Click on a photo to enlarge it.
From Monument Valley, we drove north and stopped at Gooseneck State Park for a view down into the canyon. From there, we wanted to go north to Natural Bridges National Monument, but on the road to it there were warning signs that the road turned into a dirt track 6 miles ahead and was unsuitable for RVs over 10,000 in weight. There were also warnings for tight switchbacks. We saw other RVs who had obviously turned around and come back the same way. The alternative roads would have meant an extra 75 miles. So we decided to carry on and check out the road ahead.
All we could see was a 1100ft high canyon wall, looming up ahead of us and we strained to see where the road went. The closer we got, the more baffled we were. We couldn´t see a road but it was obvious that the only way was up and the road must be in that canyon wall somewhere. It turned out that we had made the right decision not to turn back and go the long way round. The road did turn into a dirt track for 3 miles but it was a good track and no problem for Winnie. The switchbacks meant going up in first gear, and slowly. But what a road! We stopped at the top for a great view over the valley over 1000ft below us.
Winnie on the Mokee Dugway.
At Natural Bridges, we went for a 3 hour, 6 mile walk that took us steeply down a rock face using tree ladders and into a canyon, passed 2 of the famous bridges and steeply back up. The best way to view the bridges is down in the canyon and we really enjoyed the walk. Afterwards we drove around the loop and stopped for a viewpoint of another bridge, before driving out of the National Monument and finding a place to dry camp in trees off the side of the road for the night.
Our next stop was Canyon de Chelly, back in Arizona and unfortunately our route took us over one of the worst roads we have been on so far. The tarmac had been cracked across the road every 10 feet or so and the cracks were large enough for us to have to drive slowly over them! We hadn´t done the washing up that morning, so our bowl was full of dishes which fortunately didn't break as we drove over that road!
We spent 2 nights at the free campground and went to most of the canyon rim overlooks. The best way to see the canyon was from the canyon floor but the cost of such a trip was extortionate ($125 each!). There is one trail that goes down into the canyon but we decided to leave that for next year when we come back. Well, we can't do everything in the first year!!
Canyon de Chelly.
Our next stop was Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. We didn't get there until 4-15pm and the campground was closed. So we only had 2.5 hours of daylight to see what we wanted to see and then to leave the park and find a place for the night. There were quite a few impressive ruins of Native American houses built into the rock alcoves high up in the canyon walls. We still couldn´t work out how they got in and out of them.
By the time we drove out of the park it was already dark. Walmart in Cortez, did not allow overnight parking. So we went to Safeway and asked and they let us stay overnight! The next day we drove back into Utah and went to Canyonlands National Park (Needles area). We spent the next four nights there, one night at the Outpost ($15 plus $3 for a shower) and the other 3 nights on free camps on BLM land just outside the park, as the campground in the National Park was full.
We did 2 walks whilst we were there. The first one was to Chesler Park and this one day walk has to go down as one of the top ten walks. Super! It was quite strenuous with a lot of ups and downs, rock scrambling, going through loads of canyons and even a cairn cave where people had built all sorts of rock piles, some quite creative! The second walk comes under next week so you'll have to read on!
Canyonlands NP - Chesler Park - Needles.
