine, aspen and spruce-fir forests above 8,500 feet elevation in an hour or less.

East Bears Ears Butte from mountain meadow on Forest Road 88.

There are three main areas of Bears Ears National Monument. From north to south are the Indian Creek area bordering the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, the Elk Ridge area of the Manti-La Sal National Forest, and Cedar Mesa, home to countless Ancestral Puebloan sites.

Utah Juniper snag and Bears Ears Buttes in winter, from Bridge View Drive loop in Natural Bridges National Monument.

Both West Bears Ear (elevation 8,929 feet at its summit) and East Bears Ear (8,908 feet) are at the south end of South Elk Ridge, on the Manti-La Sal National Forest. From Utah Highway 275 (the Natural Bridges entrance road) you can drive north on Forest Road 88 (when the road is not muddy) and go right between the two Bears Ears Buttes on your way to accessing the rest of the Elk Ridge area.

Bears Ears Buttes and South Elk Ridge with monsoon season thunderhead clouds.

The name Bears Ears came from Native American tribes in the region that consider these landmarks to be sacred, especially since they can be picked out on the horizon from as far away as Monument Valley and Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado.

Bears Ears Buttes from the north, in an alpine meadow on South Elk Ridge.

Except that the ears of bears are roundish, not flat! What gives? It has to do with an old Navajo legend, of which there are at least two variations. Perhaps the other area tribes have their own versions as well. The best known legend is a gruesome one, in that Changing Bear Maiden was killed by her brothers after she had turned to the "dark side" and had become an evil bear, after which they chopped off her ears. That's why the "Bear's Ears" are flat. Like many Indian legends, it is meant to teach the difference between good and evil, of choosing the right path in life.

Forest Road 88 on the Manti-La Sal National Forest goes right through the pass between the two Bears Ears Buttes.

The Bears Ears and Cedar Mesa area are beloved by locals and non-local visitors alike, for driving, hunting, hiking, and camping. The area is still used by area Native American tribes for collection of edible, medicinal, and ceremonial plants and their fruits and nuts. This will be the first National Monument to be co-managed by representative of those tribes, in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management and USDA Forest Service.

Bears Ears Buttes and Elk Ridge from Blanding, Utah.

Photo location: Bears Ears Buttes, Manti-La Sal National Forest and from surrounding public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service (Natural Bridges National Monument), San Juan County, southeast Utah.

Rainbow panorama, Bears Ears Buttes.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Moonset Over Navajo Mountain

Full Moon moonset at dawn over Navajo Mountain.

I was on the southern rim of Cedar Mesa in southeast Utah for the August Full Moon.

The weather was pleasant enough for this time of year, breezy and not very hot. Wonderful for mid August. But it was semi-overcast on the eastern horizon, so my moonrise shots were brief, through a gap in the clouds.

I was camped on the rim, 1,000 feet above the San Juan River valley near Mexican Hat, and for most of the night got to enjoy a moonlit night.

At dawn it was clear, so I got up and waited for moonset. It looked like the moon was going to set right behind Navajo Mountain far to the southwest in Arizona.

And just as the almost risen sun tinged the moon a slight pink, I made this shot. I waited to see if I could get one of it actually starting to disappear behind Navajo Mountain, but a thin cloud bank on the western horizon made the moon disappear that much too early.

Photo location: Cedar Mesa, San Juan County, Utah.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Bears Ears Buttes Monsoon Clouds

Thunderhead Clouds behind the Bears Ears, from Natural Bridges.

Mid July, and the southwest's late summer monsoon thunderstorm season seemed to be rebuilding after a big lull.

I dislike mid to late summer, wherever I am. Too hot.

So here on Cedar Mesa at 6,500 feet elevation, my spirit awakens when the clouds build, the moisture from the Pacific Ocean from the south colliding with our high desert heat.

In this photograph, the Bears Ears where in deep shadow from the heavy clouds to the west. But the brilliant thunderhead clouds behind them silhouetted them in white.

Photo location: Natural Bridges National Monument, San Juan County, Utah.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Comb Ridge Sunset Glow

Comb Ridge and Comb Wash at sunset in July.

Comb Ridge in southeast Utah's San Juan County is a sheer wall whose western escarpment is mostly Entrada Sandstone. It's a monocline, a massive tilt in the Earth's crust at a fault line. It's here that the Monument Upwarp forms the eastern slopes of Cedar Mesa. Steep inclines. Just ask any bicyclist who's climbed the ten miles of adverse grade on Highway 95.

Fortunately you don't have know--or care--anything about geology to appreciate the beauty. The sheer red sandstone cliff faces, the vast vistas with no utility lines whatsoever.

Highway 95's cut through Comb Ridge, from the BLM campground at Comb Wash.

Comb Wash at Utah Highway 95 is a haven for campers in this portion of canyon country in the spring and fall. When daytime temperatures range from cool to warm. But in summer, rarely is a camper here. It's hot, even though the huge Cottonwood trees provide a lot of shade. Besides, now the high country mountain roads are finally dry (except when it rains), so why not go up there into the coolness?

At sunset time, though, when the low angle of the sunlight warms up the cliffs, it doesn't matter what time of year it is. It's time to photograph.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Lightning Storm from Salvation Knoll

Monsoon thunderstorm at dusk, Cedar Mesa, southeast Utah.

I was driving Utah Route 95 west from Blanding, watching the evening thunderheads pouring down rain here and there in the distance. That evening light: brilliant and seductive.

Climbing up the highway onto Cedar Mesa, there are clear views for many miles to the south and southeast, toward Sleeping Ute Mountain in Colorado, even. Great for landscape photography with lots and lots of sky.

Adding to the interest were flashes of lightning inside of two storm cells. The one nearer to me was of more interest in that I might be able to capture a bolt or two in the scenery.

At Salvation Knoll I stopped for a second try. Mounting the camera on tripod, I set it for the longest exposure, about 4 seconds at f/22 at ISO 200. Then I shot whenever a flash appeared, hoping it would be long enough for me to get lucky.

I enjoy this image because the clouds, with their rain curtains, look quite dreamy against the darker blue of the distant storms.

Photo location: Salvation Knoll on Cedar Mesa, San Juan County, southeast Utah.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Owachomo Natural Bridge, Summertime Skies

Owachomo Natural Bridge from Armstrong Canyon, July 2016.

Late July at Natural Bridges National Monument. Time for a canyon hike in the summer heat. Fortunately, the late summer monsoon thunderstorm season is building again, after a disappearance of several weeks. Some cloud cover to blunt the searing afternoon sun.

The trail from the parking lot to Owachomo Bridge is only 0.2 of a mile. Down the hill and under the bridge. Then down to the stream bottom of Armstrong Canyon, where the big pool of water at the mouth of Tuwa Canyon remains.

The cumulus clouds building over Elk Ridge and Deer Flat made for a wonderful accent to the deep blue skies.

Photo location: Natural Bridges National Monument, San Juan County, southeast Utah.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Stormy Skies Again At Last

White Canyon, Deer Flat, and the Woodenshoe Buttes on Elk Ridge, from Natural Bridges, June 28.

The June heat has arrived in southeast Utah's canyon country. Above average temperatures, too. It seems too soon. The heat and the relentless sun tend to drain me at this time of year. It's another "in-between time" of the seasons for me.

Last of the Prickly Pear cactus blossoms? June 28, 2016, Natural Bridges.

The bonanza of spring wildflowers has fizzled, save for a few stragglers and the earliest of the late summer blooms. I did see one Prickly Pear cactus still blooming in Natural Bridges yesterday. Other than that the main wildflower of the moment is called the Rock Goldenrod (Petradoria pumila), a member of the Sunflower family.

Rock Goldenrod - Petradoria pumila.

But help appears to be on the way! In fact, it arrived yesterday in the form of thunderstorm clouds. Then a shower that filled the potholes in the Cedar Mesa Sandstone terraces of the park. Some visitors that had been hiking the Sipapu Bridge trail reported small waterfalls pouring over the rim, causing them to delightedly have to take cover under an overhang for a short while.

Because Southwest's "monsoon season" appears to be building, maybe even a bit early. It's when moisture begins to flow into the region from the south and southwest. From the Pacific Ocean, Sea Of Cortez, Gulf of Mexico. We'll take it from anywhere.

White Canyon, Sipapu Natural Bridge, and Deer Flat, under stormy afternoon skies, June 28, 2016.

At the viewpoint overlooking Sipapu Natural Bridge (sixth largest in the world, you know), the afternoon clouds were beginning to look "threatening" to the southeast. Toward Navajo Mountain, where most of our storms seem to track from. Distant thunder. Bring it on.

The Bears Ears Buttes, Maverick Point, and Elk Ridge in a late June rain shower, June 28.

Then raindrops on the windshield. Then turn the wipers on fully. Loving it.

Sandstone terrace with a view: overlooking Kachina Natural Bridge's abandoned meander in White Canyon.

I got out to walk one of the sandstone terraces along Bridge View Drive, near the Kachina Bridge parking area. Potholes, newly filled with water. In one of them, the pollen of nearby Pinyon pine trees has collected on the surface.

Pothole with pine pollen, Natural Bridges.

The swirling breeze makes for ever changing patterns. A fluid pollen painting.

Pine pollen patterns on rain filled pothole, Natural Bridges.

With such variable cloudiness and unstable air, I was interested in seeing what would happen at sunset. Clouds make the sunset colors.

So I drove up Maverick Point and got into position.

Sunset colors on Maverick Point. Moss Back Butte the Tables Of The Sun, and Navajo Mountain in the distance.

 At this time of the summer, the sun is setting just to the north of the faraway Henry Mountains. There was a heavy cloud bank above them, but it did not extend all the way down to the horizon. Good: a slot for sunset, clouds above to reflect the colors. I watched the sun sink into the cloud bank, then waited until it reappeared from its lower edge.

Sun descending out of the clouds, over the north end of the Henry Mountains.

The golden sunset beams silhouetted the Henrys before sinking again out of sight for good. At which point I went home, quite satisfied.

Photo location: Maverick Point below Bears Ears Buttes, San Juan County, southeast Utah.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

A Perfect May Day at Natural Bridges

Visitors at Kachina Bridge overlook, Natural Bridges National Monument.

Mid May at Natural Bridges National Monument in southeast Utah. For the most part it's been a fairly cool, wet spring. Lovely. The serious canyon hikers have again been out in force, knowing that this is the best time of year (although October is probably even better, because of drier dirt roads into the backcountry). Though spring is the time for the widest variety of wildflowers. 

Cedar Mesa from the Natural Bridges entrance road (Highway 275), looking southwest toward Moss Back Butte and Navajo Mountain.

But the rather wet weather has made things a bit hit and miss for some visitors that come here counting on Utah's trademark deep blue skies.

Today, though, was perfect, I believe. Not hot, not cold. A likely threat of rain showers, but not that high. Spring wildflowers still loving the moisture. Something for everyone.

A visitor walking up the trail from Owachomo Bridge.

At a U.S. National Park unit Visitor Center, the staff get mostly the same questions over and over, depending on the park. At Natural Bridges, they can be boiled down to:

1. Where is the nearest gas station? (35 miles, if you're driving east).

2. Can we buy coffee here? (No.)

3. Is there cell phone service here? (No). 

4. Is there Wi-Fi service here? (No).

5. Where do you all live? (A two minute walk down there to the park's residential housing. Yes, we live here.). 

I'm purposely skipping over "Where are the restrooms?" because most figure it out on their way in. 

Colorado Bladderpod (Physaria rectipes, Mustard family) blooming at Natural Bridges.

So, being out in the middle of nowhere, a small park that was in fact the first national monument in Utah (1908, thank you President Teddy Roosevelt), there are basic visitor needs that need to be quickly sifted through. 

The second level of questions are the basic ones about the park itself. Most concern how much time will it take to see anything? We have answers for that. And much more, especially those that have done their homework and want to see some really cool things, especially those able and interested enough to hike down into the canyons. To those we give special treatment.

A visitor ponders Owachomo Bridge from below.

But not everybody is ready for that. My own first experience with each new national park or other special wild area is that it's in effect a scouting trip. You either never allow enough time to do it justice, even for a first visit, or you've underestimated it and say to yourself: Wow, I'm going to have to come back here. And if you're fortunate, you do. With a lot more time to appreciate it.

Which somehow brings me back to those visitors who don't have much time, or even the physical ability for hiking. It has been designed for both. 

I love hiking down into the park's canyons, beneath the three mighty bridges and the Ancestral Puebloan ruins. I've been here a year and a half, but still feel like I've only dipped my toe into the waters. 

Claretcup hedgehog cactus blooming at Natural Bridges National Monument.

This day I was free of the Visitor Center for a few hours, and the weather was exceptional. Threatening of rain, but that meant gorgeous cumulus clouds in the high desert Utah sky. Sun, shadow, clouds. A bit breezy, but that served to move most of the haze out. Sweet.

I decided to drive the loop road to the natural bridges overlooks, to get new springtime photos to show the visitors before they go out there. 

The first stop was the Sipapu Bridge overlook. Looking down onto the second largest natural bridge in the Americas (and sixth largest in the world). I admired the mid-afternoon light, the glowing bright greenery of the riparian (streamside) tree foliage far below in the rugged canyons of Cedar Mesa Sandstone.

Sipapu Natural Bridge, sixth largest in the world, 500 feet in elevation below the overlook in White Canyon.

Then it was on to Kachina Bridge, the youngest and most massive of the bridges, since it still has the most stone mass left to lose. At the overlook there were several visitors admiring the view. Because it's not just the natural bridge far below. In fact, some can't even pick it out without help. It's because of the stunning scenery of the canyons below. And the cliffs above them. So when we encourage them to "just" go to the overlooks, they will still have an incredible experience.

Kachina Natural Bridge from the overlook, where Armstrong Canyon enters White Canyon.

Finally, the third bridge: Owachomo. The easiest one to hike down to, by far. The longest name, the shortest hike. Probably the oldest one, geologically. Certainly the most photographed one, because of its ease of access, and its wide open southern exposure for midnight starry skies photography. 

Owachomo Natural Bridge (left center) from the overlook, with Moss Back Butte and the Red House Cliffs in the distance.

Owachomo Bridge, from below in Armstrong Canyon.

The final pullout on the park's loop drive road is a panoramic wide toward Elk Ridge, with the Bears Ears Buttes and Maverick Point.

The Bears Ears Buttes, Maverick Point and Elk Ridge from the Bridge View Drive loop road.

So there you go, a brief nine mile driving loop road through Natural Bridges National Monument. Even a brief tour is so rewarding. But don't be surprised if you'll want more.


Even if you live here.


Photo location: Natural Bridges National Monument, southeast Utah.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Up Armstrong Canyon at Natural Bridges

Owachomo Bridge, in Armstrong Canyon, Natural Bridges National Monument

A fine May afternoon, and I decided to hike down to Owachomo Bridge in Armstrong Canyon at Natural Bridges. A slight chance of rain, but the clouds would accent the blue sky. Nicely, I hoped.

Down the easy trail to Owachomo Bridge.

I hiked underneath the stone bridge, oldest of the the three in the park, talking with visitors along the way. But most of them only go down to the bridge for pictures, then return to the parking lot, since it's only 0.2 miles away. A nice experience for those that don't want more.

The mouth of Tuwa Canyon, at Armstrong Canyon.

I hung a right and kept on going, over to the mouth of Tuwa Canyon where it enters Armstrong, a short distance upstream of the bridge. From there you can get some nice alternate shots of the area. 

Looking up Armstrong Canyon from a bench above.

I climbed up onto a bench above the stream, looking for ancient ruins and artwork. Suffice it to say that they are all over this area -- Cedar Mesa -- and half of the fun is looking without the aid of guidebooks or Internet secrets that have been given away, even pinpointed with GPS coordinates. 

Cattail pool, upper Armstrong Canyon.

Then I descended from the bench and continued upstream, with pretty easy walking most of the way, following the stream course. One pool even had cattails growing along the bank. Cattails are one of my favorite marsh plants. I was surprised to see them there, since this is an intermittent high desert canyon stream, prone to flash floods. The cottonwood and willow trees are much better adapted to rip roaring floods. But cattails? Hmm. There must not have been a really bad rip roaring flash flood here for quite some time.

The springtime bright green flush of deciduous trees and shrubs in the high desert.

There was plenty of other streamside greenery: Fremont Cottonwood, Coyote Willow, rabbitbrush. Grasses and forbs.

Let's not forget the wildflowers. It's still springtime here at 6,000 feet, and the season has been nicely cool and wet. The hot weather will come soon enough, after all. Let the spring flowers feel comfortable taking their time.

Whipple's Fishhook Cactus blossoms.

First on the wildflower agenda, photographically, as far as this hike went: Whipple's Fishhook Cactus. Several had their first yellow-green blossoms out atop their needle-spine protected barrels of green. 

The Colorado Bladderpod have been blooming in the park for several weeks now. But they continue to eye-catch with their little bright yellow blossoms at the top of their flower stalks, each spreading out from the basal leaves in different directions, as if to cover various points of the compass. 

Colorado Bladderpod in bloom.

Meanwhile, up on the stream bank, it was impossible to miss another colony of Claretcup cactus in achingly red bloom. Like I don't have enough photos of this species, but it's hard to resist. 

Just another Claretcup cactus in bloom photo.

Finally I decided it was time to turn around and go home. But as I headed back downstream, I found some pure white Evening Primrose, wide open for business for the coming night (they are pollinated by nocturnal insects). 

Evening Primrose blossoms by the water's edge.

I climbed up a ledge on the north side of the stream bank, again looking for Ancestral Puebloan ruins. Didn't find any. But more red flowers caught my eye on the slope just above. I wondered: more Claretcups, or Paintbrush?

A clump of Paintbrush complemented by a green clump of something else.

It turned out to be both. One of the best clumps of Common Paintbrush (the much taller Wyoming Paintbrush appear later in the season) I've seen. I'm sure they hate being called "common". But they have no say in the matter, so I'm voicing it for them.

The so-called "Common" Paintbrush, closeup. Uncommonly eye-catching.

And just a few feet downslope, another small but photogenic colony of Claretcup cactus blossoms. I got close and personal this time, to show off the lovely structure of the blossoms.

Claretcup Cactus blossoms get their closeup portrait.

As I continued hiking, the rain started. Just sprinkles for a while. Then as I crossed back underneath Owachomo Bridge and ascended the trail, the rain became fat drops. But I was only a couple of minutes from my vehicle. Great timing.

Photo location: Natural Bridges National Monument, southeast Utah.

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© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg