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Show fistijhe HMdea Vlky f the Qiwmes i-, .1 hidden val ' ,( ( dozen mill's Miub regnomes I 'CjttuU'. heer-walled ihi'M' fjroU'Miuo ( "'.j V"S .Old chlMCl od ) .!Us. i" o in m 11 11 ' n 'h'oU'i OlIltT H M'Hlt' ',v,-nHis. silent wav . ,U. midst of those r!tt and misshapen '..'iiures. n i tt t hoi r gi- u- mushroom-shaped stands Uio king ponies, twice as t.ill jnuH'O as his sub.ioi ts. lo trees and brush in hidden alloy of ;;,Vt.s are lush and ) ' V standing as tall j dense as pinvon and yr can grow. This y many of the short - "C:iomes so that only tops of their heads above the sea of ) '.'- green, The King j "o;r.e. however, towers yle the rank ego-' ego-' lording it over ) ; rugged domain and ) ,-,it subjects. ) 'flis hidden alley, the -ilm of silent, grotos- e creatures who stand v- still for so long that ) -;v seem to be made ) jione. is less than 500 ) ::cs in size, but within i are many wonders. -e valley, itself, is ' and has several I .A'.y sloping arms. It ) ; nailed on three sides i . rock. Two of those i smoothly eroded. ;: ir.on-hued Entrada risione. A third is also ) ;:rida slick rock but ) cd with layeredSum- -.erville deposits. ! Near the valley bot-! bot-! .-. and in rows up two I ;' i;s branching arms. rd the gnomes, dis-) dis-) as sturdy pedes -, V; of weathered rock j :::?d with tilted, flat-' flat-' ;:ed C3procks of whit-) whit-) ;i sandstone. The ) iT.es stand in groups j .id rows as Plough form- ri of harder stone left ( adding as erosion wore J uy the softer sur-) sur-) "-.-.ding rock. h the colorful slick- -( a'i masses on one side 1 fie valley are arches. ( :e near ground level, :e other high in a taper- riza of smooth rock. On ) :e sail higher rim that ils the opposite side 1 the valley, another ; ;rrely shaped arch :srs downward like a ! ie. blue eye. In sever-1 sever-1 - peaces along the val- v. "" 'v ; r 1 ; -" I - 1 . . v ) ' - - ' - . . N -w. - yf y - V Wl- - r - -v v ' ' 'v " . A ' v 'V ; ,, . o 1 t '' " . ... --'- ' - - i i :. '-Vc,. . -" UA- ;, : -4k- -.-rn . ' 'h, J ; . 7- tr x-s . : .-- V -: f A i The King of Gnomes stands guarding his domain do-main in a hidden valley within a stone's throw of the Sand Flats Road. The valley is accessible ley's walls, tall towers of reddish stone stand out like sentinels on guard. Viewed From Top This hidden valley with its silent population may be viewed from the top of one of its sandstone walls, or may be penetrated pene-trated on foot for a closer clos-er look at its camouflaged camou-flaged dwellers. To reach the Valley of Gnomes, drive up the by foot and is the portal to a long and challenging wilderness hike. Sand Flats Road from Moab. About nine miles from town this rough, graded-dirt road crosses a narrow ridge between N'egro Bill Canyon and Rill Canyon. Here, metal tanks brim with dripping ' - -y ; ! - - , - ,r. v. ';- ;: u.:.:.-V i t ' r , r "y:y - j v .l- : ..;- : .. j -fw- ' . I v "v - - - '-" - ' ... ; - y-j'V';;,: - v 'v '5 'T .,-; he hjddcn vallev may be viewed from the slick -Y: the Vallev of Gnomes, giant figures with rock saddle in the background, heads stand in silent rows. Part ol I spring water. In about two more miles, the road tops out of Kill Canyon. A mile from here, a large mass of barren slickrock appears ap-pears to the right of the road. A tall minaret of stone stands near the top of this rock mass. From here on, it is necessary to walk. To view the realm of the gnomes from above, hike up onto the lower saddle to the right, or west, of the slickrock tower. Near the crest of this saddle, a giant pothole pot-hole forms a miniature hidden valley by itself Just beyond this pothole, on the saddle rim, the rock drops in a sheer wall that curves gently away to the right and left. And below, a good part of the Valley of Gnomes is visible. Hike Back To visit the valley, and to see an arm of the valley that is not visible from the high slickrock saddle, hike back toward the road a few yards, then around the base of the slickrock to the east. Soon, the ground slopes steeply down into the walled wal-led valley. Along the dry watercourse here, a row of gnomes stands partly hidden in the trees. It is easier walking along the base of the slickrock, but the gnomes are down in the junipers. Shortly, in a detached mass of rock, the smallest small-est arch appears, and from where the gnomes stand it is also possible to see the second arch high in the big slickrock dome. And framed between be-tween the redrock masses, mas-ses, on the upper rim of the distant valley wall, the third arch can be glimpsed. Binoculars are I needed for close study ' of this span. On the fourth side of i the Valley of theGnomes? Here, too, the valley is ! protected. About a half . mile down from where the valley can be entered I on foot, it shelves off steeply into Burkholder " Draw, one of the deep ; tributary canyons to Rill Canyon. And both of these are part of the beautiful complex of gorges that feed steady streams of spring water to the North Fork of Mill Creek. Thus, the hidden entrance en-trance to the Valley of Gnomes is a portal to an almost endless canyon-lands canyon-lands adventure for those who enjoy wilderness hiking, and those who take this wilderness jaunt may rest assured that they will go in perfect solitude soli-tude except for the silent gnomes who guard their hidden valley. |