Monument Valley and Election Day in Moab (Road Trip ‘08)
The Navajo Nation
We had a leisurly morning at The Grand Canyon on November 3rd. In the afternoon, I went about my final check-out procedure from employment at the South Rim, while my brother enjoyed a hike on the Bright Angel Trail. Late in the day we exited the park via Desert View Drive, east to the Navajo Nation and Monument Valley.
There are several roadside shops after you cross onto Navajo land. We stopped at one and did some obligatory vacation shopping.
This rock formation along the road to Monument Valley is called the Elephant’s Feet. It was a great place to stop and stretch and our legs after sunset.
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November 4, Election Day
The Utah desert on Election Day was windswept, dusty, and inhospitable to being out and about on foot. More than one tumbleweed rolled on by us – real, genuine tumbleweeds!
The shop in Monument Valley has a corner dedicated to John Wayne.
Many of his movies were filmed here.
This is one of those cool fuzzy ultraviolet posters. Awesome.
The dog taking a nap is none other than Chase, our dedicated stray hiking guide from my prior visit to Monument Valley, almost four months ago! I was glad to see him alive and hopefully doing somewhat well.
Hanging from the rearview mirror is a Navajo Dreamcatcher, intended as good medicine to “catch” nightmares and other bad vibes.
Of course we had to make a stop along the Forrest Gump road. It’s impossible not to.
The shutter on Steve’s camera didn’t fully open, creating this rather cool effect.
On we went north through Mexican Hat, Utah.
The scenery was outrageous, as is to be expected.
Blanding, UT
The La Sal Mountains, south of Moab.
We were stuck behind this thing for quite some time in the middle of nowhere.
The Wilson Arch sits right along the highway.
Dinner in Moab. Yum.
We found ourselves in this bar when Barack Obama was officially announced the next president of the United States. People were clapping and cheering.
We walked back to the hotel room in time to see the acceptance speech, accepted on our part with a celebratory toast of Scotch. After eight cloudy years, things suddenly seemed a little brighter.
