Capturing the Recapture

While the trading post has been temporarily closed by the current health crisis, Susie and I have found ourselves with extra time on our hands. We have been using some of our freedom to explore local sites before the summer heat fires up. One of our recent destinations was nearby Recapture Pocket. Located just seven miles east of Twin Rocks Trading Post. This area is a rarely visited environment of rock formations called hoodoos. 

Hoodoos are formed when a soft rock, like sandstone, is capped by a harder substance, such as limestone. Wind, rain, and ice gradually erode the softer substance while the harder capstone protects the underlying column of stone. In some locations, the formations create fantastic spires, some as tall as a ten-story building. The formations in nearby Recapture Pocket are not that massive, but the sheer number and unusual shapes are impressive.

“Recapture” is a local term derived from a pioneer experience. Stories tell of a group of Ute raiders who stole livestock from early ranchers, and this was the place where the cattle were tracked down and reclaimed by their rightful owners. The term is often used around the region and shows up as Recapture Canyon and Recapture Reservoir just north of us near Blanding.

We can drive to Recapture Pocket in about fifteen minutes by following a very bumpy dirt trail heading off from Cow Canyon Road. Taking things slow and easy, you bounce along for about three miles before coming upon this surreal landscape, and directions can be easily found by a simple internet search. Visitors are encouraged to stay off the delicately balanced stone sculptures and take along water and supplies. There is no signage or interpretation for the site, but let the imagination take over and individual formations seem to change shape with the seasons and direction of the sun. Capturing images of the Pocket is a photographer’s dream.

We at the trading post routinely tell visitors about the attractions that lie within a 50-mile radius of Bluff. Places like Cedar Mesa, Hovenweep, Comb Ridge, Sand Island petroglyphs, and Gooseneck State Park are some of our favorite recommendations, but none are as close or as strange as the nearby and seldom-visited grouping of weird rock formations called Recapture Pocket. Next time you are in the neighborhood, stop in, and we will be happy to give you directions.