The Colorado River Canyon that runs east out of Moab is a great place to explore on the bike and in a vehicle as well. I didn’t find myself taking very many pictures while here this year. I feel like I blanketed the area photographically last year, and with my most recent photos from Cathedral Canyon, well, I guess I think you guys can take just so many pictures of rocks.

So, these last two; I was in this cut, and there was streaming sunlight that I was trying to capture.  Here are a couple of different light exposures of the same shot.  Sorry, it was better with the naked eye.  Ya shoulda been there. 🙂

Negro Bill Canyon is a great hike that’s moderate to difficult. It’s a good workout. William Grandstaff, the legendary Negro Bill, of mixed race, was one of the first non Native Americans to settle in the Moab area. In 1877 he staked a claim in his canyon to raise a small herd of cattle and to prospect. His reclusiveness fueled a lot of colorful stories about where he came from and his life here in the Moab Valley. He had a “business partner” history only knows as Frenchie, a Canadian fur trapper. His time in his canyon was short lived though. He was accused of selling liquor to the Indians. His guilt or innocence was never determined because Bill, figuring his racial heritage put him at too much of a legal disadvantage, left his beloved canyon and all of his possessions behind, and fled Moab.

As you might expect, the canyon name has not been without controversy. On maps, the canyon is still identified as Negro Bill Canyon, but the signs have been changed to read, Grandstaff Trail.

After years of haggling, and many groups weighing in, the BLM changed the signs in 2016. The new signs were promptly stolen. The controversy continues. Can you say Fighting Sioux?