Road Trip: Kanab to Canyonlands

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Tuesday was a big day for driving and sight-seeing.  We left Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park early in the morning and headed South in Highway 89.

U.S. Route 89, UT

89 is an incredible drive.  No state throws away as much beautiful scenery as Utah.  It can't help it, there's so much to be had.  Turn after turn exposed one amazing scene after another.  Anywhere else these places would have been parks in their own right, but in Utah they're just . . . y'know . . . Utah.  We stopped at a random turnout for Pongo's breakfast and a brief walk and I took a few pictures.

U.S. Route 89, UT

An unmarked roadside turnout.  Crazy, right?  This is just a taste of what that drive holds.

U.S. Route 89, UT

Our next stop was the Glen Canyon Dam.  I have such mixed feelings about this dam.  It's a marvel to behold and I suppose necessary for people who live in the area, but much like the Hetch Hechy Dam in Yosemite, it comes at a terrible cost.  Everything I've heard about what this area was like before the dam was built suggests a lot of natural and archeological wonders are buried under that water.

Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, AZ

Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, AZ

Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, AZ

No condors on the bridge when we crossed.  Bummer.

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Our next stop was Monument Valley.  Love this place.

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

We headed North after visiting Monument Valley.  As we drove through a town called Mexican Hat I wondered why in the world anyone would name a town with such a silly name.  Then we came around a corner and I totally got it.

Mexican Hat Rock, Mexican Hat, UT

Well, it's a little small in that photo, but hopefully it gets the idea across.

Cow, Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Our final stop was Dead Horse Point State Park near Canyonlands.  We would camp there for the night.  One of the highlights for Pongo on this trip was the free range cattle on the drive into the park.  He loves looking at cows from the safety of our car.

Colorado River, Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

The park overlooks the same canyon as Island in the Sky in Canyonlands.  It has a nice view of a bend in the Colorado River.  It's not a huge park, but it has a number of exceptional views of the river and canyon.

Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Colorado River, Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Colorado River, Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Road Trip: Monument Valley

June 30, 2015

Monument Valley.

This place has the most amazing scenery I've ever seen.  Nothing on the trip--not even the Grand Canyon--could compete with the what we saw on our drive through Monument Valley on this particular morning.  The pictures are nice, but they don't convey the power and size of the sights of this place.  I'm not going to try to describe it.  I'll let the pictures tell the story as best as they can.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT

Four Corners, UT, AZ, CO, NM

We spent the morning driving around the valley then had lunch at the lodge.  The food wasn't so good but the views were remarkable.  Afterward we hit the road for Mesa Verde.  Along the way we stopped at Four Corners and stood on four states at once.  Woot.

Short Horned Lizard -- Mesa Verde National Park, CO

After we reached our camp site we were too tired to do a whole lot.  W discovered we were sharing the spot with a horny toad.  Cute little guy.  The campground had showers, so we cleaned up, ate dinner and drank a few beers.  All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Mule Deer -- Mesa Verde National Park, CO

Soundtrack:

• Bruce Springsteen -- Born to Run
• The Cure -- Disintegration

Road Trip: Horseshoe Bend & Navajo National Monument

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.

Jacob Lake Campground, AZ

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.

Cliff Dwellers, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, AZ

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.

Horseshoe Bend, AZ

Horseshoe Bend, AZ

Horseshoe Bend, AZ

Horseshoe Bend, AZ

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.

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.

Navajo National Monument, AZ

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.

Goulding's Campground, UT

Goulding's Campground, UT

Goulding's Campground, UT

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