Richard got up very early on Friday and went for a walk. He walked by another New Age center, which was capped with a “steeple” of glass, kind of goes with the vortexes and crystals. We got on the road a little after 8 AM.
The drive through the mountains on Highway 89 to Flagstaff was not easy, but no harder than the driving that we had already done to get to Sedona.
When we drove by the train station in Flagstaff, Richard recalled getting off at that station with Diane in the middle of the night to be picked up by their grandparents. Richard was around 12, and Diane about 10. This was a great adventure of a couple of days on our own on the Santa Fe Super Chief train from Chicago. They went to the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and other places around the west, before being put back on the train in Albuquerque.
In Flagstaff we bought gasoline and propane, and headed north towards the Navajo Reservation. The scenery simultaneously becomes more stark, austere, and spectacular as you drive north. The reservation looks a little better than we remember from previous trips, but there are still a lot of trash, abandoned trailers, and junk pickups. We stopped briefly in Tuba City for lunch in the camper, and then drove on to Kayenta, where we turned north towards Utah and Monument Valley. Monument Valley is still amazing. We stopped briefly in Gouldings resort, where we stayed overnight many years ago. The campground looked good, maybe we will stay there sometime. We regretted not having time to spend in Monument Valley.
From Monument Valley, we drove across the San Juan River at Mexican Hat, and proceeded on to Bluff. Richard has been in that area a couple of times in the last few years to paddle the San Juan, so it all felt very familiar. We pressed on to Blanding, and bought gas and a ice cream sandwich in Monticello. We were held up for a few minutes at a couple of road construction sites, but made it to Moab around 4:30 PM. Moab was hopping, Friday night, with a Jeeping event. We started to get nervous about our plan to stay at a forest service campground on the Colorado River. The first half dozen Forest Service campgrounds were full, so we kept driving. We finally found a campsite at Dewey Bridge, and were happy to have it, happy to stop driving. We found a small surprise when we opened the door to the camper.
Saturday should be an easy day, less than 8 hours to drive home. We have been on the road for a while, around three and a half weeks. It is time to be home.
Richard and Marianne
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