Mexican Hat was founded in 1908 by E.L. Goodridge who established an oil claim that proved unproductive. It has a population of 31 people, and is the gateway to Utah’s top Parks such as Canyonlands, Goosenecks, and Grand Staircase-Escalante…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Mexican Hat is also the launching point for daily San Juan River trips…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Once a thriving Motel Stop community, Mexican hat has declined over the years due to waning mobile traffic…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
A view of Alhambra Rock to the south - a volcanic formation named by Spanish travelers who thought that its profile resembled the medieval Moorish castle bearing the same name in Granada, Spain.
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Canyonlands Motel is a classic rustic stop still open along US-163 as you head north to Valley of the Gods…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Musicians often play at the Mexican Hat Lodge Friday and Saturday evenings in the summer, after San Juan River trips. They also have a pretty wicked steak dinner, so it is said…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
“Welcome to The Rock” - Sean Connery as John Patrick Mason from “The Rock” (1996)
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Obviously, Mexican Hat Rock was named after its likeness to a Sombrero…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
“The Rock” stands 4396ft tall with a 60x12 ft “hat” at the top… It is often referred to as a “pancake!” Mmmmm - pancakes…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The Hat “ is a caprock of Cedar Mesa sandstone atop a pedestal and talus cone of the Halgaito Formation, a bed of red shale and siltstone. Both formations, part of the Cutler Group, date from the Permian Period, over 250 million years ago. The shales were deposited by sluggish streams that wandered across a moist vegetated lowland along the coastline of a shallow sea. Early ancestors of the dinosaurs populated the ancient landscape, leaving fossilized skeletons and bones as record of their passage. Erosion dissected the shale, leaving this spectacular remnant of erosion-resistant sandstone.”…
Science jargon from - https://www.visitutah.com/
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
“The Rock” was first officially climbed in May of 1962. Then a second path was climbed in 1981 known as the “Bandito Route.”
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
“The Hat is famed for all kinds of crazy climber antics. Over a dozen folks have stood on the summit at one time; and it once appeared, along with a bunch of naked climbers, in a fake ad for “clear lycra” in a spoof section of an old Rock and Ice magazine. Todd Gordon probably best describes the Mexican Hat syndrome in Climbing magazine: “A pancake, can’t think of any other way to describe it; a pancake stacked on the apex of a talus cone . . . on the summit, a Coke bottle; inside is a Bill Forrest business card and picture from a biker magazine of a buxom topless female on a black Harley.”
Care of - https://www.visitutah.com/
Mexican Hat, and US-163 follow a brief section of the San Juan River whose headwaters originate as snowmelt in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
“The San Juan Inn is neatly nestled between a majestic red rock cliff, and the San Juan River. Only 20 Miles from Monument Valley, this is a hotel with astonishing views. For a unique experience in the desert of Utah and the comfort of moving water, this is as tranquil as it gets.”…
Thanks to - http://www.sanjuaninn.net/
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
…All rooms face the San Juan River; there are patios overlooking the river as well as direct access to it. There is a cafe on premises with a Utah liquor license, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. This historic trading post offers groceries, travelers needs, handmade Navajo goods such as rugs, jewelry and baskets and to go beer. There is a laundry facility and a workout room…”
From -https://www.tripadvisor.com/
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
“Monument Valley May be the Main Attraction in the Area but there are many Hidden Gems to explore within a few Miles of the San Juan Inn such as the Goosenecks State Park, Bears Ears, Cedar Mesa, Natural Bridges National Monument, Comb Ridge, The San Juan River, Valley of the Gods, Moki Dugway and More.”
Comin’ from - http://www.sanjuaninn.net/
The Jason R. Workman Memorial Bridge is a picturesque arch bridge, built in 1953 that crosses the San Juan River on US-163…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The Bridge was named after a member of SEAL Team Six who was killed in action in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011, and was a 1997 graduate of nearby San Juan High School…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Leaving Mexican Hat on US-163, we head south to Monument Valley on the Utah Arizona Border…And the adventure continues to many other places!
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler