Edge of the Cedars State Park & Museum

(Blanding, UT)  Hi 77 Lo 52) -- Yesterday we forgot to post our route from Flagstaff, AZ to Blanding, UT. Here it is.

Also, a few readers have asked us to show the route of the twisty/windy Moki Dugway we drove yesterday. First, here's the whole 150-mile driving loop we did.

On the above photo, B is Natural Bridges Nat. Monument, C is the Muley Point overlook, F is Goosenecks State Park. The Moki Dugway road is just below C on the map. Here's a close up of the road.

We came down 1,100 ft. in elevation in just three miles. Most of it was a 10% descent. Pretty wild!

Today started out cloudy and (of course) windy, so we decided to do our sightseeing in town. The Edge of the Cedars State Park and Museum isn't one of the major sights, but it's very well worth the time to stop and check it out. It has one of the largest collections of Puebloan pottery and other artifacts in the country. It’s right here in Blanding so we didn’t need to travel far. Most of the museum has to do with the Ute tribe, and the early Pueblo (Anasazi) tribes. The online reviews were great, and well deserved. There’s also a Pueblo ruins site behind the museum that was quite interesting.

One room was devoted to the Ute Indian tribe, their culture and how they lived.


Different artifacts


This is a tool kit for making darts and arrows.


This necklace is made from insect legs.


A blanket made with turkey feathers. It dates to 900-1150 A.D. and almost all of the feathers are intact, which makes it very rare.


Next to it was another turkey feather blanket with the feathers gone. The feather quills are attached to string made from yucca.


You can read about it here. (Click to enlarge.)


Woven sandals


If you look at a lot of rock petroglyphs you'll see a crooked neck staff portrayed either on its own or carried by a person. The museum had this actual 900 year old crooked neck staff, in almost perfect condition.


Lots of pottery and weaved baskets.






This closed off storage room was full of pottery they didn't have room to display.


The ruins of a Puebloan house is behind the museum.


You can actually climb down a ladder to a room below.


If you’re interested in American Indian culture this is one museum that shouldn’t be missed.

Since we’re leaving tomorrow I also want to post some photos of Blue Mountain RV Park. This is a nice park right on the main drag that goes through Blanding. The office is combined with the Blue Mountain Trading Post. They have a lot of Native American souvenirs, everything from pottery and jewelry, to blankets.


Behind the office is the bath house and laundry room.


Our site.


There’s a nice view of a mountain range behind us.

And also some mountains to the north of us.

In front of our RV.


We’re on the way to Moab in the morning. We'll post again in two days.