Natural Bridges National Monument

Don and I seem to get around a little more quickly than Bart, Jerri, and Katie.  So we took the pups for a walk to a hidden arch right near our campground.  It was a pretty walk, if you like red rocks, red sand, little vegetation, and steep cliffs.  Good thing it is in our DNA.

Once we were on the road, we stopped at Natural Bridges National Monument.  This particular monument includes three large bridges as well as some ruins and many beautiful cliffs.  We decided to hike partially down the rather treacherous trail at Sipapu bridge.  It included two staircases and one ladder.  This was a huge step for me, since the last ladder on a cliff I had climbed was at Puye, where I froze halfway up.  But I decided I had to do it.  Luckily, the ladder was very short and quite sturdy, and I was able to climb up and down it just fine.

The trail led us to a very steep area, no guardrails included.  The view of Sipapu Bridge was magnificent, however, and I just made sure I stayed away from the edge.  No jumping allowed !!!  Jerri took several pictures of us, and she made sure not to tell us to step back a little ways.

We could have hiked all the way to bottom of the cliff, but that included one more staircase and two more ladders.  We were running low on time, so we passed and came back up to finish the drive around the park.  It was an interesting place.

Goosenecks

After driving the Moki Dugway, we decided to check out the Goosenecks of the San Juan River.  This meandering river has dug itself a series of "s" curves called the Goosenecks.  They have eroded through 1000 feet of sandstone, and the water continues to erode its way deeper and deeper.  The muddy San Juan, which is clear when exiting the Navajo Dam, is proof that erosion continues.

The fee for the Goosenecks State Park is only $5, and although we only stayed thirty minutes, it was well worth it for the view!

The first gooseneck

The second gooseneck

Monument Valley

We have seen many movies with Monument Valley as its backdrop, but we have never been there.  Now we can cross that one off our list.

It is pretty obvious from the road where Monument Valley is.  Huge slabs of sandstone left thrusting up from the floor of the desert like orange-red stalagmites.  Positioned against the blue sky, they are an imposing sight.

After visiting the museum that tells about Monument Valley and the Navajo Code Talkers, we took the 17-mile drive through the valley.  The red-dirt road, rough at times, forced us to drive slowly, which allowed us to enjoy the subtle nature of the spires and hills.  Each one highlighted a different aspect of the valley - the places where John Ford filmed, the area where artists like to paint, the totem pole spires.  All were interesting perspectives of the Valley floor.

We returned in the evening to catch the monuments as the sun was going down.  I suspect sometimes there are better sunsets, but I am glad for the few pictures I took.

The moon looks pretty small in this picture.  I wish we had been able to see the valley in a full moon at night.  We did have dinner in the restaurant, however, and although the prices were rather high, the food was very good.  And you can't beat the view, which is why it is called The View Restaurant.  We enjoyed our day at Monument Valley . . . now it is time for the next adventure.

Moki Dugway

We had heard about Moki Dugway from Betsy Sturm.  When we looked on the internet, it appeared in a blog on www.dangerousroads.org.  Oh boy.  Sounds fun!

After spending the morning in Monument Valley, we grabbed the Jeep and drove to Mexican Hat.  Bart reminded us that Dad had rafted down the San Juan with his brother, Ed, and they camped near Mexican Hat.  Dad had suggested to Uncle Ed that they go to the hotel just above them and catch a shower . . . but Uncle Ed declined and they continued on down the San Juan.  

Not far from Mexican Hat, we found the road where the Moki Dugway is.  In 1958, the road was built to bring ore from the mine down to Halchita from the Happy Jack Mine on Cedar Mesa.  It is a road with an 11% grade, no guard rails (only built-up piles of dirt), and narrow switchbacks.  There is a reason they do not allow RVs on the road!

As we climbed the very steep road, we could not believe how well the road blended into the side of the cliff.  We could not see the next level of road after the switchbacks, it was so camouflaged.

Once we drove to the top, we turned around and came back down again.  It was a pretty exciting ride back down, and we were very glad for the good weather.  This was a very fun diversion, and one we would recommend - as long as it isn't raining or snowing!

Canyon De Chelly

Some of the most spectacular cliff dwellings around are those in Canyon de Chelly.  At the bottom of steep sandstone cliffs, some 1000 feet high, the ruins of the ancients blend in with the environment.  Navajo families still live in the bottom of the Canyon, barely ekeing out a living on their farms - truly subsistence farming.

The way the winds erode the canyon walls reminded us a lot of the snow shapes in Iceland (yes, another comparison, but an apt one).  We also saw similar shapes in Canada and in Alaska.  Erosion is erosion no matter where on earth you are,  I guess!

The meeting of two canyons.

One of the set of ruins in the bottom of the canyon.

More ruins.

The wind-swept rocks.

Who me?  Keep your pets under control!

Are we in Iceland Again?

The comparisons with our trip to Iceland are not many, but I think they are funny.  The getting lost part I guess is not, but it fascinates me to see we have had some of the same experienes.

For example, last year in Iceland we were hiking around a waterfall.  I was wearing my new hikers, and when I stepped into one particularly wet spot, I sunk down, down, turning my new shoes red.  Eventually the red came off the shoes, and I have worn them for a year.

Yesterday, we went to the Hubbell Trading Post.  It had snowed and rained much of the day before so things were very wet.  The red clay of the reservation tends to make the clay very mushy, and when I stepped out of the car, guess what?

The red clay (which was much stickier than what was in Iceland) mushed up around my nice clean hikers . . . . and it did not clean nearly as easily!

The other thing I noticed that is the same is that last year we took a lot of pictures of rock formations.  They were mostly black volcanic formations, but formations nonetheless.  On this trip we have taken pictures of many volcanic and sandstone formations.  Both have been stunning.

I didn't think there would be that many similarities in trips . . . I hope the next comparison is not the broken-down car . . . 

Lost in Iceland . . . and Other Places

Last year in April, Don and I were in Iceland, and while there, Don purchased a Lost in Iceland hat.  It was rather appropriate, since we did not speak nor read the language.

This April we decided to take a trip with Bart and Jerri through a variety of National Parks and areas, beginning with Mesa Verde.  A monster snow storm caused us to change our plans, and we drove to Gallup to take in Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley.

Our trip from Gallup was uneventful, but as we neared Chinle, we began to look for Hubbell Trading Post.  According to the map it was south on a road out of Chinle, so we took it.  It didn't take very long for us to figure out we had gone the wrong way.  Unfortunately, turning two large RVs around on the Navajo reservation and a narrow two-lane road turned out to be more difficult than we had anticipated.  About 17 miles down the road we came to Klagetoh.  The road was plenty wide, but Don didn't want to turn around in it when there was a service station ahead.  It wasn't until after we pulled into the service station that he realized what we thought was an exit really wasn't.  So we had to unhook the Jeep to make the turn.

I drove the Jeep behind Don, and once we were back on the correct road we saw the sign to the trading post - not 100 yards from where we had turned!  Would have saved us a lot of time if we had seen the sign sooner!