The journey continues...
I left the Farmington Wal-Mart parking lot in the early morning hours, got a cup of coffee and headed west. I didn't really have a specific destination in mind, but had a general idea where I was going. Sadly, I had no travel guides for New Mexico with me or I might have headed south a few miles to the Bitsy Badlands. I found out about them a few years after my trip. I would love to have spent a few days there with my camera as it is an amazing place. But perhaps sometime in the future.
Anyway I headed west on 160 back into Arizona. Then just past the border, I took a short detour north to visit the Four Corners...the one spot in the US where 4 states (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado) all converge in one spot. I am not sure why I did it as I had no one to photograph me with my arms and legs all in different states.
When I got to the entrance, I found I was back on sacred Navajo Tribal land and a young lady in a shabbily build wooden shack wanted $7 for me to go in. Although a little angry about this, I politely declined and turned around. Many months later I found out that a new survey showed that the Four Corners were actually in a different location. Now that made me laugh.
Somewhere along the way, I stopped at a small Navajo town to get something to eat at the local McDonald's. It took 40 minutes to place my order and get my food, and the place was not very crowded. I was pretty exasperated and I am sure it showed. A nicely dressed Navajo gentlemen told me that bad service was normal at this place. Yet another point against the Navajo Nation.
So I continued on...this time further west on 160. I wanted to see Monument Valley, where John Ford filmed all those fantastic westerns, some with John Wayne. It is quite a site to behold. But again, like Four Corners, it is on Sacred Navajo land. I had to pay $10 to get in, only to discover that I had to pay a whole lot more money to see anything else. All I got for my $10 was to visit the museum and gift store. Now I am really fuming.
Its an extra $25 to drive your car down into the valley...and you can not get out of your car to take photos. You know...sacred land and all that. So I decided to save my money and head out of the site along a 3 mile stretch of road to get back to the main highway. However, being still pissed off, I decided I needed some measure of revenge. So I stopped the car, got out, and took a piss on Sacred Navajo Land. I felt better in more than one way.
I headed north into Utah with no ultimate destination in mind. It was starting to get late and I was worried about where I would spend the night. I decided to skip Natural Bridges National Monument, much to my sadness, and continue north on Utah Highway 191.
Eventually I came to Highway 211, the only road in and out of the The Needles Section of Canyonlands National Park. It was quite a long drive down into the canyons, but still quite spectacular. The photo here is just outside the park on the highway.
Once in the park, I went directly to the Ranger Station and paid for a campsite. Being a senior citizen and having one of those Golden Pass cards, I don't ever have to pay entrance fees again and I camp for 1/2 of the regular price. When you reach 55, be sure and get one of those cards...one of the best bargains in America.
I headed for a campsite and had little trouble getting a very nice one. There were hardly any people around. I set up camp, then took a short drive to see the canyons bathed in sunset light. I didn't get to see a whole lot... that came later. So I settled into my new home and looked forward to exploring this place tomorrow. The visitors guide gave me some good ideas where I would head in the morning.
To be continued...
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