House on Fire

Description

The story behind the photo:  We’d heard rumors of Native American ruins with a roof that breathed fire. We even found jaw-dropping pictures of the place.  The name “House on Fire” certainly seemed to fit.  But we had burning questions: Did the rocks above these ruins really look like a ball of flames? Or did someone just play with fire in Photoshop?

Dad and I traveled about 1,000 miles to find out for ourselves. House on Fire rests in Mule Canyon about 25 miles from Blanding, Utah on the Cedar
Mesa. To reach it we navigated rutted dirt roads, scrambled down a dry riverbed, hiked about a mile and scaled a small canyon wall to a rock ledge. It was an adventure all right.  We felt like Ben Gates and his cohorts racing to uncover a National Treasure. 

Once we located the hidden ruins, we got to work before the daily, short light show ended.  Not only did we have fantastic photos, we also knew the answers to those nagging questions.  Yes, the house really is on fire without any computer magic. But we definitely would have fun playing with it in Photoshop.