Monday, February 28, 2011

Postcard from Mexican Hat

mexican_hat_hills

Yes, there really is a place called Mexican Hat. It is in southern Utah, on US Highway 163, just north of Monument Valley and the Arizona border. Population 88, at the last census. It gets its name from Mexican Hat Rock, a distinctive rock formation located just outside of town (see below).

The town has a big celebration every year on March 8, commemorating the fact that the US Census Bureau has officially named it as a “census designated mexican_hatplace.” Everyone in town who can make it shows up wearing…you guessed it…a Mexican Hat.

The hills pictured above are also just outside of town. When I first saw them, a few years ago, they reminded me of a Navajo blanket, for some reason. Probably because I had just left the lands of the Navajo Nation behind me when I first came into town. But, they are also similar to the Painted Hills of Oregon, which you have also seen here before.

So, besides the Mexican Hat Rock, located nearby is Goosenecks State Park, a wonderful place to see the Green River flowing through a series of goosenecks….and not far north are the fascinating red rock formations of the Valley of the Gods. As you may have noticed through my blogs, southern Utah is a beautiful place and worth many sightseeing trips.

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