29.4.2012 – 29.4.2012  20 °C

A nice early start as we took off East towards Monument Valley. Our drive only took us a couple of hours, so by morning tea time we had hit the northern turn off and headed along the scenic by way to Monument Valley!

Almost as soon as we turned off, we could see the Buttes and Mesas that this part of America is so famous for! (If you, like me, have no idea what Monument Valley is.. it is the rock formations that Arizona is so famous for.. the rocks that seem to stand up out of nowhere.. the style that is always shown in Western movies or were made so famous by Wiley Coyote and Road Runner!)

Anyway, Monument Valley is something you have to see once in your life! It rivals the Grand Canyon for pure natural beauty.. Red sand, reddish brown rocks rising up from the desert… Honestly, beautiful! Needless to say, we were driving every 100m or so and stopping the car to take photos! J After one of the most beautiful drives we finally made it to the entry to the Navajo Tribal Park (which is where the best of the best of the Mesas and Buttes are in evidence) and paid our $5 to enter.

First stop was to the gift shop for a coffee (there is nowhere out here to stop and picnic.. it is so dusty and lacking in trees that it isn’t really inviting for a picnic) and a photo opportunity at John Wayne’s favourite spot to stand!! (Yep, the Duke, made a lot of his movies in this part of the world)

After a rest, we got back in the car and took to a dirt track for a drive around the 17 mile track that takes you into the heart of Monument Valley. It was certainly a dirt track! In fact, if I was at home in Au it is probably the kind of road that I wouldn’t attempt without a 4wd!!! But we are in a hire car so…. The good thing about the road being so poor is that you have to drive very slowly around the park, so you can really drink in the beauty of the rocks.. One thing that struck me was the fact that some parts of the park remind me of driving thru Jordan.. esp driving thru Wadi Rum.. so those of you reading this who have been to that part of the world will know what I’m talking about!

After a jaw dropping hour or so we headed back to the visitor centre for a bowl of soup and a loo stop before we headed back out northward (into Utah) thru Mexican Hat to Bluff. By now the sun was starting to get lowish in the sky so the colours of the Buttes and Messas were even redder than it had been earlier in the day! Mexican Hat is a funny little town.. It’s on the banks of the San Juan River and is so known because behind the town is a Butte that has a rock sitting precariously on the top (Mexican Hat style!).. If only I saw a Coyote or a Road Runner today my day would have been complete!!!

Late afternoon saw us arrive in Bluff (so known, because on either side of the San Juan are these high bluffs!) where we debated whether to stop or whether to continue down to the four corners (the point at which Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico meet). The debate ended with us deciding to stay in Bluff, do our laundry and have a nice steak dinner. The town has this really tops little steak house that sells Utah made beer, steak and ribs!! We all ordered ribs and D ordered a beer called Wasatch Evolution. The Wasatch is named after a county here in Utah and Evolution as a dig against the govt here in Utah where schools no longer teach evolution as a scientific theory!! Don’t you love the impact of religion here in Utah!!!

Anyway, another great ending to a beautiful day!

Song of the Day– Various, Mexican Hat Dance!