Touring Northern Arizona

This past week was one of sight seeing and generally taking it easy.  The week started at Chinle, AZ where we toured Canyon De Chelly which is on the Navajo Reservation.  While there are a number of scenic viewpoints on both sides of the canyon, you truly get a different perspective from the bottom.  

As we drive, we love some of the signs we come across - like the one indicating the distance to a campground - 9.9 miles = 17.7 km - I love the math.  We went to each of the scenic overlooks and yes, they were definitely scenic.  

In order to tour through the canyon, one must take a guided tour.  After speaking to several people and checking out some of the different tours, we decided on one that was an open-air six-wheeled military vehicle and it turned out to be a great choice.  The ride was much smoother than some of the other vehicles plus you could see everything and take photos whenever your wished.

Throughout the canyon there were many ruins of the Anasazi and/or Hopi tribes as well as various petroglyphs and pictographs.  As we drove through the bottom of the canyon, one would wonder how these people could access the heights at which any ruins were built - first to be able to build them and second, to then live there.  It was obvious, however, that these locations provided protection from the climate - the overhang kept the sun off and the height gave protection from flash floods.  As well, the location also provided protection from predators.  While most that we saw seemed to be built on ledges partway up the cliff, some were also built on the valley floor.  These we were able to actual see the size of these buildings.

From here we went over to the area of Page, AZ and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  We didn't spend much time right at Page touring Lake Powell, but we did do a little touring west of there.  We took a drive to the Paria movie site.  As we drove to the site, the scenery was absolutely amazing as the contour and colouring of the cliffs was ever-changing.  And as you looked across the landscape, you could just imagine John Wayne riding across the land.  Unfortunately, the buildings from the movie site were all destroyed in a fire but the drive was terrific.

Then we went on a 1.6 mile hike to the Toadstools which are sandstone formations or hoodoos that are shaped like mushrooms.  Again, the  red sandstone against the white coloured stone provides an unbelievable backdrop.
 This fellow seemed to fill the back seat.  But he had to share it with another St .Bernard!

Two couples were touring around in this vehicle.  Have to love the designs.

And there are always the geckos - they seem to be so little here.

And the week comes to a close after a very relaxing week.  Tomorrow it is time to move on so until next week, I hope everyone has a terrific week.

We're Back!!

And each car had a horn

New Year's Eve ball at

Times Square

After a summer that seemed to last a couple of weeks, it is time to hit the road again.  To start off our winter travels, we decided to make a quick trip to New York City.  My brother, Tom, joined us on the trip and he rented a car (which meant he got to drive).   We meet at the airport and drive across Manhatten to our hotel.  No problem as we had a gps as well as google maps.  Well, the rapid transit is above ground with the roadway beneath.  With that, along with the very tall buildings, the gps could not get a signal as neither could the cell phone get a steady reliable signal for our maps.  A couple of times we had to retrace our steps and give it a second try.  We were never sure if we got the horn as that was a common occurrence.  Not only did we we get to see some of the better known sights of the area, we also got to meet and to visit some family that was virtually unknown to us.  An opportunity came up to attend a cousin's birthday party.  While we had visited with this particular cousin several times, we knew nothing of other members of her family.  What a thrill it was to meet them and chat with them.  We left with  promises to stay in contact.  To me, that means another trip to New York is a definite must.

After a very long day that saw us getting up at 1 a.m. home time, we left New York and headed home planning on a busy day as we were planning on heading south the next day.

Steinaker state park in Utah 

where we camped

BUT, they were predicting very strong winds so we decided to wait until morning to make our decision.  The motorhome was packed so we didn't need much time.  Watching the weather forecasts very closely (hoping we could trust them), the winds were to hit about noon and carry on through the next day.  That meant one thing - hit the road and beat the winds so off we went.

The first sign says "one way - 

1.5 miles".  Guess it's shorter

coming back

While we did encounter some wind, it didn't hamper the driving at all so we were able to get to Gillette, WY (almost a 500 mile day).  Although we did lose a roof vent along the way but it was likely incredibly brittle.  It wasn't raining and the temperature was pleasant, not a big problem.  We did stop in Casper, WY, picked up a vent, and half hour later we were on the road.

In the past when we drive into Gillette it is generally dusk and the highway is lined on either side with deer making it a very nervous drive.  This year it was not so - a few deer in the fields with numerous antelope but not along side the road.

Our plan as to spend a few days around Moab, UT.  Oops, that wasn't going to work as it apparently was like reading week and every parking spot, camping spot, etc. was full so what more could one do except carry on.  One has to love the signs "open range" which I wonder why as the land all seemed to be fenced.  Well, we saw cattle, horses, goats, sheep, and llamas all along the side of the road.  In fact, the only thing we saw inside the fence was deer!!

We came down to Chinle, AZ to do some sight seeing around Canyon de Chelly.  We did take a bit of a drive and the canyon is incredible.  More to see in the next few days.  

I hope everyone has a great week, until then...........