Geological / Historical road logs to help you enjoy the scenery as you drive the Four Corners. 

Most travel literature deals with destinations.  You've seen the titles in magazines: "Ten top campgrounds in Colorado," or "Best national parks in the Southwest."  The destination is all that matters.  We rush around looking only for a place to stop and eat, or use the toilet, until we get to an officially designated pretty place, where we take pictures only of what we have seen

Shiprock a Four Corners Landmark

pictured before.    Sometimes what lies along the way to designated interesting spots is interesting as well.   The point of  Four Corners Excursions is to make your trips more enjoyable by pointing out a bit of history or archaeology and explaining some of the geology behind the scenery.

I am not a professional geologist, historian or archaeologist.  I am an interested amateur.  There is little original in these logs except the synthesis; the information comes from printed sources and from conversations I have had with  professionals.   I have tried to  pull it all together

East Fork of the San Juan River near Pagosa Springs, Colorado

in a readable fashion so that a traveler does not need to take a library with him to understand and enjoy what he sees along the road.  For the most part I've included information here that you won't find in the usual tourist brochure -- you can pick them up anywhere. 

 I don't have room to define terms in these road logs, so you might want to read a Geology 101 text if you have problems with the vocabulary. 

Four Corners Excursions provides road logs radiating out of three centers:
1.  Pagosa Springs, Colorado
2.  Gallup, New Mexico
3.  Bluff, Utah
Road logs will be found

Colorado River Near Moab

at the bottoms of these three pages.

There are a great many popular destinations within easy driving distance of the centers, but the road logs will concentrate on the history, archaeology and geology along the routes.  

 Information about various destinations is provided, but I do not duplicate what can be easily found elsewhere.

Rafting on the San Juan River

I'm posting these road logs on the web in order to get comments and suggestions.   Let me hear from you if you use one of  these logs.  If you have a factoid or an anecdote concerning any of the places covered, e-mail it to me and I'll consider including it.

CAVEAT

Hikers on Comb Ridge

If you plan to use a road log, take someone along to be the designated reader.  Trying to read and drive alone is not recommended.  It will be difficult enough to watch for the landmarks without flipping pages while traffic whirs around you.

HOW TO USE A ROAD LOG

Things can go by quickly.  The designated reader should read ahead to the next place then watch for it and tell the driver about it as it comes up.  

Indian Paintbrush

If you wait until you see the sight, you will be reading when it goes by.  In most cases I will not use trip meter mileages so that the logs may be read backwards if you are traveling opposite to the way they were written.  For the same reason I specify compass directions rather than saying "on the left" or "on the right."  Where I've used clock directions, if you're reading backwards 2:00 becomes 8:00, 3;00 becomes 9:00, and so on.

Notice:  Rock art and archaeological sites are protected by federal law.  However, since vandalism at such places in on the rise, I will not provide directions to any prehistoric site unless the owner [governmental agency or private person] has opened it to the public or routinely provides directions to it.