Dispatches From The Road - Day 4 and 5

It's been a couple days since we've had decent, if any connectivity.  So follow along, these past 3 days have been both extremely stressful and extremely fun. 

Monday was not one of the most pleasant for Carl, as he had an attack of kidney stones.  Ouch !!!!  However, it was not until we got to Monument Valley that he was sure it was kidney stones and not a virus or something more critical. If you've had kidney stones, you know what I mean. He was bad enough, I got directions to the closest emergeny room.  Luckily, we didn't need to go. 

Leaving Gallup, our first stop was in the town of Shiprock, named after a rock formation that has the appearance of the bow of a ship. The town was just a cross roads stop.  Poverty in this entire area is very apparent.  At the foot of many of the bluffs are small groupings of homes.  Homes that are nothing more than run down shacks.  It is hard to understand what people do for a living. There are very few obvious businesses and the land itself is barren.  There are horses and cattle here and there, feeding off what brush is there.  After one more stop in Kayenta, AZ we were on to Monument Valley and The View Hotel.

We were now on Navajo land, and in an effort to find a pharmacy so Carl's doctor could send a prescription for him, we found out that although there was a clinic close by and an emergency room in Kayenta, they only serve Navajo.  The nearest pharmacy was almost 1 1/2 hrs away. 

After getting settled into our room, these pictures below were from our balcony.

This view was to our left on the balcony

 

This view was to our right on the balcony

The View Hotel is in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, AZ.  The View Hotel is a must stay if you ever find yourself in the area. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The room was very comfortable and had an amazing view.  A breakfast buffet was offered, along with lunch and dinner in the adjoining restaurant.  The food was good, but I can't say I found that one meal that I would yearn for after leaving. Their gift shop had a wide range of items, from hand made rugs to pottery and jewelry.

 

Check out this link for more information. http://www.monumentvalleyview.com/  The View Hotel is built adjoining the Tribal Park Visitors Center which has been on this site for over 40 years. The hotel is designed with respect for the sacred setting in which it is located and the view of the famous formations of Monument Valley are unlike anywhere else in the world. The View Hotel has been designed to exist in harmony with this unique land. Every guestroom has a view directly facing the Mittens and the exterior of the hotel is from a color palate of the red earth that surrounds it.

 

Carl's big purpose for coming here was to take photographs.  So, we were up at 6:00 am Tuesday morning to catch the sunrise and it was amazing.

 

 

 

Tuesday, our big outing was a 3 hour guided tour of Monument Valley from 4:00-7:00 pm.  Our tour guide's name is Frank.  Frank is a Navajo, whose family has been in the area for generations.  Frank learned the lay of the land by following his Dad around, who was also a guide.

 

 

Now, honestly we did not have a clue what we were getting into. There is a driveable trail, where personal cars are allowed to go.  We were warned that it was rough and needed a high clearance vehicle.  I'm very glad we did not drive it ourselves.  There were rocks in the road, pot holes a foot deep and some nearly as wide as the road.  The make up of the road surface spanned from a dusty clay to deep sand.  We wanted to get off the beaten path and Frank obliged. We nearly got stuck in the sand as Frank tried to take us up a short hill that turned out to be pretty deep sand.  In a 4-wheel drive truck the front wheels just sunk, spitting up buckets of sand.  I learned that my reflex to duck is pretty good.  I got lightly dusted, most of the sand went in the driver's side window, covering Frank.  Carl and I laughed so hard.  Of course Carl was on the right side and didn't get hit.  My first thought was we were going to be stuck out there and it was getting dark.  Luckily, the truck backed right out and we were on our way again.  The pictures below were taken along the tour.  I will post the link to Carl's site once he gets his pictures posted.

 

 

 

While still on the valley floor, but heading back to the hotel, we passed 2 high school age kids who were walking.  I asked Frank where they were going and he said they lived down there.  They were coming home from school.  Now this was at 6:30 pm.  He said each day they take a school bus from school to the hotel, then they wait for one of the tour guides to take them to the end of the tour route.  They then walk another 2 miles to their home.  I also asked Frank what people in the are do for a living.  They basically work at the local schools, stores, tour companies or they sell crafts and jewelry.  It is hard to absorb that people in this area live in such different circumstances than we do.

We arrived back at the hotel shortly after 7:00, tired and dirty.  But, it was way awesome.

Wednesday morning we check out and head to The Grand Canyon.  We arrive at the Grand Canyon Park around 2:30 in the afternoon.  That is where it starts going south.  Right outside the entrance to the park, various check lights come on in the car.  I begin to lose power, the car begins to slow down, no acceleration to be had.  I turn off as much as possible and it resumes functioning like normal long enough for us to get inside the park.  We make it probably about 5 miles and it dies.  Now we are backing up traffic and aren't making many friends.  Oh and did I mention, no cell service.  Luckily, a park ranger shows up in about the first 5 minutes.  He has not cell service either so he takes me to the local garage there in the park while Carl stays with the car.  I call AAA, so they can call the garage back and dispatch them to pick me up.  Yes, I know it sounds confusing and obviously it was since AAA instead dispatched a tow truck from Flagstaff.  When they called to let me know the truck would be there in about an hour, I think I raised my voice a bit.  Anyway, we straighten it out and the tow truck driver and I head back to get Carl and the car.  They think it is the alternator.  Guess we will find out tomorrow when they replace it.  Called a taxi and finally got to our motel. Now we are stuck with no car, no rental cars are available in the park.  Our transportation options are our feet or a bus. Oh and it is suppose to rain for the next 2 days.  :-)

It is now almost 11:00 pm and I am very tired.  Here's hoping tomorrow is a bit more relaxing and stress free.