Apologies to all my one follower who is my wife for not finishing my chronology of our trip.
Following our day in Buckskin Gulch, we then got on the road again and trekked across the Navajo Nation. We had three intentions for the day: See Monument Valley, see Goosenecks State Park, see four Corners.
We left Page at a reasonable hour and then headed east from there along AZ Route 98 through the Navajo Nation. And then we took US 160 North East to Kayenta. And in Kayenta we took US 163 North to the border.
You must understand, that this is literally all we did. There is nothing on these highways except the same roadside vendors and the occasional scenic view (with complimentary roadside vendors). There was maybe one box in the entirety of this section of the Navajo Nation, and we skipped it because it was a scenic view with roadside vendors.
After heading North from Kayenta, we approached the Utah-Arizona Border where we saw the quintessential view of Monument valley. Tall buttes and mesas lined up in the distance all made out of red rock (navajo sandstone). Really cool actually.
To get in the park itself, you must go briefly into Utah, and then turn onto a separate road back into Arizona. Getting in the park actually isnt that expensive: 5 bucks a head. We grabbed the official stamp and then decided we would do the driving tour. The lady at the entrance station explained how we could do this self guided driving tour and it seemed easy enough. She said that the road was rough, but that the Yeti could probably take it.
That was good enough for me. I was not going to pay lots of money to be driven around in the back of a flat bed.
Now I must say this. Monument Valley is a really scenic and idyllic location. I think most people should see it in person once, go to the artists point, and maybe do the one short hike that is available. But, I think once is enough for the sole reason that "rough roads" is the largest understatement in the world.
Granted, I drive a stick shift, and the Yeti has some character flaws, all of which make driving experiences different so pardon my Hyperboles. But my goodness, that road may have well never existed. To start the drive, you go straight down a cliff with a rut straight through the middle. Then you drive on what amounts to the bottom of a dried stream bed. If you can make it to scenic view 3, you've done good. But getting up the hill is equally as bad and I overheated my car in the process it was so steep (again, the Yeti has issues so this isn't a miraculous feat, but still).
So although yes the view is very beautiful, trashing your car to see it more than once....debatable.
After leaving Monument Valley, we continued north on US 163 to the town of Mexican Hat on the San Juan River. We stopped north of town to look for a box at the towns name sake, a rock that looks like a sombrero (a lot like the toadstools, but maybe a different geological process). Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful.
From here we took a slight detour to go see Goosenecks State Park. We turned North West onto UT Route 261, and then almost immediately turned south again.
Goosenecks was really interesting. I had seen them before at Capitol Reef State Park, but I don't think I had explained the concept thoroughly to either Jess nor Grant. Essentially, the San Juan River, for whatever reason, carves deep into the ground forming a canyon. But in this case, the canyon is squiggly (like a goose's neck), so it forms these really long bends one after the other. I suppose Horseshoe bend could be considered one.
We looked for a bit, walked out to a point (I was looking for a geocache since there were no letterboxes) then returned since we needed to get going if we were going to make 4-Corners.
We returned to US 163 and followed it generally east, joined up with US 191 and then got off onto UT Route 162 in Bluff, UT. Unlike in the Navajo Nation, this entire stretch of road had signs telling me about all the cool stuff that I was missing. Forts, National Monuments, Weird Rocks, etc.
We followed UT 162 into Colorado where it turned in to CO route 41. We made lots of marijuana jokes but only for about an hour an a half, because we soon got back onto US 160 and followed that west back into New Mexico (briefly) and into Arizona. Unfortunately, we go to 4-Corners just as it was closing, literally. They closed the gates as we drove up.
Disappointed, we returned to Colorado to cheer up, or more like to cheer me up because there was box just on the other side of the San Juan River. This was a drive by box by Kristal and Ron, so I knew it would be decent, plus it was our only box of the day. Interestingly, I found more than just a letterbox, I also found a knapsack lying out in the open and, lo and behold, it had Marijuana and pipes! Fun for everybody!
Except because I am a good adult (and in the Navy) I did not bring it back to the car. Because I have no qualm with drugs and am a letterboxer, I hid the knapsack better than I found it.
We then took US 160 back through New Mexico, past 4-Corners, and into Arizona and the Navajo Nation. From here, we followed the road roughly south to Teec Nos Pos where we picked up US 64 going east. And shortly enough we were in New Mexico again, but still in the Navajo Nation. Interestingly, the entire length of this roadway had hitch-hikers up until we left the Navajo Nation.
That night we stayed in Farmington, New Mexico. There are actually a lot of letterboxes in this area, and some time we will probably return, but for this night we simply kept it simple and walked to a Village Inn for Free Pie Wednesday. (Although apparently they dont like pedestrians in Farmington).
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