One more place checked off “The Bucket List”—Nine Mile Canyon, located south of Price, Utah. This trip marked the final adventure in my trusty old LiteCraft camper, which has been a familiar sight in my neighborhood for over 18 years. 

If you visit, be sure to add the Prehistoric Museum in downtown Price to your itinerary as your first stop. 

Nine Mile Canyon—closer to 45 miles long—is often called the world’s longest art gallery. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the canyon was once home to the Fremont people until sometime in the 1300s CE. They left their mark on the canyon walls in the form of stunning petroglyphs. After the Fremont people, the Utes passed through, and later figures like John Wesley Powell may have followed. Eventually, Mormon settlers came and went, leaving their own brief imprint on the canyon’s history.

I camped at the canyon’s only campground, owned and operated by a local family. It was a clean and peaceful place, complete with a friendly campground cat who made the rounds. The host even served instant coffee upon request, adding a touch of old-fashioned hospitality. 

The family also offers small cabins and bed-and-breakfast accommodations in the main house. Ben Mead and his children, who own and operate the ranch, provide guided tours of the canyon during the summer and shoulder seasons, weather permitting. I booked a tour expecting to be the only participant, but more adventurers joined, so we set out in two ranch vehicles—one driven by Ben, the patriarch, and the other by his daughter and son-in-law. Touring the canyon with a family that has known its secrets for decades was an invaluable experience, well worth the reasonable cost.

We packed our own lunches and water, but the Meads shared locally grown apples, which added a nice touch to the day.

It takes a trained eye to spot the granaries perched high on the canyon walls and the petroglyphs even higher. Some panels, like “The Great Hunt,” are famous, but others offered a touch of humor that added to the experience.

Unfortunately, the shoulder season weather didn’t hold out for me on this final trip in my camper. For the first time in all my travels, I was snowed on! Ben advised me not to use the brakes on my drive out. My response? “That’s what gears are for.”

If you’re handy and interested, my beloved camper is now up for sale.