Round Trip Distance: 300 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 5028 - 5041 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 15 mins.
Trailhead: Montezuma Creek Rd. mm 6.4
Fee: none
Attractions: granary, petroglyph
What we are calling the Corncob Granary is a nice little cliff dwelling or granary that is located along Montezuma Creek east of Blanding, Utah. Corncob imprints were made in the mortar between some of the stones on the outside wall when the structure was constructed.
The trailhead is about 0.15 miles south of the Three Kiva Pueblo site or 6.5 miles north of the junction of the Montezuma Creek and Perkins roads. Entering Three Kiva Pueblo into your driving app will get you turn by turn directions. The easiest to drive route is the one through Blanding, Utah via the Browns Canyon and Perkins roads.
There is room to pull all the way off of the road at the unmarked trailhead.
After parking it is easy to spot the granary wedged between a boulder and huge tilted slab of rock.
It is also easy to spot the corncob impressions in the mortar.
There is a spiral petroglyph on the boulder next to the granary.
The granary is still pretty well intact. Be sure not to touch it to help it last even longer.
Whatever was stored here was probably put in pots or baskets first and then those were placed inside similar to the way we would use a pantry. Padres Dominguez and Escalante found some Hopi storage enclosures as they were on the return leg of their expedition in 1776. They were on the point of starvation so they helped themselves to some of the stores and left in exchange some metal knife blades and shoe soles.
