Friday was day 6 of our trip. We visited the north section of Canyonlands National Park. This section of the park is also called Island in the Sky. It gets that name because it is a large plateau and the views are incredible. On the east side of the plateau is the Colorado river and on the west side is the Green river.
Our first stop was Mesa Arch. The walk to this arch is much easier than the one to Delicate Arch. It is a 1/4 of a mile one way and the elevation change is only 100 feet. The best time to view this arch is at sunrise when the light reflects off the bottom of the arch. Most landscape photography galleries have a picture of the arch at sunrise. We chose to sleep in, maybe next time we will make it a point to visit at the crack of dawn.
The next stop was at the end of the plateau at a place called Grand View Point. This is at the southern end of the plateau and the view is grand because it allows you a 270 degree look at the surroundings.
To the east is the canyon formed by the Colorado river. To the west is the canyon formed by the Green river. To the south is a wide expanse of canyon where the two rivers meet and continue as the Colorado river.
We left Canyonlands and drove south to Monument Valley.
Along the way we past through the town of Mexican Hat which gets its name from this rock formation that looks like it could tip over at any time.
In Monument Valley we stayed at a hotel called the View. Obviously it gets its name from the views offered outside every room's balcony.
The two formations on the left, The Mittens, are the two Monument Valley is most famous for. Being here reminded me of those John Wayne movies, Stagecoach and The Searchers, which were two of the many westerns filmed in Monument Valley. We watched the moon rise and then the sun rise in the morning.
The hotel has a no pets policy. So if you bring your dogs, they have to sleep outside.
We left Monument Valley on Saturday and drove south towards interstate 40. Pretty much all of the 3 and 1/2 hour drive was through Navajo territory. Along many of the roads there have been signs advising that you are driving through an open range. This open range included goats being herded by dogs. Cheryl liked seeing the horses jumping and running.
On Thursday we passed cattle on the side of the road. Look at their hairy ears.
We turned west on I40 and a few exits later we arrived at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park. The park entrance is less than a mile off of the interstate. A 28 mile road winds first through the painted desert and the last section is littered with petrified wood.
The section that has the petrified wood is called Jasper Forest.
We left the park and headed west to Flagstaff. We made a few stops along the way on Route 66. The first was the Wigwam hotel in Holbrook where you can spend the night in a teepee.
At the next stop Cheryl decided she was tired of my driving and jumped on a new form of transportation.
Our last stop was in Winslow, AZ. The town made famous by a line in an Eagles song.
That catches us up to Sunday, March 11. Today we are off to the Grand Canyon. We hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend.
Thanks yet again for all the fun pictures and information. Jean and I went to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest on our honeymoon.... I am pretty sure that was before the wood became petrified. :) We traveled Rt 66 and went through Winslow as well... couldn't get that damn song our of my head for weeks afterward. LOL
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