Blue Mountains near Monticello
After soaking up the scenery in Monument Valley for a couple of days, it was time to get back on the road. My original plan was to boondock for a couple of days on BLM land somewhere near Canyonlands. But the super hot weather was forecast to continue especially at the lower elevations. Our planned route had us traveling north along Route 191 towards Moab. But, we found a nice spot to beat the heat in Monticello.
Our route to Monticello took us through the small towns of Bluff and Blanding. In Bluff, we stopped to visit Fort Bluff – an early Mormon Mission settlement. The Mormons settled southeastern Utah by traveling over rough terrain from Escalante. Fort Bluff was one of the first settlements. The fort has been rebuilt and restored to recreate what the early settlement looked like. Its a small place but very well done. You can see how the settlers lived in a small encampment.
Early Mormon cabin
From Bluff, the terrain changes from less desert and sand stone like to more green grass plains. The elevation also increases from 4,500 ft up to 7,000 ft. At Blanding, we saw livestock ranches and cultivated fields. It’s so different from what we saw on the Navajo Reservation. Just 35 miles up the road, but it feels like a whole different world.
Another 20 miles up the road is Monticello. The small town sits at the base of the Blue Mountains. The docents at Fort Bluff told me its pronounced mon-ti-SELLO, not mon-ti-CHELLO. The location, weather forecast, and a good RV park made the decision easy to stop over at Monticello.
Monticello is about 40 miles south of Canyonlands National Park. It’s set on a lush green steppe like plain that rises up to the Blue Mountains, which set as a backdrop to the town. Temps here are cool and were forecast to be in the mid to low 80’s with overnight lows in the 60’s. Moab was forecast to be over 100 degrees. Mountain View RV Park, just a block outside of the town center has full hookups, free wifi, and cable TV. At $30 per night its a good deal and it meant I didn’t have to bake in the desert heat of Moab. Here are a couple of pictures of Monticello,
Mormon Temple in Monticello
Town Park in Monticello
Monticello is a very nice small town. With a population of just under 2,000 it looks to be prospering. So different from the Navajo towns we saw. It makes me wonder that many things must not be working right on the reservation, if just 80 miles things can be so different.
Monticello was founded by the Mormons in 1887. It was named after Jefferson’s Monticello, which meant little mountain in Italian. It’s claim to fame was uranium mining in the 1930’s. The ore from Monticello supported the Manhattan Project. The mines closed in the 1950’s and were cleaned up in the late 1990’s. It’s now a nice ranching and recreation spot.
We spent one day driving up to the Needles District of Canyonlands Nation Park. From Monticello, it’s 48 miles to the park entrance. Route 211 into the park is a very scenic drive. It starts out with a few miles of sage brush plains, but then lowers down to follow Indian Creek in a lovely canyon. The canyon widens outs and becomes spectacular. Here’s a dashcam video of the drive into Canyonlands.
The section of Canyonlands is very different from the northern Islands in the Sky District. It’s a huge jumbled area of canyons and rock formations. There’s a 6 miles scenic drive with turnouts and hiking trail heads. It’s also a very hot area. When we left Monticello, it was in the high 60’s. Two hours later in Canyonlands, the temperature readings where over 100. I took a small 3/4 mile hike on slick rock and it felt like I was hiking in a pizza oven.  Here are some pictures of our visit.
Roadside Ruins Turnout
We spent an extra day in Monticello to avoid the heat in Moab. Four wheeling in the mountains is a popular activity here as is fishing and golfing. There’s a world-class golf course (The Hideout Golf Club) in Monticello.
If you want to avoid the heat and crowds of Moab and stare up at some beautiful green mountains, Monticello is a nice place to hang out.
