There are enough natural wonders in this area that would take months, if not years, to fully explore. I didn't know until I got to Muley's point that I could easily have spent the rest of my trip in Utah, rather than heading to the Grand Canyon as I had planned.
Just off the dirt road of the Valley of the Gods, the highway leading to Muley's Point crisscrosses up a cliff. The view of the valley below as I drove up these unpaved switchbacks took my breath away. My jaw hurt from being agape every five minutes. When I reached a lookout point near the top of the highway, I could see the Valley of the Gods to the East, Monument Valley beyond distant mountains to the South, and, according to my maps, Glen Canyon to the West.
The highway signs at the top point North to the Natural Bridges, but an unpaved, unmarked road leads West, as I knew, to Muley's point. About 3 km into the trail, two fantastic vantage points overlook the incredible variety of the landscape in the immediate vicinity. The blurry photos I took do no justice to the majesty of that view.
I had already planned to see many things in Arizona, including Monument Valley, so I regretfully headed back down the narrow switchbacks to the valleys of the San Juan river below. Someday, I will return to explore the canyon lands of Utah, but at that moment, I knew I had to get back on course.
