Going to Moab

First stop: Fisher Towers

It was January of 2014. I’d been living in Grand Junction, Colorado for three months and had thoroughly explored the nearby area. It was time to go explore Moab, just across the state line.

I had been to Moab before.

Here is a screenshot from Google Maps (click to expand) to help you see the lay of the land:

Western Colorado and eastern Utah. From Google Maps.

Grand Junction is in the upper right corner. Moab, Utah is in the lower left. They are about 60 road miles apart, depending on which route you take. I preferred the scenic route.

You might have to click on this map image to see the scenic route. Over in Utah, there is a ghost town-cum-homeless camp named Cisco. You can leave I-70 near there and take State Route 128 south to meet the Colorado River at Dewey, another ghost town, and then follow the river canyon into Moab.

The adventure in today’s post, which spans three trips taken within about a week’s time, begins at Dewey, where there is a splendid view of some Entrada Formation rock:

Colorado River and Entrada Formation rock at the Dewey Bridge campground

Note the darker, more crumbly red rock on the left side of the photo. This is a formation named after this spot - the Dewey Bridge member of the Carmel Formation - and is an important part of the arches in Arches National Park. Here’s another view of the same place:

Entrada Formation sandstone at Dewey Bridge

There is a small campground there with about six campsites, two of which are suitable for RVs. It is 32 miles from Moab and not heavily used, but does on occasion fill up.

Around the corner from Dewey Bridge, the Fisher Towers come into view.

Fisher Towers, east of Moab Utah

This is a spectacular site, carved out from the edge of the Uncompahgre uplift, of Moenkopi Formation sandstone on top and Cutler Formation sandstone at the bottom. Both are far older than the Wingate sandstone of the Colorado National Monument, just a few miles from here.

There is a road to a parking area, trailhead and a tents-only campground up near the tallest tower. Here is what it looks like up there:

Fisher Towers, up close and personal

Paid subscribers received a full-sized, suitable for printing and framing, copy of this photo a couple of weeks ago.

Turning around and looking back toward the river:

Colorado River canyon as seen from Fisher Towers

This area, and for the next few miles downriver (to the left) is known as “Professor Valley.” I’ve not found much info on him, but apparently there was a retired geology professor who lived here back in the day.

A number of movies have been filmed here at Fisher Towers. One of the Mission: Impossible movies, starring Tom Cruise, and the opening scene of the third Austin Powers movie (also starring Tom Cruise). And one of the City Slickers movies.

John Wayne made a number of movies just down the river, but I’m getting ahead of the story.

My next stop was at the other end of Professor Valley. To be continued…