Blanding, Utah has THE BEST "small town" 4th of July celebration - parade, festivities, and the day ends with the best fireworks! Hope to see you there next year!
Navajo Dancers Local band makes an appearance!
The town blocks off the whole section of hwy. 191 for the parade - love it!
We had some friends that came into town, so we took some time in the afternoon to go hiking to Tower Ruin and the beautiful Butler Wash Panel.
(Some hiked more than others 
)
The trails of the ancient archeology group had their first big hike of the season to procession panel. Big hike, but worth it! This is in on comb ridge, near Bluff, Utah and about 20 minutes south of the ranch. Directions are necessary to reach this panel as there are no signs or markers how to reach it. This hike is highly recommended if you are searching for "out of the way" sites to get to.
We give hiking tours to the best archeology sites in southeastern Utah. Each tour is considerably different from one another, but each is an unforgettable experience.
Tour #1: One of the tours is to upper Butler Wash. Butler Wash is a small, but important canyon to the ancestral puebloans. The first tour is at the head of Butler Wash. We drive to the top of comb ridge for some unforgettable views of Cedar Mesa and all the canyons going into comb wash. Beautiful red rock walls that are a photographer’s dream! First, there is a rock art panel we will look at and then we will head into butler wash. You will go to one of the most picturesque sites I know of. At the beginning of this canyon, you will find a two-story ruin that is totally intact. This ruin has rock art with beautiful vegetation around it – Ponderosas, pines, and buckhorn cholla catus.
Tour #2: A side canyon of butler wash that has 2 very famous and unique ruins. Target ruin is the first site , this is unbelievable and in great shape. You will photograph this ruin so much your finger will hurt! We will then head to Ballroom Cave. This is a huge cave with a ruin inside of the cave. We will head to the end of this side canyon to each lunch. There is a 200 ft. wall of red sandstone and a alcove to eat under.
Both hikes are ½ day hikes, with you bringing your lunch. Both are good hikes any time of the year. When you stay with us, you can look at more pictures and choose which hike you would like to take. Personally, I like both because they are both so different, even though both canyons throw you into the same drainage. Hopefully you can do both tours during your stay so you can get a full appreciation of these beautiful canyons. I can’t wait to show you one of my favorite places in the world! Both are easy to moderate hikes. $30.00/person.
