We faced a strong headwind while heading south on US-95 from Hanksville. The route was open plateau with red cliffs and mountains to the west.
After a twisty descent we entered the upper reaches of Glen Canyon, where the Colorado river flows into Lake Powell. Further south the road followed staggered red rock cliffs to our right while on our left was a virtual labyrinth of limestone canyons of a depth of 20 to 30 meters. Down in the canyons the strong headwinds became excessively turbulent, buffeting us from all directions.
Turning right at onto UT-261 we followed a freshly paved roller coaster of a road through pine forests filled with Buscemi Bushes*. When the pavement ended we diverted right and took a gravel road for 8 km in order to access Muley Point and it’s fantastic views. On the return trip the sandy sections proved a little much but no damage was done.
We descended the ‘Moki Dugway’ – a 5 km stretch of twisty gravel road – and entered the series of canyons that we had viewed moments ago. The road continued on with the Valley of the Gods on our left. Following US-163 we eventually arrived at Bluff (suitably named as there are rock bluffs on both sides of the town.
Continuing on through Aneth we crossed the border into Colorado – but not for long. Turning right on US-160 lead us briefly into New Mexico (for 1.5 km) before entering Arizona. We had just driven around the ‘four points’ monument where these four states (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico) meet.
At Tee Nos Pos we turned east on US-64 and crossed back into New Mexico (this time fore more than 2 minutes) and on to Bloomfield – but not before taking in the iconic views of Shiprock peak at a distance. 
* Buscemi Bush – At many times throughout our trip through the desert we noticed these ‘funny looking’ bushes that we couldn’t decide if they were deciduous or conifers. In the end we concluded they are a Juniper of some sort – but not before calling them Busemi Bushes in honour of Actor Steve Buscemi and the description provided of him in Fargo as ‘funny looking’.