I have only just started to explore the San Rafael Swell and am totally overwhelmed with its beauty and potential for exploration.  The Swell, as it is affectionately called, is a huge maze of winding canyons, sandstone cliffs, and expansive panoramas located in a remote section of central Utah.  For years I kept hearing about The Swell – The Swell but really had no idea where or what it was exactly.  I first detailed a visit to the southern portion of the San Rafael Swell in Running and Dancing with Goblins and was completely blown away by the splendor of the northern part this past weekend.

Views from the Wedge Overlook

The San Rafael Swell is about 2000 square miles of public land located in pretty much the dead center of Utah.  The Swell is just as amazing as any one of Utah’s National Parks but has somehow missed out on any type of serious federal protection.  The San Rafael Swell has been repeatedly proposed as a national park but for one reason or another has never attained the status.  In 2002 the area was proposed to receive National Monument status but Bush never granted the Swell the protection it so desperately needs.

The San Rafael River

I guess the plus side to the Swell having just mere public land status means lots of free camping and basically no fees of any kind.  We found what just might be my favorite camp spot ever just off of Mexican Mountain Road.  The site was on a mini plateau overlooking the windy San Rafael River below with incredible panoramas of the towering sandstone cliffs and mesas and peaks.  My fave part of the site was the fire pit teetering on the edge of a cliff.

Panoramic Views From our Bed in the Back of Rubes

Enjoying the Morning Coffee at the Fire Pit on the Edge of a Cliff

Unfortunately the downside to the Swell lacking any real wilderness protection means the area is pretty beat up by unrestricted off-road vehicle use and exploitation by mining and cattle grazing.  Sadly many ancient sites we visited were vandalized and defaced.  Native Americans once inhabited the Swell and these early cultures left clues to their mysterious history through many pictograph and petroglyph panels found throughout the area.

Pictographs at Buckhorn Wash

The San Rafael Swell, with its dizzyingly disorienting canyons, was also a popular hideout for western outlaws.  Butch Cassidy and his gang hid out in the mazelike labyrinths of the San Rafael Swell and successfully evaded the law.

We saw a ton of petroglyphs and pictographs, unsuccessfully hunted for some dinosaur tracks, visited the Wedge Overlook also known as the Little Grand Canyon, and scouted out some climbing areas.  I also saw my first big horn sheep and wow did he look both super cute and mean as hell.  I didn’t get a good photo for fear that he would ram me.

Ram Butt

I woke up this morning in Rubes thrilled to be in my one of my favorite camp spots in all of Utah – Big Bend Recreation Area outside of Moab.  The road to Big Bend follows the Colorado River and winds around so many times it completely messes up any sense of direction I have.  The sun always rises in the opposite direction I expect and I still can’t seem to wrap my mind around it.

I couldn’t believe I slept through the night and until 8:30 (all these life changes have given me a bit of insomnia) – but I always sleep well in Ruby.  I don’t know what it is?  Actually I do.  It is something like going home.

This morning as I sit propped up in the back of Rubes journaling while taking in the bright red buttes surrounding me on all sides, a gang of teens from the campground across the street walks by my camp.  “That’s not how you camp,” one of the kids declared very matter of factly as he passed by my car.  I sit up abruptly and almost say out loud, “What – you can’t be talking about me?”  The thing is I don’t know if they are talking about my setup or the luxury home on wheels next to me.

I got into Moab late last night and found my favorite campground full.  With all this talk of economy-shmaconomy, I was astonished to find my fave camp spot filled with gigantic homes on wheels on a Wednesday in the middle of October.  I went across the street to the “overflow” camping lot which can typically fit about 8-10 cars and tried to squeeze into the little bitty spot left by two trucks.  One truck has the largest camper I had ever seen and the other had a trailer with 3 four-wheelers and a golf cart looking thing.

“We don’t fit no where,” my neighbors for the evening said trying to strike up conversation with me.  They had been looking for a campsite for the better part of the evening and instead of thinking there was something wrong with their load they were complaining about the size of the campsites.  It was at the exact moment that I was “greeted” by the camp host and told that I had to pay 5 bucks to park there for the night – ironically the same amount as the 2 trucks, trailer, and house next to me.

I try so, so hard not too judge, but when you spend the night next to a set-up like that – I can’t help it.  And the funny thing is, I really don’t know who that kid was talking about.  It could really be either one of us.  It all depends on his experience and level of camping comfort.  And as much as I might be judging the guys next door they may very well be sitting in their cozy camper laughing about the hippy chick sleeping in her car next door and making jokes about how I will probably be out hugging cactus on the trail tomorrow.

Having been a fairly busy summer, I am a little out of practice with the whole ‘dirtbag’ living thing.  With only 2 weeks to go, a quick 5-day trip to Lander, Wyoming got my feet a bit wet (literally) with the tent living life.   Days of 40-degree mornings and relentless rain have made me second-guess the whole fall camping in Colorado idea.  I am thinking I am going to need one of these – a sleeping bag you can wear for those frigid mornings where I can roll out of the tent without ever leaving my sleeping bag.  Maybe I finally need to break down and pick up a Patagonia Puffy.

Note to self (and world) – Lander, Wyoming is the answer to the prayers of any budget, road-trippin’ traveler.  The dirtbag friendliest city of the Western US, Lander is located in the middle of Wyoming south of Yellowstone and Teton National Parks.  The area offers incredible rock climbing at Wild Iris and Sinks Canyon and amazing hiking and backpacking in the nearby Wind River Range.  Lander is so overly friendly to travelers that it offers free camping in the Lander City Park just blocks from Main Street.  The City Park is a booming village of climbers, bike tourists, and motor home retirees.  I see some serious Lander time in my future travels.

I will get the second installation of my refresher crash course in tenting before making the official leap.  On the eve of my last day of employment, the boy and I are heading out for a 10-day road trip of sorts.  I believe we are headed to Northern California and a bit of Oregon, but who knows the Subaru might just head east for a surprise trip to the Midwest.  After living West for eight years I have never made the trek back via car and I can’t quite imagine anything more miserable than 1400 miles of driving through Middle America.  What about Baja?  I am surprised I can ever make any decisions – the options are endless…

After the just-left-my-job-new-life-inaugurating trip I have a week to pack and organize the car before leaving for Colorado and beginning an internship at X outdoor magazine on September 14^th.   Ready to make the leap.