Day 5, May 17

DAY 5, MAY 17

1. My Indian guide picked me up at the campgrounds at about 5:15 am. His name was Nanateo (but you can call me Brian). It was still pitch black but we drove the Jeep over to Totem Pole monument where the sun was just starting to rise as a backdrop -- very beautiful. We then spent the next 2 1/2 hours exploring the far reaches of Monument Valley -- most of which is closed to the general public (very sacred grounds) and only accessible with an Indian guide. A lot of beautiful sandstone formations all having a special name -- Thunderbird Mesa, Rain God Mesa, etc.

2. Got back to my car and finished packing it up for the next leg of the journey. Got freshened up at the nice restroom in the visitor's center.

3. Stopped for breakfast in Mexican Hat at the San Juan River trading post. Great coffee and omelet.

4. Went to Gooseneck State Park. The river does several sharp s-curves in a short area and has carved a deep canyon. Not very colorful but impressive for its size and effect. While there I overheard someone talking about Valley of the Gods. I was hesitant about trying it because of what I heard about the condition of the gravel road. But the person said they had just travelled through and the road was in good shape.

5. Decided to try the Valley of the Gods -- a 17 mile gravel road through desolate country with features similar to Monument Valley. The views were terrific. There was hardly anyone else on the road and so I could stop wherever I wanted to (and I did stop quite a few times). The road was much better than I anticipated but I could see where you would not want to travel after a rain -- even in this dry period I had to cross several very shallow streams. There was a lot of dust kicked up by driving through and I had to rename my minivan from Big Red to The Dustbuster.

6. With all the sightseeing done, I decided to drive direct to Moab, Utah. Got there about 3pm and had late lunch at my mobile wifi center (aka Mcdonalds).

7. I decided to check out Moab Valley RV Resort as a place to camp out next. I read about them on the internet. They had a real nice tent camping area in addition to Cabins and RV sites. So I decided to pitch my tent there. The site was nice and level and fine sandy gravel -- excellent base for a tent. The site I picked also had a canvas canopy over the tent and a nice tree and picnic table -- so the tent should be in the shade most of the day. There is a swimming pool, excellent free showers in the bath house, laundry facilities, and also free wifi covering all the sites (sorry, McDonalds -- may not be eating there for a few days). So I decided to make this my home base while in the Moab area. Looking forward to stretching out a bit more inside my cozy tent instead of The Dustbuster.