4/17 Monument Valley Tour

I had been to Monument Valley about five years ago, but had never really gotten down into the valley because that requires taking a tour. So this time, I made sure I signed up for one.  I took the afternoon tour because I was hoping it would be warmer, but unfortunately, this did not prove to be true.  High today was 50 and windy.  Tour was 3.5 hours long and left at 3:45 pm.

First stop was a hogan demonstration. Note that our tour vehicle was basically an open converted flatbed truck.

The outside of the hogan was mud, with an opening on the top to let the smoke out, or in this case, for the chimney of the wood-burning stove inside.

One of the Navajo women showed us how she carded wood, wove cloth, and ground corn.  I was much more interested in the log construction.

And here I am, with my most recent really bad haircut!  Yuck.

 

Throughout the reservation, there were many small well-spaced-out family homes.  Most had corrals for horses and other animals and multiple buildings because they may have houses grown children and their families.

This was another family home grouping. There were two hogans, plus a regular house.  Here is an interesting article about Navajo hogans:  http://navajorug.com/the-navajo-hogan-shelter-and-center-of-their-world/

 

Did I mention that not only was it freezing cold, but the road was extremely bumpy. I tried to take more photos of the road, but it was too difficult to stand up and take photos out of the rear.  And the curtain in this photo was the only one rolled down, so it did not do much good to keep the wind out.

You have probably seen these two "mittens" in advertisements and cowboy movies.

From the bottom of the canyon, you can see The View hotel.  It has a fantastic view, hence its name, and was also designed to blend into the natural scenery.

Another view of one of the mittens.  The rest of the rocks in the next few photos have names, but I cannot remember any of them.

For $5, you could have your photo taken with this young man.

 

The tiny vehicles show off the size of these rocks.

This is an ancient grain storage ruin.

This sheltered cove has water, as evidenced by the trees, so the ancient people grew crops here and stored the excess in the granary, above. The tour guide said there was also water in natural tanks, or depressions in the sandstone, on top of this mountain.

This is a burial hogan from several centuries ago.  Once the body has been placed inside, it is never visited and is left to fall into a ruin. 

For obvious reasons, this rock is called "The Cube."  Does this remind you of the one on the University of Michigan campus?

And a last view of the mittens before getting home to the warmth of my motorhome.

4/16 From Phoenix to Monument Valley, UT

Got up this morning and put on my usual shorts and a t-shirt because it had been 82 degrees the day before and was expected to be 80 today. So it was a shock when I stopped in Flagstaff for gas on my way to Utah!  Brrrr!  Even with a light jacket, I was clearly not dressed for the weather.

Guess I should have paid more attention to this highway message.

 
Phoenix is at an elevation of about 1,100 feet.  But Flagstaff is at 6,900 feet, so it is a LOT colder.  In fact, the ski season just recently ended there. Note the snow on this mountain and the clouds which look like they are dropping more snow.

And snow on another mountain.

I love the long vistas in the desert.

As you get close to the Arizona-Utah border, you are on the Navajo Nation land, so you see a lot of booths such as these where the Navajos sell jewelry and other crafts.

Love the sandstone formations!

This road seems to go on forever.

I don't know what the name of this rock is, but it is a prominent landmark, indicating we are getting close to Monument Valley.

If you look closely, you can see the mittens in the distance.

After my 300 mile drive, it as nice to get to my campground for the night.  This is Goulding's, which is unusual because it is private property on the Navajo reservation.  The history is that this complex consisting of a hotel, restaurant, gas station, car wash, gift shops, and small market, besides the campground was originally a trading post.  It is located in a small canyon, across the main highway from the main Monument Valley tribal tourist area.  Nice view from the end of the campground!

Nice to be done with my long drive and in a very pleasant campground full hookups!

4/15 So Nice to be Home!

A while back, someone on a forum asked if living in an RV full-time really felt like having a home.  Many of us responded "absolutely"!

I got home tonight after flying to Atlanta several days ago to help out with some elderly relatives who are having medical problems.  And I can tell you that I am SO glad to be home!

First, I used to fly a lot for business, but now only fly about once a year, and I can tell you that it is once a year too often.  It is horrible to pay big bucks to sit for several hours in a narrow seat with hardly any leg room, stuffed in between two other cramped strangers, to say nothing of the experience of packing a suitcase, taking a shuttle to the airport, and lugging your stuff through security and onto the plane.  Yes, I know planes are wonderful in that they get us to where we need to go in a hurry, but the whole process is uncomfortable and tiring.

Much nicer to travel in my RV, where I have everything handy and do not have to worry about packing and unpacking or having to share my personal space with strangers!  If I want a snack, I just have to pull over and find it in my refrigerator.  No waiting in line for the expensive stuff they call food in the airport.

I am really spoiled in that I have my own bed and bathroom wherever I go in my motorhome.  No checking hotel rooms for bedbugs or putting down towels on the bathroom floor to walk on when it looks less than clean. 

Anyway, if felt good to get home, dump my stuff on the floor, grab something to eat and drink, and sink into my comfy leather recliner.  Home sweet home!

4/9 Not Much Going On

Because I live this traveling life full time, there are periods when not much is going on.  It is very different from being on vacation because I have a lot of mundane tasks to do.  Like the last few days have been spent doing my income taxes--gone through several drafts and been to the local library several times to print off copies so I can review them on paper so see if they make sense.  FINALLY, got them done and ready to mail or file electronically!

I also have been spending the last few days getting the class I teach online ready for the next couple of weeks, so I can just open things and not have to worry about assignments not being ready for students.

And also, I have been packing up and making arrangements to fly to Atlanta to help out an elderly aunt and uncle who are scheduled for some medical procedures and minor surgery.  I am going to leave my motorhome hooked up in a commercial campground so that I don't have to worry about my refrigerator thawing while I am gone.  It runs on propane when not hooked up and I have left it  in an airport parking lot for as long as five days, but I am concerned this time it might be longer, so feel better if it is hooked up and the AC is running so nothing melts while I am gone. 

Hopefully, I will be back to sightseeing and posting in a week or so. 

4/4 Drive from California to Arizona, Past Imperial Dunes

Mostly, desert driving is pretty dull, but there are sometimes surprises. 

I left Borrego Springs and headed towards Phoenix, Arizona.  I had not realized I would be driving past the Imperial Dunes Recreation Area, part of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.  (This site gives the best information: http://www.desertusa.com/sandhills/sandhinfo.html)

I had driven past these on my way from Yuma to California on I-8: 

This time, I was on California route 78, which is considerably farther north.  I think they are prettier here:

Happily, I found an overlook that I could pull up on to get better views.  The dunes are primarily used for off-road driving use--mostly "dune buggies" obviously.  You can see all the tire tracks.

This is the road down from the overlook.  There is a lot of sand blown onto it and the overlook parking lot--enough that my tires slipped at one point.

And here comes one now!!

This seems to be a parking lot/staging area, although there were not too many people around.

Most of the land here is very flat and very dry, but I was surprised by this very green group of palo verde trees.  Must be water underneath a dry gulch. 

Anyway, as I say, the desert has occasional surprises.