Mexican Hat / Goosenecks State Park

On our way south from Moab, we passed a very commercial attraction – Hole in the Rock. Seems that some time ago, a local rancher owned a block of land with a large (60 metres high) cliff on it, right next to the roadside, with a couple of smallish caves in it at ground level. So being an enterprising chap he enlarged the caves and built some fences outside to make a nice shelter for his stock. Eventually, he cleaned the caves out and walled them in to serve as his home. Over the years, it has become a tourist trap, catching many of the organised tours. Interesting, but we gave it a miss.


Further on we came to the tiny settlement of Mexican Hat (Petrol station, 2 motels, 2 restaurants, 3 drunks, total population 37 – including tourists). The town gets its name from a curious rock formation a couple of miles out of town. There is a large flat rock perched on top of a heavily-eroded column, sitting on top of a ridge, and it looks just like, guess what? That's right, a Mexican Hat!  How did you guess that?

For this shot, David got up before dawn, and waited for the sun to light up the rocks.

Sunrise on Mexican Hat

In the village we found a very relaxed restaurant attached to one of the motel / inns. It was all outdoors and all the cooking was over an open fire with a 2 metre long swinging grill rack above it. The temp that day was just under 40, and the open fire just made it hotter. The Chef / Owner was obviously used to it, but even he admitted to being a little warm. Sharman says that the steak he cooked her was one of the very best she has ever had. David tried a (small!) piece and agreed that he should have ordered one too.

Nearby, we stopped at Goosenecks State Park, where the San Juan river makes two huge horseshoe bends as it heads for the Colorado. The overlook is about 300 m above the river, so it’s a pretty impressive sight. The vista is so wide that it is extremely difficult to capture it in a photo. We had to take several shots and stitch them together.

Goosenecks on the San Juan River, near Mexican Hat, Utah

Just a short story today, next we are off to Monument Valley and the Navajo Nation.