Should have gone to Florida....
....why aren't we in Florida?....
...REALLY should have gone to Florida!...
...SO HAPPY we DIDN'T go to Florida!
The Grand Canyon (or a small bit of it anyway)Sunday, 8 March 2009
Our scenic drive to Grand Canyon
Should have gone to Florida.... ....why aren't we in Florida?.... ...REALLY should have gone to Florida!... ...SO HAPPY we DIDN'T go to Florida! The Grand Canyon (or a small bit of it anyway)
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Sunset at Monument Valley
In search of the pefect sunset shot we jumped in the car tonight and drove about 10 miles away from Monument Valley. The things we do! Standing by the side of the road, freezing our fingers off....and in the end it wasn't even a really spectacular sunset. We'd been hoping (as we always do!) for a really rich orange/red sky, but our hopes were dashed.
Okay, so it looks pretty good even it we didn't get the depth of colour we were hoping for!
Okay, so it looks pretty good even it we didn't get the depth of colour we were hoping for! When we got back we headed for dinner. We have been dry for the past two nights as they don't sell alcohol on Navajo lands. D'oh! If I'd known I'd have come prepared!! My ears pricked up tonight when a lady along the way was asking her friend in for Happy Hour. She had hooch!! I was debating whether we could gatecrash, but had nothing to bring to the party as we'd eaten the Mini Eggs for breakfast...
We're also two days without Starbucks. We'd better pass one tomorrow or Stephen and I will be killing one another in the car!! I think caffeine withdrawal will be pretty severe by tomorrow!!!
Monument Valley - Shaken and Stirred
Unbelievably, whilst we are on holiday, we have been up at 06:15 two days in a row now. I hope Stephen doesn't get the bug for sunrise photography...sunset is a lot more civilised seeing as it usually comes with a cocktail or two! It was worth getting up though. The sunrise was pretty stunning this morning. Would you believe that, despite being up at dawn, we were still pushed for time? The Valley tour begins at 09:00 and at 08:30 we still had to get out the door and buy tickets. No time for breakfast, so we ended up scoffing the remains of a packet of Cadburys Mini Eggs I had in my bag. A couple of mini eggs was enough to stave off immediate hunger, but a couple of real eggs would probably been better!
My weirdo alert was screeching this morning as we were sitting waiting for the tour jeep. Some guy came up to us and asked if we had been into the Valley yet. We said we were about to go on the tour and there followed a thorough interrogation. He was probably only trying to make conversation, but he did it in such an accusatory manner and without blinking it began to weird me out!! I was really glad when he walked off with his girlfriend and got in their sedan car to self-drive the 17 mile loop.
If he had done his research he would have seen the words "partially-paved" when describing the roadway, and if he was observant he would have seen that all the tours were in 4WD vehicles. I would not have liked to try and get a regular car round the Loop that is for sure!! I'm pretty sure that axles must get broken out there!
Eddie (our Navajo guide) was obviously a veteran. He knew when to drive up the wrong side of the road to avoid the potholes and the really rough bits. Not that it was a smooth ride. Far from it! We were bounced about until our teeth rattled and swayed like we were on a camel. We were definitely shaken....and when we stopped at the first point on the tour I was certainly stirred. I do seem to have become an emotional wreck in recent years. The slightest thing will make me well up...today it was seeing the majesty of Monument Valley spread out before me. It was utterly, utterly stunning.
I have wanted to come here for many years - probably something to do with all the old Western movies I used to watch on a Sunday with Dad. John Ford made about 8 movies here and John Wayne starred in quite a few of those (Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon etc), so many of the vistas are instantly recognisable, each more stunning than the last.
We bounced our way round the valley for 3 hours taking loads of photos. Competition is fierce between us, and we're both getting loads of great shots. I spent this afternoon sorting through some of them as it was becoming a daunting task!
My weirdo alert was screeching this morning as we were sitting waiting for the tour jeep. Some guy came up to us and asked if we had been into the Valley yet. We said we were about to go on the tour and there followed a thorough interrogation. He was probably only trying to make conversation, but he did it in such an accusatory manner and without blinking it began to weird me out!! I was really glad when he walked off with his girlfriend and got in their sedan car to self-drive the 17 mile loop.
If he had done his research he would have seen the words "partially-paved" when describing the roadway, and if he was observant he would have seen that all the tours were in 4WD vehicles. I would not have liked to try and get a regular car round the Loop that is for sure!! I'm pretty sure that axles must get broken out there!
Eddie (our Navajo guide) was obviously a veteran. He knew when to drive up the wrong side of the road to avoid the potholes and the really rough bits. Not that it was a smooth ride. Far from it! We were bounced about until our teeth rattled and swayed like we were on a camel. We were definitely shaken....and when we stopped at the first point on the tour I was certainly stirred. I do seem to have become an emotional wreck in recent years. The slightest thing will make me well up...today it was seeing the majesty of Monument Valley spread out before me. It was utterly, utterly stunning.
I have wanted to come here for many years - probably something to do with all the old Western movies I used to watch on a Sunday with Dad. John Ford made about 8 movies here and John Wayne starred in quite a few of those (Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon etc), so many of the vistas are instantly recognisable, each more stunning than the last.
We bounced our way round the valley for 3 hours taking loads of photos. Competition is fierce between us, and we're both getting loads of great shots. I spent this afternoon sorting through some of them as it was becoming a daunting task!
Friday, 6 March 2009
Photos of Monument Valley
Appraoching the Valley
06:20 Sunrise over Monument Valley taken from our balcony
Stunning!
Wow! What a show nature puts on...
The left mitten
John Ford's point. A very famous vista seen in a LOT of Westerns!
Me!
Left a bit Stephen....
The Three Sisters
The Totem pole.Clint Eastwood climbed this during the Eiger Sanction.
The top is actually large enough to land a helicopter on!
At Window Rock
A male Hogan (traditional Navajo dwelling)
A Petroglyph
Artists PointIt looked like someone had taken a giant watercolour brush and painted the desert floor.
Window rock Photos of Mesa Verde
On the road from Santa Fe we passed through lots of "brown" scenery
Echo point. Fantastic colours!
Then we hit snow...
The bedroom of our cozy cabin
The log cabin
Sunset looking over Mesa Verde (the flat bit on the left!)
Beautiful colours as the sun sinks low
06:20 - Sunrise from the cabin porch
The first rays of sun hit the Mesa
Just a nice shot at sunrise!
Wrapped up and bleary eyed!No photos of me - it would have cracked the lens!
Getting closer to the Mesa
Views across the valley
On the way down to the cliff dwelling
We were both running like little runny things to be the first to get this shot!
The Spruce Tree House cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde
It was built around 1200AD
Quite an incredible feat
Looking through a window
How the heck did they manage to build this (the worlds first high rise?!)...
...here??There was no easy way up or down that we could see.
The 4 Corners monumentPhotos - coming soon!!
As you'll have gathered we've taken a LOT of photos. To date its around 2000 - and we're not halfway through the tour! We're also on the go all the time so I've not managed to review, compress and save blog sized photos yet. I'm hoping that tonight (as there ain't much to do here apart from watch the scenery and John Wayne movies) I'll be able to sort some out and post them....
Mesa Verde to Monument Valley
We were up at 6:15 to watch the sunrise over the mountains at the other side of the cabin. Beautiful if a bit cold! We just dragged coats on over jammies and grabbed cameras. I stayed on the porch as I had hair that was reminiscent of Worzle Gummage but Stephen was off taking photos all over. We turned up the electric blanket to max and leaped back into bed for a heat when we were done. Bliss!
Breakfast at the lodge was great. We got to meet Sue and Bob as well as the friends they had been picking up when we arrived. They were lovely and we chatted on over breakfast much longer that we intended.
We drove over to Mesa Verde - which again took a lot longer than it maybe should have. Its 20 miles from the park entrance to the cliff dwellings and we were stopping at every opportunity to take photos of the stunning scenery we were driving through. As we were slightly pressed for time and on the advice of the ranger, we walked down to Spruce Tree House to see the cliff dwellings there and then drove round the Mesa top to get the views of the other sites. Stunning!! The buildings were built around 1200 and abandoned about 1275 after many years of drought (or drouth as they called it in the museum exhibits - and I thought it was only Scottish folks that used that expression!).
From Mesa Verde we drove to 4 Corners monument for a quick stop at the only place in the US where 4 States meet. You can stand with feet in New Mexico and Colorado and arms in Utah and Arizona. Cool! But according to our GPS unit, about 50 feet in the wrong place!! Oh, well...lets go with the romance and symbolism shall we?
From 4 Corners we drove to Monument Valley, passing through some utterly stunning scenery. We've well and truly passed from brown dust to red dust now! Oh, and we saw tumbleweed...blowing down the road towards us! We stopped for a few photo opportunities, but we were trying to get there before sunset so we had to press on. We're staying in Goulding lodge where John Wayne and John Ford stayed when filming the Westerns here. Our room has the must stunning views of the Valley. It is just incredible to stand on the balcony and look at it. The sun lights it up like a big lit up thing and the colours of the rock were fantastic as the sun went down.
Breakfast at the lodge was great. We got to meet Sue and Bob as well as the friends they had been picking up when we arrived. They were lovely and we chatted on over breakfast much longer that we intended.
We drove over to Mesa Verde - which again took a lot longer than it maybe should have. Its 20 miles from the park entrance to the cliff dwellings and we were stopping at every opportunity to take photos of the stunning scenery we were driving through. As we were slightly pressed for time and on the advice of the ranger, we walked down to Spruce Tree House to see the cliff dwellings there and then drove round the Mesa top to get the views of the other sites. Stunning!! The buildings were built around 1200 and abandoned about 1275 after many years of drought (or drouth as they called it in the museum exhibits - and I thought it was only Scottish folks that used that expression!).
From Mesa Verde we drove to 4 Corners monument for a quick stop at the only place in the US where 4 States meet. You can stand with feet in New Mexico and Colorado and arms in Utah and Arizona. Cool! But according to our GPS unit, about 50 feet in the wrong place!! Oh, well...lets go with the romance and symbolism shall we?
From 4 Corners we drove to Monument Valley, passing through some utterly stunning scenery. We've well and truly passed from brown dust to red dust now! Oh, and we saw tumbleweed...blowing down the road towards us! We stopped for a few photo opportunities, but we were trying to get there before sunset so we had to press on. We're staying in Goulding lodge where John Wayne and John Ford stayed when filming the Westerns here. Our room has the must stunning views of the Valley. It is just incredible to stand on the balcony and look at it. The sun lights it up like a big lit up thing and the colours of the rock were fantastic as the sun went down.
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