Bluff Balloon Festival

IntrepidXJ

ADVENTR
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
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Saturday & Sunday, January 18-19, 2014

The Original Trip Report on ADVENTR.CO

The Bluff Balloon Festival is an annual event that I have wanted to attend for a number of years, yet for some reason or another I have never made it down there for it. This year I finally changed that! Diane and I drove down to spend the weekend around Bluff so we could get a little hiking in and watch the balloons in the Valley of the Gods on Sunday morning. I don't think we could have asked for a better weekend of weather in January since the temperature reached 60 degrees while we were out hiking on Saturday. It was great to get out of the colder weather in Grand Junction for a little while :)

After spending a few hours in my Jeep driving down to Blanding on Saturday morning, we made a quick stop at the Butler Wash Ruins near Highway 95 before following Butler Wash south along Comb Ridge. I've visited many ruins and rock art sites in the canyons of Comb Ridge before, but for some reason I have always skipped over Cold Spring Cave, so we hiked there this time.

There were plenty of interesting ruins to be found in this deep alcove.


Cold Spring Window
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Faint rock art and handprints adorned the walls.


Hands
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Reverse Hands
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Beautiful reflected light filled the alcove.


Cold Spring Cave
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

We found this inscription left behind in 1892 by the Illustrated American Exploring Expedition which had visited around one hundred archaeological sites between Durango and Comb Ridge that year.


IAEE 1892
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A long grinding stone that also contains a few petroglyphs.


Grooves
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Nice reflected light on the remains of this wall.


Wall
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After thoroughly exploring Cold Spring Cave, we climbed and scrambled up a very steep drainage to get above the ruins and onto Comb Ridge above. After hiking uphill to the edge of the next canyon we were greeted with a birds-eye view of Eagles Nest Ruin. I have seen this almost inaccessible ruin from the bottom of the canyon before, but not from this angle.

The structures in this little alcove seem to be very well-preserved.


Eagles Nest Ruin
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After hiking back to the Jeep we finished our drive down the Butler Wash Road and then crossed over the San Juan River into the Navajo Nation. We didn't have too much time before we wanted to be back in Bluff to watch the hot air balloons, but there was one large ruin that I still wanted to visit before then. We navigated the backroads across Casa del Eco Mesa before dropping down below the edge of the mesa and parking just below the massive north-facing alcove that contained the ruins.

These large ruins perched on a ledge at the back of the high alcove are known by many names including Casa del Eco, 17 Room Ruin, 16 Room House and Echo Mesa Ruin.


On the Ledge
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Inside
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


17 Room Ruin
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

When we were done visiting the ruins we drove back to Bluff so we could watch the Balloon Glow-In at the Community Center.


Heating Air
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Glow
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Between the Shadows
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Glow-In
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Side Light
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Flame
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Three
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

When the Glow-In was winding down we headed over to the Twin Rocks Cafe to have some dinner with a group of friends who were also in the area for the weekend. Some were old friends and some were friends that I had yet to meet in person. After dinner we parted ways with the group and drove back up to Blanding to check into our hotel for the night.

On Sunday morning Diane and I woke up extra early so we could get out to the Valley of the Gods before sunrise and before the hot air balloons arrived. We met up with a few friends who were camping in the area and watched the sun rise on the sandstone buttes surrounding us.

Alpenglow on a couple of buttes in the distance.


Buttes at Dawn
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Dirty
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Valley of the Gods Sunrise
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Warm early morning light strikes Battleship Rock.


Battleship Rock
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Then we found a nearby spot where we could watch and photograph the balloons all morning.


Lift Off
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A balloon over my Jeep while the almost-full moon is ready to set behind the cliffs in the distance.


Jeep, Balloon & Moon
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Back light and dust kicked up from the vehicles on the road made for some nice scenes.


In the Dust
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Between
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Above Rocks
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Dusty Valley
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Above Valley of the Gods
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Four
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


ADVENTR Balloon
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Six balloons preparing for flight.


Getting Ready
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Identical balloons fly above us.


Twins
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Spire & Balloon
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Balloon & Rock
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Two Balloons
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Three Balloons
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Morning Flight
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr


Balloon Shadow
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

When most of the balloons were done flying that morning we headed back to Comb Ridge for a little more hiking before driving back home. First, we followed Comb Wash to the San Juan River so we could visit the River House Ruins and then we returned to Butler Wash so we could hike to the Wolfman Panel and nearby ruins.

The Wolfman


Wolfman
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

There was some nice reflected light on the panel while we visited.


Wolfman Panel
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After crossing Butler Wash to visit the ruins nearby, we spotted this high petroglyph panel that I had missed before. It's always nice to find something new!


High Panel
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Direct sunlight and shadows on this ruin.


In the Light
by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After returning back to the Jeep we started the drive back to Colorado. We made one last stop at the Moab Brewery for an early dinner and then finished the drive back home to end our weekend. It was a great weekend :)

>> Bluff Balloon Festival Photo Gallery

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Thanks for the post. The pictures are amazing. After living in Bluff for 6 years and watching the festival from my porch I miss seeing it and only living 30 min away now I haven't taken the time to go back down during the festival. Always a magical time that everyone should get a chance to see.
 
absolutely awesome shots.
Beside the balloon shots you captured some really great shot of the rock art and ruins.
I can't wait to see more of the area this spring. This past weekend was just a little teaser
 
I particularly like the last ballon pic against the massive butte - makes the hot air ballon look so small.
 

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