Blanding, Utah - Mule Canyon House on Fire - May 3, 2014

We skipped our first stop in Cameron, AZ as we did not like the "looks of it."  We made it to Blanding while it was still daylight!!  My AZ friend Jackie had just visited here and she could not stop raving about it.  So, we decided to stop in Blanding - to see "House on Fire."  It is an ancient Anasazi ruin that literally looks like its on fire in a photo.   I'm not going to "bury the lead" - The real view looks nothing like this but when you take a photo it looks like it is literally on fire!  Here is what a great photo of House on Fire looks like.

So, now you know why we decided this was definitely worth a visit.  Let's go back to the beginning.   As there was absolutely no signage to identify the trail head, we had a difficult time locating it.  But, with some info from the internet we found it and took off on the trail.  Sometimes the trail runs through some pretty amazing water beds!

 

And we came across many enormous rocks (wish I had Mark stand by it to give you perspective), just perched along the way.  Our golfing friend Mettie from Hot Springs Village, AR observed just how much this stone looks like a fish.  Notice the eye on the top right and the jaws bottom right and tail bottom left.  As we hike we are always looking up just incase another comes crashing down!

 

We rushed to the site as, in order to get the full "on fire" photo you have to be there when the sun is hitting it perfectly.  Here is what the site looks like without the perfect sunlight exposure.

 

We had some time to wait and with all these cliffs, Mark could not contain himself - he just had to climb!  Can't find him?  You can see his face on the left side of the tree - he is pretty far up from where I am standing.

 

Still not time so Mark had to inspect the site

Sadly, we had a cloudy day and I could not get a photo as good as the first one in this blog.  In addition, a lot of the photographers on site shared with us that there are a lot of special effects available on the expensive cameras combined with photo shop that all aid in creating a great photo.

We also enjoyed the scenery of the ride.  We just love the beautiful colors of the Utah rocks.  This upcoming pass through a mountain is very impressive.

 

But when you get close the rock really "pops!"

It was time for lunch so we stopped at a locally owned restaurant called "The Patio" and enjoyed a delicious Panini and some of the best fries we have ever eaten.  I just had to get a photo of the roof of this bike shop - now that's great advertising!

That's it for Blanding - next stop Moab, Utah!