The Camp By Dead Horse Point

I was hiking around near dead horse point with my ex - husband Shawn and some friends when we got lost. We had wandered off the trail and were just wandering around when it began to get dark. None of us knew which way to go to find the trail again so we kept walking. Just after the sun went down I began to get the feeling of eyes watching us from the darkness. As we came over the top of a hill we spotted firelight reflecting around the bend ahead of us.

I picked up my pace and strode forward thinking it was other campers and we could crash with them for the night and then find the trail in the morning. As I rounded the bend I stopped dead in shock, Shawn almost running me down and on down the line as our friends bumped into each other. Muttering came from behind me but Shawn and I just stared mutely in shock. I was half right it was other campers but they were not of this world.

A small group of Native Americans were camped in a small alcove in the cliff side. I do not know what tribe they were from, but the scene was rather domestic and it appeared to be a small family group an older man in his late thirties, a woman about the same age, a man and woman in their late teens or early twenties and a boy of about five or six. The men were sitting by the fire eating while the women bustled about setting up sleeping places and the little boy ran around playing.

As we stood there watching the scene slowly faded from view, none of them even noticed me or gave any sign that we were there. After they had faded from sight we stepped into the little alcove but couldn't find any signs of a camp or fire there. We decided to camp there until morning then try and find our way out.

When the sun rose the next morning we searched the area more completely and found a couple interesting items, a turquoise bead and an arrowhead. We also found the back wall of the alcove was marked with dark patches like faded soot.

We continued on our way and were eventually found by rangers who had begun looking for us when we did not return to the campground at the time we said we would. I spoke to one of the rangers and he said that others had reported similar experiences as well as others.