As we were driving towards Bears Ears, I realized we hadn’t planned enough time, and that four days was going to be too short for a visit. The area was so big, and so beautiful, it was almost overwhelming.

We had arrived in Arizona a few days before and spent some time seeing my cousin in Phoenix, who I hadn’t seen since Dad’s funeral, and then attending the wedding of an old friend from Germany near Prescott. The trip was originally scheduled because of the wedding, and then we expanded it to ten days so we could do some exploring. Originally, we  planned to tour Zion, or Bryce for a few days.   

Then, the Bears Ears Monument controversy heated up with President Trump deciding to downsize the recently established Monument. President Obama had created the Monument in 2016 and it included over one million acres of federal land that had previously been under BLM or National Forest control. All of the local Indian tribes supported the act, as much of this is considered sacred ground. The local non-Indian populace is divided, with some towns actively supporting the creation of the Monument, and others viewing it as a federal land grab (never mind that the land had always belonged to the federal government). President Trump plans to reduce it to 160,000 acres, and open the land up to uranium, oil, and coal mining, although there’s no proof of any minerals being there. We decided to visit the Monument before it was gone, or desecrated.Originally, we were going to drive around some, but mostly spend three days hiking different trails. Then a few days before we left on vacation, Cathy fell from her horse and injured her back. Hiking was pretty much out for Cath, so we would drive around more. It turned out to be an accidental great choice, as we covered more of the area and saw sights that we would have missed.

I won’t bore you with all of the details, but you need to visit this area before it’s reduced to nothing, or overwhelmed with development. We drove through the Valley of the Gods, and saw scenery that blew Sedona away. We visited ruins that had existed since the 1200s and saw petroglyphs that were equally as old. We viewed the “Bears Ears” themselves from several points and directions throughout the area, as they are a dominant feature that can be seen for miles.  They have been known by the name “Bears Ears” for hundreds of years in both English, and several different native languages. 

 There is both great beauty and living history here, a combination that you don’t always see.  In the past, we’ve visited the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and several other of our national treasures. I would put Bears Ears with them, minus the crowds and development. If you are looking for T-Shirt shops, art stores, fine dining and souvenir stands, this isn’t the place for you. If you want to see amazing views, artifacts of the early years of our land, and not run into thousands of your fellow tourists, put Bears Ears on your list of places to visit.  

No matter what happens, Bears Ears is not going to be around for very long as it currently exists. Either great chunks of the Monument will be opened for mining, or over the next few decades there will be greater development to support tourists. For us, there’s no doubt about this wonderful place. We are already planning a trip to visit the area again next year.