Doreen and I are having a love affair - with a road!!! Highway 261 in Southern Utah.

Definitely not for the faint of heart.  6425 feet above sea level dropping 1100 feet in under 3 miles on hairpin curves at a 10% grade.  Did I mention gravel road, barely 2 lanes wide and NO guardrails.  5mph? How about 3mph just to be on the safe side?  Stay on the designated roads? OK sure. No problem.  Where else would I want to go?  Where the "designated road" ends a 1100 foot cliff starts - straight down!!  Did I mention - NO guardrails? Oh yes, I did.
Your worst nightmare is that a motorhome is coming at you from the other direction.

Highway 261 (on Cedar Mesa) is located in southern Utah. It runs 34 miles connecting Hwy 163 just north of Mexican Hat, with Hwy 95, just east of Natural Bridges National Monument. The highway is part of the Utah section of the Trail of the Ancients, a National Scenic Byway. It includes steep switchbacks as it traverses the Moki Dugway.

This was the year we discovered Hwy 261 by fluke.

We left Moab, travelling south on Hwy 191 and stopped at a sub shop in Blanding.  We got takeout, with the intention of finding a relaxing picnic spot.  We were a couple of miles past a junction for Hwy 95 west, when I glanced at the map and noticed that Hwy 95 connected to another road which would take us to the west entrance of Valley of the Gods, and eventually onto Hwy 163. 

An unexplored road left us no choice but to backtrack and head west. We found a nice area and stopped for our picnic, before turning south onto the infamous Hwy 261

Except for a couple of road signs saying tractor trailers and motorhomes are not recommended, this simple paved road gave little clue as to what might lie ahead. It is a long, subtle climb on a flat plateau and slowly you realize the trees are now shrubs, the sky is within reach and it feels like you're at the top of the world.  At about that time the signage was every hundred feet and the sense of misgiving suddenly hit us.  "What were we getting into - again".   Bravehearts that we are, we continued to the top of the plateau, where the world suddenly opened up below us.

This was called the Mokee Dugway and is a trail originally carved by the ancients.  It goes from the top of Cedar Mesa butte and winds back and forth, crisscrossing the face of the rocks to the bottom. 

Modern man has expanded the road, and carved deeper into the rocks to accommodate automotive travel, but the thrill is still there - especially, when one has a fear of heights. 

1100 ft drop less than 4 ft from the side of the car, no guard rails and a small pile of gravel between you and the pearly gates does not give you a sense of security.

We reached Valley of the Gods from the west side, but didn't have time do the whole route.  So we only drove in a short way, turned around and headed for the base of Hwy 261.

This year, we had made sure our travels brought us to the bottom of Hwy 261 so we could drive "up" it.   It was just as much a thrill as the drive down - except the "straight down 1100 foot cliff" was now on Doreen's side of the car.  Thanks goodness, we were hugging the mountain side.  The expression on her face was priceless and I'm sure she was grateful she had a change of underwear in her suitcase.  (that would be that fear of heights thing again)

At the top, we met a group of five touring bikers and stopped to chat for a few minutes.  They were businessmen on a road trip - not unlike us.  So we took pictures of the group with their cameras and forgot to take one with our own camera.  Bidding them farewell and safe journey, we continued north to Hwy 95, then east back onto Hwy 191 north to Moab.

State Route 261 is located entirely within south-central San Juan County, Utah. It runs 34 miles north, from the junction of U.S. Route 163 three-miles north of Mexican Hat, to the junction with State Route 95, just east of Natural Bridges National Monument.

The highway is part of the Utah section of the Trail of the Ancients, a National Scenic Byway. It includes steep switchbacks as it traverses the Moki Dugway.

It wasn't quite dark, so we decided play around on Hwy 261 before stopping in Bluff;  but, true to form, we found somewhere else to explore.  After driving up and down Hwy 261, we went up again because I wanted to investigate a road we'd been ignoring for several years.  The road is called Muley Point Road and I'm sure it is aptly named.  Definitely fit for mules.  Oh My Gawd.

Muley Road seemed to go on forever and we were thinking this is likely a waste of time, when suddenly the road ended and the world dropped 1200 feet into a magnificent gorge. We were overlooking part of the Goosenecks of San Juan River in the eastern extreme of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  We could see forever and "no railings".  Once again Doreen was 100 feet from the edge taking pictures of me peeking over the edge. Muley Point Info

The next morning we climbed Hwy 261 one more time then north to Hwy 95.

Traveling this road has become a focal point in all our trips.  We have somehow managed to include the area touring from both east and west coasts.  I think we've secretly claimed Hwy 261 as our own personal road.  I'm sure the state of Utah would like their taxes but they'll have to catch us first.

I absolutely love the signs here.  The spelling of Mokee Dugway (Moki Dugway) changes from the top of the butte to the bottom.  It says not recommended for trucks over 10,000 lbs. and the next sign shows a tractor trailer going down the hill.  It also says not recommended for RV's and we've seen several trying to round those curves.  The drivers either can't read or think the 30 ft. beast they're in is called a minivan.  Backing up is sometimes the only option - such as in the picture below.

On the west exit of the Valley, the road connects with the infamous Hwy 261.  South takes you to Mexican Hat and north leads up the Moki Dugway cliff road to the top of the butte. 

Since we were now on the homeward portion of our adventure, we turned north and I was able to show Mom my favourite viewpoint in all my travels.......... the southwest viewpoint overlooking Valley of the Gods.

Travelling from south to north gives you the incredible view from many different angles, but the true way to get the "oh my gawd" sense of awe is to travel north to south and come over the small rise thinking the whole world has dropped out beneath you.

The pictures here are at the starting point of the climb up the Moki Dugway on Hwy 261.  The road is an ancient trail carved out of the rockface of this butte and is definitely not for those who are afraid of heights.  My Mom, luckily, does not suffer from this affliction and was hanging her head out the window like a puppy breathing in the fresh air.

Arriving back on highway 261 is a good feeling for us. As much as it never seems to change - it really never stays the same. I even notice when some rocks have moved or a part of the road is changed - sometimes made wider and sometimes missing a shoulder.

This year we noticed a wreck over the cliff and we are absolutely sure we never saw that before. Whether it was a prop or an actual accident, it reminds us that although the road is stimulating, exciting and fun to drive - it can also be very dangerous.

At the bottom of the Moki Dugway on Hwy261 there is a turnaround where those less adventurous can about-face instead of climbing the butte. A fully loaded tractor trailer with a secondary pup full of sheep was pulling back onto the road from the turnout so we pulled into turnout to give him room to pass - assuming he had mistakenly taken a wrong road.

Half way up the butte - we came upon two cars of women and kids, one of which was attempting to back down the treacherous gravel road. A glance to the right gave us the explanation why someone would back up at this point and saw another fully loaded tractor trailer rounding the narrow bend heading in our direction. We were stunned as there was no doubt the clearly marked road restriction signs posted were intended for this type of vehicle. We suddenly realized that the first truck we'd seen at the bottom had not been turning around but had also just come down the hill.

The truck passed the 3 cars pulled off to the side and Karen yelled at the two men "Are you crazy" and they laughed as the drove by leaving a cloud of dust. Out came the camera and history is once again recorded.

We didn't spend too much time dawdling in the Valley and hit Hwy 261 around noon - plenty of time to catch the Halls Crossing Ferry across Lake Powell. We stopped several times to take pictures and this time we were careful to make sure Willie was not going to fall over the cliff.