A Morning on the Sandstone Spine
November Cedar Mesa & Comb Ridge Trip 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
After spending an awesome weekend in Natural Bridges, Jackson and I spent a morning exploring Comb Ridge before heading back home. Monarchs Cave was one of the first ruins I ever visited on Comb Ridge and I was looking forward to revisiting them again on this trip, so that was our first stop.
An overview of the ruins in Monarchs Cave.
Monarch B&W by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
They were built right up to the edge
Monarch Fortress by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
This Monarch’s Cave 1892 inscription was placed by the Illustrated America Exploring Expedition in 1892. Warren K. Moorehead was the leader of the Illustrated America Exploring Expedition which was sent to explore, survey, map, photograph and secure specimens from southeastern Utah. Although the IAEE collected few artifacts, the members of the expedition wrote enthusiastically and romantically about their adventures and discoveries in a series of articles for American Illustrated Magazine.
Monarchs Cave by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Monarch Cave Ruins by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr