"The deepest ditches lie in the darkest shadows..."
Driving down a long stretch of gravel road in BLM land approaching the Grand Staircase-Escalate National Monument in Utah. The sun was setting and shadows were getting long.
What appeared to be a long shadow in the road was in fact a super deep ditch that formed from water runoff and we unexpectedly got to test the travel of our suspension.
After this, we slowed up a bit, interrupted some friendly, curious cows that were grazing on the side of the road, and found a turnoff that led to a sketchy set of steep, icy switchbacks up to a windy, frigid ridge with a sort of campsite at the top. There we chalked up our tires and found a fire pit with a dead tree next to it. A stubborn night by the fire ensued.
37.249603, -111.898907
When in doubt, drive slower.
Lesson Learned.