Day Ten - Monument Valley, UT

Most of you have seen Monument Valley and didn't know it!  If you like John Wayne movies or westerns, you've probably seen this area.  A lot of movies are made here. 

On the drive to Monument Valley, we passed a hotel where John Wayne stayed:

 An arch:

 

The Hole in the Wall (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hideout)

You have to take a tour to see it, but we didn't have time.

It was about a three hour drive to Monument Valley and we got there about lunch time.  We didn't want to eat a big lunch as we were going to the BIG restaurant for dinner and a movie.  We stopped in a little deli near the campground and grabbed some fried chicken.  Oh, how I miss Publix and their wonderful fried chicken.  Not bad and I wasn't starving now.

There are many tours you can take in Monument Valley or you can drive the 17 mile loop in your own vehicle.  We stopped at the visitor center and I went in to find out what we needed to do.  Monument Valley is on the Navajo reservation and you must pay to visit Monument Valley.  I greeted the young man in Navajo with "hello."  Pays off to read Tony Hillerman novels!  He was surprised!  He told me which clan he belonged to and a little about where he lived.  He was so helpful in giving us information.  He then asked if we were driving the tour and what we were driving.  That should have been a clue.  I told him a 3/4 ton Chevy pickup.  He said that would be good. He gave us directions and sent us on our way.  

We paid our money to enter the reservation and got the tour map.  It is a 2 hour driving tour.  If you take the 3.5 hour tour in the reservation trucks,  you get to see much more.  We decided we would just do our own 2 hour tour.  Good thing!

We started down a sandy road.  Washboard was the first word that came to mind.  We bounced and slide and bounced some more.  Poor Chrissy didn't know what to think.  Neither did I!  At least David had the steering wheel to hang on to.  I'll post the pictures at the end.

We encountered horses in the road.  Crazy people flew past us and three dirt up everywhere.  Goats were wandering in the road.  Good thing we were going slow.  The two hours were quickly turning into more than than.

We noticed toward the end of the tour that the wind was picking up.  We could see sand being blown high into the air.  We began to notice people on the tours.  If you ride in the tour vehicles, they are little more than pickup trucks with seats in the back.  You are exposed to the sand.  We didn't see a single person smiling on the tours unless it was the drivers in their enclosed, air-conditioned truck cabs.  Some people had pulled scarves over their entire heads!

By the time we got back to the campground, you really couldn't see the monuments clearly anymore.  The wind was now blowing about 30-40 mph.  Dust was blowing across the road and was making it difficult to see.  Below are the pictures.  I'll save the dinner story for another post.

East Mitten

West Mitten

Three Sisters (one is on a diet)

Rain God Mesa

See the sand in the road.  Crazy weather!

There's more to come!

Jenny :)

Day Nine - Deadhorse Point and Canyonland National Park

An early start for us on a cool morning in the desert.  I wanted to take early morning pictures at Deadhorse Point State Park.  There is a river bend in the park that was supposed to be a great place to take pictures.

Deadhorse Point was named for the fact that a number of horses died at the bend.  Horses would be corralled at the end of the bend and held there for a few days until they could be worked with later.  The story goes that several were herded into the bend and left there.  They could not reach the water that was so close to them.  Horrible story, but the name stuck.

Deadhorse Bend

 See the piles of rocks? They're called cairns.  They keep you on the right hiking area.  We were rim hiking while taking pictures.  We've seen these in many places.  Some of the places have signs warning you not to move or remove any of the rocks.  It can be difficult hiking in the canyons and desert without trail markers.

On the way out I spotted this cactus in bloom.

On to Canyonland! We've never been to this park and had no idea what to expect except canyons.  And canyons it was!  The only problem was, we've seen THE canyon, the Grand Canyon, several times and love it.  The canyons at this park fell short for us.  While still beautiful in their own way, they just aren't as majestic as those in Arizona.

There you are.  I didn't take very many pictures.  The park wasn't crowded at all.  It's in three parts and only this part was accessible from where we were.  They other two sections were too far away to visit.  The other two parts are more hiking than driving, too.

Off to Monument Valley tomorrow!

There's a better day down the road!

Jenny :)

Baptist Church in Utah

We didn't want to miss church on the road, so we found a Conservative Baptist Association Church.  I picked out a nice pants outfit and grabbed my NIV Bible.  David and I went to church.

We got there and the name listed on the church was different than the one in the GPS, but we decided to stay.  We were already in the parking lot.

We entered and there was a sign saying it was a KJV (King James Version) church.  I have an NIV, but can follow along. The church was decorated in early Home Interiors pictures, flowers, and sconces.  I look at the other ladies and they are all wearing dresses.  Not until church starts does another woman come in wearing pants.  I was feeling uncomfortable.

We started singing one song I knew, but didn't know the other songs we sang.  I just do the best I can.
 
The preacher started with a joke:

A Baptist preacher and two men went deer hunting.  All three men shot at a buck at the same time and it dropped dead.  They couldn't determine who took the shot that killed it, so they called the game warden in to decide.  The game warden arrived and took a long look at the deer.  He stepped back and said "The Preacher killed it."  The men were shocked.  "How do you know?" they asked.  "Easy, went in one ear and out the other."

He got a few laughs over that one.  He then suggested we put one finger in one ear so what he preaches can stay in there.  Not as many laughs on that one.

The sermon was good and we were soon out of church.  As we were leaving, David asked me did I notice the preacher's feet.  I said no and asked why.  David said he had preached with his shoes off.  By the time he had gotten to the back of the church to shake hands, his shoes were back on.  Missed that one!

Grabbed lunch in town and then did a little sight-seeing.

There's a better day coming!

Jenny :)

Day Eight - Arches and Vertigo

We got out early to head to Arches National Park.  We took lots of water and sunscreen.  It's warm here, but not hot, but the sun can get to you in a hurry.  It's very dry so we are trying to stay hydrated.  David is my camera toting person.  I have my Nikon D3100 and NikonD50.  The D50 has a 300 telephoto lens on it and it's heavy.  Of course I have my cell phone.  It won't work as a cell phone, but it works great taking pictures!

I'll post the photos with comments!

We met this baby while hiking to Delicate Arch

The Windows

Thought about renting one of these for the night

Balanced Rock

Sand Arch

 I didn't think I would make it back from the hike to Sand Arch.  You walk through deep red sand.  At one point, the sand was much deeper than it had been.  When I started walking in it, I got vertigo.  The whole canyon was spinning!  Fortunately, it stopped when I got past the deeper part.  Only problem was, we had to come back that way.  Vertigo struck again!

Underside of an arch. 

I had to see one more arch....Landscape Arch.  It's a 3/4 mile hike listed as moderately easy.  I don't know who decided moderate, but I would like to tell them no, it's not moderate.  It was a touch hike up and down a steep hill and then in a bunch of sand.  Arch was beautiful, though.

On the way back to the truck, David remarked that there were kids locked in an RV!

Look closely at the door.  FAKE!

I'm so tired by now I just laugh.  Then he tells me there is a dog shut up in an RV!

 We've see that dog everywhere





Now for the most famous arch.  It's Delicate Arch and it's the one on the Utah license plates:

We hiked up here early in the morning.  It truly is a beautiful arch!


Tomorrow is Canyonlands National Park!

There's a better day down the road!

Jenny :)

Day Seven - From Mountains to the Desert

Leaving Colorado for Utah!  You have to cross the mountains to get to Arches National Park in Moab, UT.  You also cross the Continental Divide, too.  Of course, we did it in style!

Glad I wasn't driving!  Nine miles up and nine  miles down with a brief stop at the top of the pass.  David did an excellent job.  I didn't scream much and I didn't wear a hole threw my side of the floorboard pushing on my imaginery brakes!

And for my weather friends (you know who you are, there was a weather station here at Monarch Pass. 

Down we head into Moab.  We're staying at a campground called Archview.  You can see a few of the arches from the campground....if you look REALLY hard. 

What did impress me was this building:

It was used in Riders of the Purple Sage movie as well as some others.  Really looks old, but it's not.  Beautiful set against the desert and the mountains.

It's late and we decide tomorrow we'll tackle Arches National Park.  

OH, had a great meal in some town.  Name of the place was Big Daddy's Diner.  It was terrific!

There's something better down the road!

Jenny :)

Day Six - Springtime in the Rockies

In Alabama, we have spring pollen season starting February or March.  I thought I was through with achoo, but not so.  So many trees and flowers are just putting out here in the Rockies.  I've sniffled, sneezed and wheezed for many miles!

The scenery is beautiful!  Snow-capped mountains, beautiful valleys, quiet campgrounds.

Not a lot to report today, just riding through the Rockies.

Soon it's time to stop and we find a campground behind a bowling alley!  It's laundry day, too, so we think we'll be entertained.  HA!

They have free putt-putt here and we put off playing until we come back from the store.  Then we put it off until we finish 5 loads of laundry.  YEP, five loads (small washers).  A storm came up while we were doing laundry.  We couldn't play because the wind was blowing about 35 mph.  It would have moved the ball around without being tagged with a putter!

Back to the laundry....we were using Purell Washer sheets, but we were out.  They are dry sheets you drop in the washer and then put the sheet in the dryer.  No need for liquids.  This time we bought some pods.  Rather than bring the whole package of them, David suggested we put 10 each in a ziploc bag, so I made up 3 bags of them.  He put them in the back of the truck.  When he got them out to use them, 10 had exploded in one bag.  Not sure if it was the sun or the altitude.  The other 2 bags went into the fridge.

Speaking of altitude....I know to be careful opening things we brought from home that might not adjust well to altitude.  Learned about mustard the hard way before....cleaned it off the ceiling!  I forgot when I opened my toothpaste.  I had enough in the sink and on my brush for everyone in the campground!

Quiet evening.....cool here.

There's something better down the road!

Jenny :)

Day Five - Royal Gorge or Bust! BUST!

Before leaving Colorado Springs, I got to talk with a Facebook friend and fellow author, @Charlotte Raby!  She and I have a short story in an anthology:  "It Was A Dark and Stormy Night" compiled by Joyce Norman and it's available on Amazon.com!  We talked a bit and figured out we didn't have time to meet!  We'll try again next time! 

We've been hearing a strange noise outside for the last couple of days.  Discovered what it was!  WOODPECKER!

  Amazing how much noise one little bird can make.

Today we're off to Royal Gorge and it's about 50 miles from here.  We decided to move campgrounds so we wouldn't be driving so much.  We drove the 50 miles and pulled into Royal Gorge!  There was plenty of room for RV's to park.  I grabbed my camera (not fixed, changed lenses) and off we went.  Met with a great stop sign!  $26 per person to walk the bridge!  Of course, the admission covered the amusement park, but not much was running and we just wanted to see the bridge.  One lady saw our confusion over the situation and told us to go past the last flag and there was a viewpoint.

There was a train there.  David is an engineer.  What can I say?

Well, Royal Gorge ranks right up there with visiting the meteorite  crater in Arizona.  Don't go!

Now we have a new dilemma.  Do we find the campground we wanted to stay in or keep driving.  We keep driving.    We were headed to Montrose, CO the next day, so we kept driving until we got almost there.  Found a great campground next to a river.  Perfect!

Our spot had lilacs in bloom all around it.  Deep purple lilacs everywhere.  The scent was great - for about 10 minutes.  Then it began to smell like room freshener.  We walked up to the office to ask a question and were given free ice cream.  This place was getting better and better.

Lilacs!

After dinner we took our chairs and sat by the river.  We spotted lots of birds and even saw a couple of rafters coming down the river.  One of the rafts even had a dog posted on the front.

It started to get dark so we decided to turn in.

There's a better day ahead!

Jenny :)