June 29, 2015
Day three had us leaving Jacob Lake and travelling to Monument Valley on the Arizona/Utah border. The drive took longer than expected, in part due to an unexpected stop at Navajo National Monument.
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| Jacob Lake Campground, AZ |
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| Vermilion Cliffs |
As far as scenery during the drive was concerned, this was probably the most impressive day of the trip. The Vermilion Cliffs were on our left soon after leaving the Grand Canyon area. Soon after we started to see canyon carved by the Colorado River above the Grand Canyon.
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| Cliff Dwellers, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, AZ |
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| Colorado Plateau, AZ |
Horseshoe Bend was something I've been looking forward to seeing in person for some time. It was much bigger than I had imagined. Pictures can't do it justice. I highly recommend the stop if you're traveling in this area. There is roughly a one mile hike from the parking lot to the edge of the canyon. The hike is never flat, you're either going up or coming down the large hill between the lot and the cliff's edge. Take water with you if you go, The heat and altitude can hit you quickly.
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| Horseshoe Bend, AZ |
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| Horseshoe Bend, AZ |
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| Horseshoe Bend, AZ |
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| Horseshoe Bend, AZ |
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| Square Butte |
After seeing the Colorado's gooseneck, we headed to Page, AZ. We had lunch there at a ganky Chinese restaurant and I bought a new pillow. I'd forgotten to pack one. You've got to forget something or it wouldn't be a camping trip, right? We continued on until we saw a sign for Navajo National Monument. I knew nothing about this place. We decided to check it out.
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| Navajo National Monument, AZ |
Turns out Navajo National Monument has cliff dwellings made by the ancestral Pueblans. That was definitely something Jim and I were both interested in seeing. We hiked down a short trail--a bit less than a mile long--to a viewing platform where we enjoyed a view of the ancient village.
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| Navajo National Monument, AZ |
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| Navajo National Monument, AZ |
The Navajo monument was a nice surprise.
After that, we headed to Monument Valley. Our camp site was at the Goulding's Campground which is a couple of miles away from the park itself. It was behind the Goulding's Lodge in a canyon with a view of the Valley through the canyon opening. The campground itself had the feel of a KOA campground but it was in a beautiful setting so we didn't mind that at all. There was also a short trail next to our site that took us up to where we could explore a natural arch. It turned out to be a nice place to stay and explore, so we decided to take it easy there and head into Monument Valley first thing in the morning.
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| Goulding's Campground, UT |
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| Goulding's Campground, UT |
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| Goulding's Campground, UT |
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| Goulding's Campground, UT |
Soundtrack:
- Gomez -- Out West
- The Police -- Regatta de Blanc
- Henry Nilsson -- Nilsson Sings Newman
- Oingo Boingo -- Dead Man's Party
- Sleater-Kinney -- No Cities to Love
- Bruce Springsteen -- Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ
Turns out Navajo National Monument has cliff dwellings made by the ancestral Pueblans. That was definitely something Jim and I were both interested in seeing. We hiked down a short trail--a bit less than a mile long--to a viewing platform where we enjoyed a view of the ancient village.
The Navajo monument was a nice surprise.
Horseshoe Bend is impressive. Haven't made it to Navajo NM, yet.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by the size of Horseshoe Bend. I've seen a lot of pictures but imagined it smaller. Navalo was nice, I'd like to spend more time there and hike some of the other trails.
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