Neanderthal Man - or so!

hatchcanyon

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May 29, 2013
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136
An easy trip to a curious place.

Travel on UT 128 and drive over the Colorado River using the new Dewey Bridge. From Dewey - formerly called Kingsferry - not that much remained. There is an old Texaco Gas Station - no gas anymore. In 2009 the wooden building had a mural on its front wall depicting the Colorado River and Old Dewey Bridge - the landmark destroyed by fire!

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Old Dewey Gas Station and Roberts Mesa in the background

In 2013 we found the building "refurbished" with some white paint - no more mural!

But the real place we were interested in is1 mile away from the northern end of the new bridge. There - at 12S 0648745, 4297775 is a shallow alcove the cliff on the northern side of the highway. We parked the car there and walked for a short distance.

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Alcove and swallows

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A mysterious hole

To our left the was something like an ascending driveway up a hill.

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The "Driveway"

We entered a terrace with a view over the Canyon bottom with - again - Roberts Mesa in the background.

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Colorado River Valley

The interesting "thing" is behind us - a Cave Home. Not from the ancients but from modern man.

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The Cave Home

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Inside the Living Room

The stairway is awesome. Imagine singing showgirls stepping down.....Las Vegas in Cave Land.

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Fireplace

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Electric power was present

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Kitchen or bath appliances?

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Securing the ceiling by rods

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On the upper floor

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Looking down the stairway

Seeing that large slab fallen from the ceiling gives an idea, why the home was abandoned. Even entering now is always at your own risk.

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A new excavation was started nearby.

Was this intended as an extension or was this an attempt of an new start for a second home after the slab crashed down?

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Looking down the driveway into the shallow alcove - US 128 nearby.

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The adit again

The upper holes hold remains of water pipes. Possible that this arrangement was used to collect water?
 
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I've stopped there a few times over the years...better than paying for the tour of the Hole in the Rock south of Moab...what a tourist trap and waste of money that is! ;)
 
I have so many questions not sure where to begin... was this private land at the time it was inhabited? I know the population is sparse out there but I assume the authorities would eventually notice that you were shacked up in a cave. Was this cave home a legal venture or no and if so, can it even be done safely?
 
I've never been in Hole in the Rock - that doesn't interest me - but oncy I bought something in the Hollow Mountain shop, Hanksville. Seems to me in both places rock types are more solid.
 
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