We don’t pretend to have any of the answers to the questions concerning the Ancient Ones, but we have a lot of admiration for the masterpieces they created and we dearly love the country they put them in.  One such place is Arch Canyon off Comb Ridge near Blanding, Utah.  Although the entire Comb Ridge region is speckled with cliff dwellings and ancient ruins, Arch Canyon offers an interesting 4Whee-drive road that passes within visual distance of some really nice ones.

Arch Canyon is most definitely not a Ya Hoo gear jamming, axle-crushing, Wild Bunch adventure.  If that's what you’re looking for, instead of turning into Arch Canyon, go across the creek and turn on the first road going left, then turn right at the first intersection.  You’ll be on your way to Hotel Rock and you will have your hands full.  Caveman, Trail Scout, and Engineer started up that trail but turned around when Engineer developed mechanical problems.

On the other hand, Arch Canyon is most definitely not a casual stroll in the country.  If that’s what you’re looking for, instead of going north from the highway to Arch Canyon, take the Comb Wash Road south to Fish Canyon.  That one is just an easy drive across the creek and along a ridge to a hiking trailhead.  A two hour round trip hike will take you to the best preserved Anasazi apartment house complex we found anywhere in the area.  No Fear and Sunshine found it while Sundance and I were looking the other way.  We’ll never live that one down.  Numerous dwellings are tacked onto the cliff, side by side, and they obviously supported a large community about two thousand years ago.