8/17 Brief Drive Past Monument Valley & Forrest Gump Site

I have been through Monument Valley NavajoTribal Park a couple of times, but this time, I was headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, so I just drove past and spent a quick night at a local campground.  The views, however, are always worth capturing, even if you do not stop.

McPhee Recreation Area and the Canyon of the Ancients Museum are in southwest Colorado, so close to the Four Corners area where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet.  You drive through Navajo, Ute, and Hopi Indian land, with some spectacular scenery.  Here is just some of it as you approach the Monument Valley area. 

So why are all those people pulled over in the middle of nowhere?? 

 

 

Remember the Forrest Gump movie when he has been running back and forth across the country, but then stops and decides he has had enough??  This is the place!!  

 

And a whole bunch of people are standing in the middle of the road taking photos.  Unfortunately, I missed taking a photo of the guy who was literally lying on his stomach on the yellow line so he could get the perfect photo.  Way down the road, you can see another group of cars and people taking photographs.  I, of course, had to drive around these guys without hitting any of them!  

Ah, a nice empty road!

This was taken the next morning on the way to Kayenta, a tiny town in northern Arizona that has not only a grocery store, but a McDonald's, Taco Bell, and a Burger King!  Ah, civilization!! 

The summer monsoons have hit these Four Corners states this year with a vengeance.  It seems to rain somewhere nearby several times a day, although you may not be in the direct path, one of these little storms will eventually hit where you are.  The result over the past week has been flooding and puddles in the desert.

All the rain has also resulted in a very green desert!!  Unfortunately, while the rain has increased inflow to Lake Mead, the outflow has still been exceeding the inflow, so the lake is not recovering. 

Next stop will be the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.