This morning, we left Bryce Canyon and turned back east toward Monument Valley. Monument Valley actually sits right on the Utah-Arizona border. Our campground, Goulding's, is in Utah, while the tribal park is in Arizona.
The drive here was challenging. The first challenge came before we even left Bryce. Jeff couldn't get the braking device on the Jeep to work when we were towing it. And when he finally got it to work, he had to break hard and it bumped out of place. There was cursing involved... There was a stretch of road where we weren't sure if the brake was working or not, but it all went well.
It was a pretty drive, although I hate to say that it's all starting to look the same. Red rocks, mesas and sagebrush dotting the areas. During this drive, we hit lots of rougher patches of road, which made for a bumpy ride.
We took Route 89 back toward Glendale, as if we were going to Zion National Park again. We continued south to Kanab (where Jeff successfully got the brake to kick in) and then on to Page, which sits on Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon recreation area. Just when you think the scenery is similar, a bright blue lake appears that catches your eye. And it has a massive rock sitting all by itself in it. That's Lake Powell. The lake was created when the dammed a river, and since the water runs off the mesas, it has the green-bluish water that we saw in Zion and Bryce.
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| Interesting cloud formation from my window |
We drove over a bridge that showed just how deep Glen Canyon is - very deep. Because of the fence along the bridge, we couldn't get a good picture. We had hoped to stay a night or two at the Wahweep Campground on Lake Powell, but there were no available spots. Instead, we stopped in Page to go to the grocery store, figuring we might not see another one until the campground at Monument Valley. From our experience in Bryce, we knew that when the only grocery store in town is the campground one, the prices are pretty steep.
We then took Route 98 through the Navajo Indian Reservation, which seemed like an endless climb. We kept seeing signs that we were at about 6,000 feet in elevation, but it seemed like we were always going up. The engine didn't like that too much. It also didn't like the return to desert hot temperatures. And lastly, it didn't like the pokey car in front of us that wasn't in much of a hurry to get anywhere. An RV towing a Jeep needs to pick up speed on the downhills to help get up hills better. And that guy was killing us.
Once again, Jeff did a great job getting us and up and down Route 98. Other than an occasional horse or house, there weren't many signs of civilization along the drive. And there was no shoulder to the road or signs of service stations, so thank God we didn't overheat or break down.
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| Route 160 going into Monument Valley |
We finished up the drive on Route 160, which took us right into Monument Valley. It was a bit bumpy in spots and only two lanes the whole way (like Route 98), but it was less hilly than Route 98. We came to the first town since Page - fully loaded with a McDonald's, Burger King and gas stations. From there, we turned left and went 22 miles into Monument Valley.
Once we turned, we could already see some of the rock formations in the distance. There are mesas and mountains all along the drive, but the spires and mesas in Monument Valley definitely stick out. The closer you get, the more you see.
We are camping at Goulding's Campground and Lodge. Back in the '20's, a married couple with the last name of Goulding owned land outside of the Navajo Reservation and traded with them. When the Depression hit, the Navajo were really hurting, so the Gouldings drove out to Hollywood with pictures of Monument Valley to show movie producers in the hopes of getting them to come out and film there. That would help the local economy. Lucky for them, they met John Ford, who was looking for a place to film a movie called "The Searchers." And the rest is history. The lodge grew and added a campground and a movie theater and a restaurant. They show movies about Monument Valley and a John Wayne movie every night at the theater.
When I cook on the grill at our campsite, I can see part of Monument Valley in the distance. What a view.
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