Bryce Canyon to Monument Valley

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12th August, 2022

Another early start this morning as we had a lot of miles to cover. Had breakfast of pancakes at the hotel and we were on the road by 7am.

First stop was Glen Canyon Dam. This is the sister dam to the Hoover Dam and still a bloody big place. Joe dropped us at the start and we could walk the length of the road over it and take pics and picked us up at the other end. While we were taking pics, a truck towing a very large houseboat came across the bridge. You could feel the vibrations and bouncing of the weight of it. Not a very nice experience.

On the road again to Anteloupe Canyon. Another wow moment. I didn’t realise that photos of this place are used as Microsoft Screen Savers. We did a walk through the canyon with a genuine Navajo tour guide, Tyson, who was very young but knowledgeable about the area and his culture. Both Sandra and I were a little doubtful about climbing through the canyon as there was a few tight spaces and also some very high and low spots in there but we made it through. We were so proud of ourselves that we persisted because this was really something to see. Tyson was great at pointing out the best angles for pictures and ended up grabbing our phones and taking the pics for us.

Because we were a little time poor, we all decided to eat our lunch on the bus while we were travelling so we could make it up.

We got to Monument Valley in time to take some pics before going on a jeep tour with another Navajo tour guide. She was great. We stopped at several sights along the route for photo ops. It was very dusty and hot and we both got a little sunburnt. I loved this tour as it had been on my bucket list since I missed out in 2014.

After that tour, we went to a genuine Navajo family home for a home cooked meal of traditional flatbread feast which consisted of beans, lettuce, tomato, onions, cheese. Much the same as a taco but the bread was totally different. It was huge and very tasty.

Joe dropped the campers off to put up their tents and us off at the hotel to get settled in. We had a drink and a wash before being picked up again to watch the sunset over Monument Valley. We were disappointed as there was a lot of cloud around. But, we got some great photos of our group on the road where Forrest Gump made the decision to stop running in the movie. We were dodging cars that kept speeding past. We also got to see some spectacular lightning over the rocks.

Back to the hotel after dark, the five from our group staying there went down to the grocery store to get drinks for the night. We all sat out on our balconies watching the lightning and having a very well earned drink. It wasn’t a late night as we have another early start tomorrow.

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