Day 4 Grand Canyon to Kayenta, Monument
Valley 190 miles
We left at around 8.15. The rim of the canyon is around 8,000
feet and so cools down at night. First
stop was the Desert View outlook over the canyon as we made our way east. On the path to the viewing point we happened
upon a snake crossing the path.
A
helpful Ranger confirmed it was a Gopher snake, and harmless – i.e. unlikely to
go for yer !
Tracy and David
Roman and Cornelia
Riding through the forest on curvy roads was very pleasant
(if not bracing) after the desert heat of recent days. Out of the forest we were on fairly flat terrain
with scrubby vegetation. Had lunch at
Cameron – a trading post with a pleasant garden in which to eat
sandwiches.
Leaving Cameron the scenery
became more barren but on our right the soft sandstones and shales had eroded
into interesting shapes in colours of pinks and greys. This general area is called the painted
desert. Furthur east is the Petrified
Forest in the same geological strata.
Although a looked I could not see any obvious fossilised tree trunk
sections on our route.
Turning off onto the road to Tuba City the rock became even
more vividly pink and orange. A sign
announcing ‘dinosaur tracks next right’ unfortunately we had to pass by. We refuelled in Tuba City and continued onto
to Kayenta near Monument Valley.
We arrived early in the afternoon at the hotel, however we
were now in a different time zone and had to wind our watches on by an hour. After an hour’s break we set off for Monument
Valley (25 miles away) on the Navajo reservation lands.
After getting my much desired posy shot taken on the bike (above) we
all got onto a couple of open trucks and were taken for a tour of the valley by
a Navajo guide. The scenery was
stupendous.
All the gang
After an hour or so we had a
Navajo-Mex Burrito with salad which was delicious and then driven back to the
visitor centre and the bikes. A relaxed
25 mile cruise back to hotel and a couple of beers. A great day.
Music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7letrMf_nE
The Sublime:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bxf2X4zP5k
And the Ridiculous:
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