Borderlands of the Bears Ears Country IV | Saturday – Monday, January 17-19, 2026
While I was originally hoping to take Diane out to the Pahranagat Valley over this extended holiday weekend, we found ourselves needing to stay closer to home for the time being, but I still wanted to go somewhere where Diane would be able to join me. She has recently started Radiation Therapy and is still not allowed to do much hiking, but after a little bit of thought I figured we could return to Comb Ridge and the surrounding country to go on some shorter and easier hikes in the area. This would also give us the opportunity to return to the Bluff International Balloon Festival since we haven’t been back to the event since 2014, which was shortly after we first started dating and I believe it was also our very first weekend trip away together! These are some photos of what we saw this weekend.
Diane hiking ahead of me in Ladder Canyon. She was pretty happy to get outdoors again in the nice weather this weekend.
Spiral Cloud Man
We watched the first light of the day strike this nice petroglyph panel.
Exploring a colorful alcove that contained the following two small pictographs.
Red Hands
Little White Pictographs
Montezuma Creek Ruin
Line of Sheep at Sunrise
Looking down at the canyon floor, this scene caught my eye.
Horse On A Line
Buffalo & Circles
Diane walks across Butler Ruin Bridge.
Serenading the Spirits
Potsherds
This interesting petroglyph panel was composed of all dots.
Basketmaker Figure
I liked the ‘big mouths’ on these sheep.
Big Mouth Sheep Panel at Sunrise
A few of these long slabs of sandstone were covered with petroglyphs.
Walking through another colorful alcove.
Ladder Panel
It’s been over fifteen years since I last visited Tower House, but Diane had never been here before and it was a nice short hike for her.
Tower House Petroglyphs
Hard-to-see petroglyphs in the alcove next to Tower House.
We had the opportunity to revisit this interesting carving of a cradleboard shortly before sunset. The low light added shadows in the shallow crevices that helped make it more visible.
It was nice to revisit one of my favorite petroglyphs- The Rainmaker
The highlight of the weekend for us was being able to visit this pot together.
Chipped Rim Pot
Corrugated Pot
Bluff International Balloon Festival 2026
On Saturday evening we made our way over to the Bluff Community Center just after sunset to watch the Glow-In for a little while.
Here’s a short video clip of the balloons at the Glow-In.
Early on Sunday morning we made our way over to the Valley of the Gods to watch the balloons fly. We stopped below Setting Hen Butte at sunrise and waited for the caravan to arrive.
While we were waiting, Diane wanted to hike up to the top of the ridge between Setting Hen Butte and Rooster Butte to take in the views.
The dust was lighting up nicely behind my 4Runner at sunrise from all the traffic driving by.
There was also a nice distant view over to Monument Valley.
Soon the caravan from Bluff showed up and started kicking up even more dust along the road.
A few of the balloons stopped right below us to start setting up, so we stayed where we were and waited until they were in the air.
Taking Off
One of the balloons flew directly above us.
After hiking down off the ridge we finished the loop drive through the Valley of the Gods and stopped for a few photos of the balloons along the way.
>> Comb Ridge and the Borderlands of the Bears Ears Photo Gallery
>> Bluff International Balloon Festival 2026 Photo Gallery
Such great photos, and I envy your ability to find rock art almost everywhere you go. The large pot was incredible! As always, thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing those amazing photos. I can’t remember when I first discovered your wonderful blog. We live in the UK but have been coming to the South West (mainly Four Corners area) every year for over 25 years. Especially during the pandemic, your blog provided a link to a part of the world we love, so thank you. By coincidence, the final couple of nights of our last trip (June 2025) were in Bluff, and we’re back in Bluff at the end of May for more discovery in Bears Ears. Should have written this note long ago, but what prompted me today was your comment about Diane’s treatment. We wish her all the very best for her recovery.
Thank you Martha! I’m glad my blog was helpful for you during the pandemic.
I am writing with the sentiments shared I am sure by many of your loyal readers that we extend our best wishes to you and Diane as you go through the Radiation Therapy. I hope that the weekly trips to such beautiful landscapes and the awe of mankinds creativity will be restorative and bring peace and recovery. Thanks for sharing the pot photos as they are breath taking. Sincerely Mary Amory
Thank you Mary!
As always, brilliant!
Desert sun-good medicine!