Travels with Tucker: Land of the Ancient Puebloans

Cedar Mesa is an area in southeastern Utah near the four corners that covers 400 square miles and is nearly uninhabited. It was a population center for the ancient Puebloan people who disappeared about 900 years ago and left thousands of artifacts and dwellings scattered in the rugged and isolated canyons of the mesa. It is a very scenic area and a lot of fun to explore the ruins. Not as well-known as the major national parks of Utah, Cedar Mesa is not crowded and evokes a sense of timelessness and wonder.

We planned to spend about five days here, but were not able to fit our trailer into the one campground in the area at Natural Bridges National Monument. Much of the land is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and they allow dispersed camping in many places, so we found a nice meadow that looked like it was used as a cattle camp and put down roots. We were the only people here (except for one camper one night) for the five days of our stay.

We explored many places in the area and left feeling like there was much we still would like to see. Like many parts of Utah, we really hope to come back again someday. Some of the highlights were the ruins in Mule Canyon and Road Canyon, the overlook at Muley Point and Natural Bridges National Monument.