I’m Brian, and in this one I finally go back and do Hovenweep National Monument the right way after the previous day turned into a four-hour mud-hole beatdown. I camped just outside the monument at an awesome dispersed spot (seriously, one of the best fire pits I’ve seen in a long time) and then hit the main Hovenweep area for the classic loop. It’s a bit of a hike (a little over two miles), and I’ll be the first to admit flip-flops were a terrible idea—especially once the trail drops into the canyon and you remember you’ve got to climb back out. Then I follow Gaia and take a detour to what I’m calling the “hidden” second Hovenweep area—way smaller, way more remote, and absolutely worth it if you’ve got a capable high-clearance 4x4. The road is rough, the parking is tiny, and it feels like a place people don’t visit often… which is exactly my kind of place. The dwellings out there straight-up blew me away—700 years later and it still looks incredible, close enough that you can really appreciate the rockwork (without touching or taking anything). To wrap the day, I swing toward Canyons of the Ancients, realize the shutdown makes the visitor center/museum a no-go, and pivot to Lowry Pueblo instead. After a solid dose of Pueblo sites, I point the Jeep toward Valley of the Gods Road and hope I’m not rolling in too late to snag a good dispersed camp spot.