Moki Dugway , Utah , october 13 2008

The breathtaking ride up or down the Moki Dugway is an experience not soon forgotten. Stunning views open from the Dugway as it winds its way 1,200 feet from Cedar Mesa to the Valley of the Gods. The Dugway descends a steep 11% grade from the mesa top to the valley floor.
The road twists and turns through switchbacks allowing views to the north and south. From the overlook near the top, you can see much of the Four Corners region of the Southwest. On the horizon to the east lies Sleeping Ute Mountain near Cortez, Colorado; to the southeast is Shiprock in New Mexico; to the south you can see the Carrizo Mountains which straddle the New Mexico/Arizona border; and, to the southwest is Monument Valley, which sits across the Utah/Arizona border.
Closer to the Dugway, and to the east, you can see, from north to south, Pyramid Peak, Rooster Butte, Setting Hen Butte, and the Seven Sailors. Visible to the southeast are Sugarloaf and the Raplee Anticline, wavy striations in a purple/gray hillside.
To the south, Alhambra Rock rises as a dark brown monolith. The anticline is also called the Navajo Tapestry or Rug. Alhambra is an igneous plug of hard volcanic material which was pushed up through overlying sandstone. When the softer sandstone eroded, the plug was left standing. Plugs like this are found throughout the Four Corners region.
As you view the bottom of the Moki Dugway you see Bell Butte to the southeast, and the Valley of the Gods. This area is also known as the Cedar Mesa Cultural and Recreational Management area.

The Mokee Dugway is located on Utah Route 261 just north of Mexican Hat, UT. It was constructed in 1958 by Texas Zinc, a mining company, to transport uranium ore from the "Happy Jack" mine in Fry Canyon, UT. to the processing mill in Mexican Hat. The three miles of unpaved, but well graded, switchbacks descend 1100 feet from the top of Cedar Mesa (on which you are now standing). The State of Utah recommends that only vehicles less than 28 feet in length and 10,000 pounds in weight attempt to negotiate this steep (10% grade), narrow and winding road.
The term "mokee" is derived from the Spanish word moqui, which was a general term used by the 18th century Spanish explorers and settlers in this region to describe the Pueblo Indians they encountered and the vanished culture which had left behind the numerous ruins they discovered during their travels. This term continued to be used by the Anglo pioneers, who moved into southern Utah during the 1800's, and their descendants.
Today the standard term used to describe these prehistoric Native Americans, who lived in this region more than 1000 years ago, is "ancestral Puebloans". It is based on present day Puebloan tribes' and archaeologists' beliefs that these people were the ancestors of the today's Hopi, Zuni, Acoma and Rio Grande region cultures. You may also see them commonly referred to as the "Anasazi", a Navajo word meaning "enemy ancestors".
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I drove down the Moki Dugway on October 13, 2008. Here are some pictures ....