Home September 2

We have had a wonderful 3 week journey through Arizona, Utah, Montana and Wyoming but as Dorothy says” there is no place like home”!

Monument Valley August 31

After breakfast at the San Juan Inn, we drove the 20 miles to Monument Valley with photo stops along the way. We were too early to check in so we drove the rough 17 mile drive through the valley. We had been here in the late 90’s but didn’t remember the terrible road. I wasn’t as impressed with the formations as I had anticipated probably because we have seen so much natural beauty on this trip. The condition of the road added to this feeling as we were bumped and jarred until I thought my teeth would fall out! Our van was coated with red dust. We were both grateful to be back on paved road again. We checked in to our hotel, The View Inn, early and I worked on photos and the blog. From the balcony in our room, we had amazing views of the mittens, the most famous of the formations in Monument Valley. I wanted to capture sunset and sunrise photos and the best came at pre sunrise. I even tried a night shot.

Mexican Hat August 30

The Goosenecks




Newspaper Rock

Bob found some wonderful sights to see on our way to Mexican Hat today. One thing that I have forgotten to mention is the fields of wild sunflowers that we have been seeing since we left Yellowstone. We have been amazed at the abundance, especially in August. Our first stop was Newspaper Rock which was an even bigger petro glyph display than Rochester Rock and much easier to get to. After imagining what the artists were trying to say, we went on to Natural Bridges National Monument. We discovered that a natural bridge is formed by the erosive action of moving water and an arch is formed from frost and seeping water. The three bridges here were protected in 1908 by the establishment of Utah’s first National Park System area. We walked down to the bottom of Owachomo Bridge because it was the easiest hike. All of them are visible from overlooks but it is really cool to be able to stand under one of them. We then took a scenic short cut to Goosenecks State Park. The road turned to gravel and then we drove via switch backs one of the scariest roads ever for me. I took photos but they will never show what we experienced. The Goosenecks are an impressive example of an entrenched river meander as the San Juan River twists and turns for over six miles advancing only 1 ½ miles towards Lake Powell. We saw the rock that is the namesake for Mexican Hat and turned onto a dirt road to look for petrified wood as our host at the B&B heard that there was a possibility of finding some in the area. We didn’t find any but we enjoyed some beautiful views of unusual sedimentary layers. We checked into our funky hotel, The Hat Rock Inn and then had a fine dinner at the San Juan Inn.