Blogs from Monument Valley, Arizona, United States, North America

Woke up to a cloudy morning and reflected on how the Pink Jeep tour experience yesterday would easily rate in the top 10 experiences of our USA travels to date without doubt. We just had a yoghurt on our balcony with some OJ and then hit the road at 9.20am for the first leg to Flagstaff. But just before we jumped in the car we had a quick game of Cornhole next to the carpark. We both eventually landed the bags but no-one got a bag in the hole. The road climbed in altitude and the temperature dropped accordingly and it was 16 degrees when we arrived at our designated breakfast spot the Galaxy Diner on the old Route 66. It was really interesting how all the cactus trees disappeared once we rose to the frost ... read more

Well, with the last three days in Sedona, the Grand Canyon and now Monument Valley, the camera’s panorama and scenery functions have almost melted off. Our last day in Sedona started with a Pink Jeep tour of the Broken Arrow Trail. Apparently made famous by Western movies, it’s now the location for some serious off-roading, sometimes feeling like we were heading almost vertically, down, up and around places like the Devil’s Staircase and Chicken Rock. We got some interesting lessons in the history, geology and biology of the area and the girls got some excitement as we bumped over it all, all delivered at the hands of a very entertaining guide. A cowboy lunch in Sedona, enjoying some of the local delicacies - fried prickly pear chips dipped in the sauce of its fruit - followed ... read more

The sun is out this morning and I head out early to drop the car off for an oil change. I’m surprised to see that we have already traveled over 3,000 miles despite being less than a third of the way across the country. We have clearly been taking the scenic route. The hotel has free bikes and I cycle the mile back from the Garage to eat breakfast. Antonio and the kids have already begun and we enjoy our third and final buffet at the hotel. After we eat, I walk with the kids back across town to pick up the car, giving Antonio time to pack. He’s bought a bigger and improved tarp but its enormous! We fold it approximately four times and make a suitcase burrito. I threaten to cut it but he ... read more

We traveled on to Monument Valley and stayed at Gouldings RV Park. This area was right up in the red rock cliffs and had lots of history regarding the first owners the Gouldings who started a trading post there in the 1920's. Goulding was also responsible for bringing Hollywood there to film many movies especially those with John Wayne. The original trading post is now a museum and there is also a restaurant, grocery store, gas station, and craft shop. I had really good green chili there and Bonnie had a Navaho taco on fry bread. I did not get to take a balloon ride there as the Navajo are no longer letting the balloonists fly in the valley. We took an evening tour of the monuments. Our driver was a Navajo guide and was really ... read more

Chaque matin, une nouvelle étape est prévue... Comme il fait très froid on s'attarde en premier lieu après le petit déjeuner à gratter le pare-brise de la voiture (moyen pratique du voyage : utiliser la carte de la porte d'entrée de la chambre...) Ces idiots de loueurs nous ont laissé le réservoir de liquide du lave-glace complètement vide.... Vite fait d'y mettre de l'eau chaude et un peu de savon de vaisselle car nous ne sommes pas intéressés du tout par l'achat d'un bidon de 5 L pour encore quelques jours de voyage... Notre appétit n'a rien de fameux... on se sert donc de quelques cookies en guise de repas de midi et nous pourvoyons de toute l'eau nécessaire... Le soir on avise à chaque étape... mais c'est surtout notre lit qui entre en appétit... et ... read more