The above is a picture taken of the train we took in Durango, CO. It was used in a scene in a movie when a famous outlaw jumped from the rocks onto the roof of the train. We mentioned his name in a previous blog. Does anyone know who he is?
Mame: It HAS been a trip of a lifetime!
Anonymous: The Senior Pass “rocks!”
MARCH 27, 2008
This was to be mainly a driving day to get us close to the Grand Canyon. Little did we know what was in store for us. We left Hurricane UT at a decent hour and, still taking scenic back roads, we headed for Page AZ and Lake Powell on UT 59……..another beautiful day, no rain since Fort Stockton TX. We zigzagged into Arizona and then back into Utah and turned south on Route 89 toward Page AZ. The scenery was still magnificent and some of the towns seemed to be prospering with new housing developments. We continued to see cell phone towers but the service does get spotty when going into the mountains. Along the road we did continue to see a few random small areas filled with old cars, trucks and machinery……….doesn’t seem as though there are as many zoning restrictions around here as we’re used to having.
Bits of Lake Powell soon emerged in the distance, the blue water an amazing contrast to the red rock canyons. We approached the Glen Canyon Dam and pulled off the road for a better view. At the visitor center we had to go through a metal detector, Peter had to be patted down and I had to take my back pack back to the car; it was more extensive security than we’ve seen at many airports. The view of the dam from the visitor center was spectacular. The river water is a brilliant green before the dam and a deep blue on the other side. The town of Page was built in the 50s to support work for the dam and is now a thriving community; it even has a brand new Walmart and a lush, green golf course, all in the middle of red, ragged, rugged rocks (how’s that for alliteration!). Just outside of Page we encountered a police officer rounding up a couple of cattle that were loose on the road!
We soon entered the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation, the whole upper northeast corner of Arizona, about the size of West Virginia. After passing through more canyons and prairies and mountains, we descended into an isolated arid desert area with canyons still visible but very far away. After passing several outdoor Native American souvenir shops, we stopped at one that was open and spoke with a lovely Native American lady selling jewelry made by her niece. We ended up getting several items among them a beaded bracelet for me and I love it! Rainah (spelling?) said that it takes her niece “a lot, a lot” of hours to make each bracelet.
Our next stop was Tuba City, the oldest trading post in the reservation; it’s now the largest city in the reservation. There was a lot of construction going on in the city, all fenced off with many houses boarded up………….what’s happening? We did stop at a very nice trading post chock full of Native American goods. In the trip back to AZ 89 we glimpsed a part of the Painted Desert.
The scenery still kept changing but always with the snow-capped San Francisco Mountains in view, especially Humphrey’s Peak, the highest in Arizona. On a lark we decided to backtrack a bit and drove to into Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Just when we thought we’d seen it all we entered an area where a volcano had erupted in the early 11th century. We were surrounded by a black volcanic landscape; the mountains are bare but black with sparse patches of low growth………..amazing! We traveled along the road toward the Wupatki National Monument and went from lava covered mountains back to an arid desert landscape called the Saltbush Desert covered with soft, warm grasses. We even got a bonus view of the Painted Desert; but because the sun was shining directly on it, the colors were a little washed out but beautiful nevertheless. Peter commented, “There’s nothing like having the top down, late in the day, a good road with beautiful scenery and a beautiful woman beside me.” The whole area looked like what you would see in an old cowboy movie! We even came to an area named Antelope Valley and wondered if this was where “the deer and the antelope roam.” What a serendipity to wander into an area so different from everything else we’ve seen so far………….another “must see!”
Back on track on AZ89 we ended the day with a 30 mile drive to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon. Once again the road had hairpin turns along canyon walls as we descended to Oak Creek where there were many campsites. And just like that, the canyon walls turned red once again with many prominent sandstone formations. It was a spectacular drive into cute, artsy and crowded Sedona. Apparently this week, the week after Easter, is one of the busiest for this resort. Lucky us!
Mame: It HAS been a trip of a lifetime!
Anonymous: The Senior Pass “rocks!”
MARCH 27, 2008
This was to be mainly a driving day to get us close to the Grand Canyon. Little did we know what was in store for us. We left Hurricane UT at a decent hour and, still taking scenic back roads, we headed for Page AZ and Lake Powell on UT 59……..another beautiful day, no rain since Fort Stockton TX. We zigzagged into Arizona and then back into Utah and turned south on Route 89 toward Page AZ. The scenery was still magnificent and some of the towns seemed to be prospering with new housing developments. We continued to see cell phone towers but the service does get spotty when going into the mountains. Along the road we did continue to see a few random small areas filled with old cars, trucks and machinery……….doesn’t seem as though there are as many zoning restrictions around here as we’re used to having.
Bits of Lake Powell soon emerged in the distance, the blue water an amazing contrast to the red rock canyons. We approached the Glen Canyon Dam and pulled off the road for a better view. At the visitor center we had to go through a metal detector, Peter had to be patted down and I had to take my back pack back to the car; it was more extensive security than we’ve seen at many airports. The view of the dam from the visitor center was spectacular. The river water is a brilliant green before the dam and a deep blue on the other side. The town of Page was built in the 50s to support work for the dam and is now a thriving community; it even has a brand new Walmart and a lush, green golf course, all in the middle of red, ragged, rugged rocks (how’s that for alliteration!). Just outside of Page we encountered a police officer rounding up a couple of cattle that were loose on the road!
We soon entered the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation, the whole upper northeast corner of Arizona, about the size of West Virginia. After passing through more canyons and prairies and mountains, we descended into an isolated arid desert area with canyons still visible but very far away. After passing several outdoor Native American souvenir shops, we stopped at one that was open and spoke with a lovely Native American lady selling jewelry made by her niece. We ended up getting several items among them a beaded bracelet for me and I love it! Rainah (spelling?) said that it takes her niece “a lot, a lot” of hours to make each bracelet.
Our next stop was Tuba City, the oldest trading post in the reservation; it’s now the largest city in the reservation. There was a lot of construction going on in the city, all fenced off with many houses boarded up………….what’s happening? We did stop at a very nice trading post chock full of Native American goods. In the trip back to AZ 89 we glimpsed a part of the Painted Desert.
The scenery still kept changing but always with the snow-capped San Francisco Mountains in view, especially Humphrey’s Peak, the highest in Arizona. On a lark we decided to backtrack a bit and drove to into Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Just when we thought we’d seen it all we entered an area where a volcano had erupted in the early 11th century. We were surrounded by a black volcanic landscape; the mountains are bare but black with sparse patches of low growth………..amazing! We traveled along the road toward the Wupatki National Monument and went from lava covered mountains back to an arid desert landscape called the Saltbush Desert covered with soft, warm grasses. We even got a bonus view of the Painted Desert; but because the sun was shining directly on it, the colors were a little washed out but beautiful nevertheless. Peter commented, “There’s nothing like having the top down, late in the day, a good road with beautiful scenery and a beautiful woman beside me.” The whole area looked like what you would see in an old cowboy movie! We even came to an area named Antelope Valley and wondered if this was where “the deer and the antelope roam.” What a serendipity to wander into an area so different from everything else we’ve seen so far………….another “must see!”
Back on track on AZ89 we ended the day with a 30 mile drive to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon. Once again the road had hairpin turns along canyon walls as we descended to Oak Creek where there were many campsites. And just like that, the canyon walls turned red once again with many prominent sandstone formations. It was a spectacular drive into cute, artsy and crowded Sedona. Apparently this week, the week after Easter, is one of the busiest for this resort. Lucky us!
1 comment:
Butch Cassidy??
Curious as the prices you are paying for gas and does Peter do all the driving?
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