Day 20, 2015-05-10
We got up early today and hit the road for Canyon de Chelly
National Monument in northeast AZ. We
took AZ 77/Indian 6 (Navajo Reservation) north to AZ 264 east, then AZ 191 into
Chinle, AZ where the park is located. These
are “back roads” and the scenery on the entire drive was just as spectacular as
the Painted Desert, vistas of bluffs and mesas, some up close, some at such a
distance as to let us know just how big this country really is. It was one of those drives where we marveled
at the scenery the entire trip.
Canyon de Chelly park headquarters is at the head of the
canyon, which runs basically east/west.
There are two drives with overlooks, one on each of the North and South
Rims. The canyon has a river that runs through the bottom land which is still
farmed by the Navajo, just as it has been for over a thousand years. The canyon contains MANY pueblos and cliff
dwellings, more than any other location we have seen. The only way to access the canyon floor is
through a Navajo tour operator and we did not have time to take the tour today,
so we were only able to see the canyon and ruins from the rim. Too bad, the ruins are phenomenal and seeing
them up close would have been a real treat.
We understand about living in a defendable position, but some to these
things must be 75 feet or more above the canyon floor, or maybe that far down
from the top of the canyon, on a vertical wall.
How these people commuted must have been something to see. We didn’t see any relics to tell us how this
was done, so we’ll just wonder about it. These Indians must have been some very
resilient people.
In any case, here are some shots of the canyon and ruins,
some from a distance to give a little perspective and some telephoto to give a
better look at the detail. 193 (2977)
Day 21, 2015-05-11
Today was one of “those days”. You think about how your trip should be and
are then surprised by how much better it can be than what you expected. The target for today was Monument Valley,
then on to a campground outside of Bluff UT.
As always, we drove the back roads and were delighted with
the drive. From Chinle, AZ we took US
191 to the town of Many Farms, then made a left on Indian 59 (BIA 59). The scenery on this drive consisted of mile after
mile of red mesas and multicolored bluffs. At Kayenta, AZ we took a right on US
163 which took us to the Monument Valley Tribal Park. If you are a fan of John Wayne western
movies, you have seen this place – most were filmed here. While you can see the geologic formations
from the highway, we thought it would be cool to see them up close. So we sprung for the $20 and took the 17 mile
drive through the base of the valley from the Navajo Monument Valley Tribal
Park. We were rewarded with spectacular views
of the rock formations up close and from many angles. Here are just a couple of the MANY pictures I
took of this remarkable place.
Moving on from here, we continued up US 163. We went through “Mexican Hat” (photo will
explain) and stopped for the night at Sand Island BLM Campground just outside
Bluff, UT.
Before we left on our trip, Bettie
located a picture of this place on the internet and fell in love with it. As weird as it may be, we were able to camp
in the exact same location – complete with the scenery that intrigued Bettie
from the get go. Here’s a look our home
for these couple of days. This is
without a doubt the most picturesque campsite we have had. 157 (3134)
Day 22, 2015-05-12
The plan for today was to drive out to Goosenecks State
Park, where the San Juan River takes 6 miles of switchbacks to cover 1 mile of
geography – hence the name. The canyon
is remarkable. We saw rafters and
kayakers on the river. It must be
something special to be at river level looking up at the mesa 1500 feet above. This is a State Park on the top of the mesa
with campsites that back up to the rim.
There is dry camping, and this will be a definite stop over on the next
trip.
After Gooseneck, we drove UT 163 (don’t let the “UT”
designation fool you – it’s mostly gravel) to Muley Point Overlook, from which
you can see both Monument Valley and The Valley of the Gods, The drive to Muley Point took us up 1500 feet
of gravel switchbacks to the top of another mesa.
Once we got there, we found the weather had
changed and haze had moved in. The
views, while still spectacular, were not what they would have been on a clear
day. Good reason to come back.
After descending the same road from Muley point,
we drove The
Valley of the Gods Road, 17 miles along the floor of the valley among the rock
formations. Monument Valley was
something to see, but this drive was awe inspiring. The rock formations and vistas were second to
none.
We are already talking about coming back to this area for a
month or so. It is so beautiful and there
is so much to see, we know we will be leaving a lot undone to be enjoyed
another day. 87 (3221)
The Battleship, The Rooster and The Sitting Chicken
The Seven Sailors
Day 23, 2015-05-13
Leaving Sand Island campground, we headed for our next
campsite at Pack Creek Campground in Moab, UT.
Along the way we took a side road out to The Needles area of Canyonlands
National Park. The first stop was at
Newspaper Rock, one of the best examples of Indian Petroglyphs we have seen.
The Needles were gorgeous.
We headed back to US 191 and turned toward Moab. Just before we got there, we came across
Wilson Arch right on the side of the highway.
Upon arriving at Pack Creek Campground we found what looked
like a decent set up. We were
pretty pleased, especially since we scheduled 4 days here. Then we discovered there were about 100
middle schoolers from the Northeast School District in Houston camping right
behind us in tents – and our site was the direct pathway to the toilets and
showers. We've had lots of company. Not as bad as it sounds, but things could be
a bit more serene.
We decided to eat out tonight, so we headed for the Moab
Brewing Company microbrewery and restaurant.
A Wednesday night, school still in session, and there was a wait to get
in. Our waiter told us this was a slow
night. We will eat in over the weekend.
Bettie’s beer was Moab Brewing Porcupine Pilsener (rated “I’ll have another”)
and I had a Dead Horse Amber (much like Yueingling (SP?), but smoother) and
then a Rocket Bike Lager (color of a bock, but a lot more bitter – I like Shiner
Bock better).
Moab, UT is a happening place – bars, restaurants,
microbrewery, hotels, motels, wineries, shops, galleries – and everywhere the vibe feels like a
ski destination, except focused on off-roading and the Colorado River sports
scene. To our ATV/OHV friends, this is
Mecca for you. This place exists so
people can come and enjoy the hundreds of back county trails in the area. Almost every other vehicle in town is some
sort of back country buggy or Jeep - and there are a LOT of them here.
Day 24, 2015-05-14
Today we toured Arches National Park, just a few miles north
of Moab. The weather turned rainy, but
the majesty of the formations in the park didn't suffer in the least.
We then took a 20 mile drive along the edge of the Colorado
River at the bottom of the mesa wall. It
gives an entirely different perspective on things to be looking up instead of
down.
We had time left over, so today was laundry day. Apparently,
Utah tradition does not call for sacrificing a sock to the laundry god. No, in Utah, you sacrifice a pillow case, so it
was off to Dollar General to pay up.
Could have been worse I guess.
Day 25, 2015-05-15
We returned to Canyonlands NP today, but we visited a
different part of the park known as “The Island in the Sky” and a UT State Park
called Dead Horse Point SP. Island in
the Sky is the top of a mesa that overlooks the Green River, just above its
confluence with the Colorado River. The
mesa is 1500-2000 feet above the river. The
scale of the landscape is beyond description, and the pictures in no way
capture the grandeur of the scenery.
On our way out of the park we took a short hike to the “Mesa
Arch”, an up close and personal arch experience.
Dead Horse Point SP is the very end of the top of a different
mesa that overlooks the Colorado River, again, just above the confluence with
the Green River. What a great vantage point to see the goosenecks of the
Colorado River Canyon and the surrounding “White Rim” area that borders the
river. 131
(3664)
Day 25, 2015-05-15
We drove back toward Bluff, UT today and went to The Needles
Overlook. This another of the “end of
the mesa” overlooks. It rained on us the
entire way out there, but just as we arrived it cleared some over the valley
and we were able to get a good, if not somewhat distant, view of The
Needles. Telephoto was the only way to
get a picture, and the moist atmosphere makes it a little fuzzy.
This afternoon it’s grocery shopping and strolling around
town. Tomorrow we are on the road again. 116 (3780)
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