Navajo National Monument

After leaving Monticello, Utah in the rain, I drove through Blanding and Bluff, two areas that looked worth exploring if the weather had cooperated.  I kept driving until I passed the Arizona border  I knew that I was in Arizona because the roads immediately turned to crap.  Hwy 191 in Utah had been very good, but the same highway in Arizona possessed holes, dips, and bumps.  Additionally, I sat for thirty minutes waiting for my turn to cross a one lane bridge on a two lane highway with traffic backed up for miles in both directions.


Oh well, what else was there to do in the rain?  I stopped in Medicine Hat for cheaper Arizona gas at higher octane.  Most of the “regular gas” in Wyoming and Utah was 85 octane, compared to Wisconsin’s 87.  I drove past all the fast food restaurants in Kayenta without stopping and continued another 20 miles to Navajo National Monument.

The weather was still dismal:  rainy and cold.  I put on my fleece sweater and cooked up some hot split pea soup, ham and a refried bean burrito.  Then I sat at my dinette with a glass of wine and watched a downloaded movie on Netflix.
On the next morning, the potential for solar power and topping off my battery did not look promising.

However, by ten a.m., things were looking better.

In fact, it warmed up enough that I ended up sitting in my folding chair in the sun and reading for most of the morning.  I also met a fellow camper “Joe” whose base is Harlan, Iowa.  Small world, as my mother grew up in the same small town.

In the afternoon, I hiked the 3 short trails at the Monument.  Although the views are spectacular, what i like best is the wonderful fragrances in the pinion and juniper forest. With a high of 65 degrees at 7200 feet in elevation, the wonderful smell of mountain air (without any smoke), and the promise of more sunshine, this was a place that I could stay for a few days.

It also didn't  hurt that camping is free here for up to 14 days:  paved Rv campsite, flush toilets, garbage services, and running water.  I didn’tt stay for two weeks, but a few days sounded nice.