Monuments & Trading Posts

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2011 trip so far: yellow-bellied marmot, mule deer, bison, moose, pronghorn antelope, elk, coyote, beaver, black bear, grizzly, bighorn sheep, wolf, mountain goat
*Birds we’ve seen on our 2011 trip so far: mountain bluebird, golden eagle, Indigo bunting, Lazuli bunting, Say’s Phoebe, yellow-rumped warbler, Western Tanager, bald eagle, blue heron, American white pelican, trumpeter swan, osprey, magpie, mountain bluebird, Clark’s Nutcracker
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2011 trip so far: 7
*State Parks visited on 2011 trip so far: 1

We decided to treat ourselves to breakfast before heading to Monument Valley, and figured there’d be some sort of diner in the nearby town of Mexican Hat. It’s a small village of about 88 people that gets its name from the nearby rock formation that resembles a sombrero or Mexican hat. This rock is about 60 ft. in diameter and sits on top of a much smaller rock on top of a hill. Near the edge of town we found a place called The Old Bridge Grille (SanJuanInn)
located next to the San Juan Inn & Trading Post. The menu is extensive and boasts a full Ranch Breakfast complete with eggs cooked any way you want for about $7, but if you want those eggs poached, it’ll cost you $20! Guess they don’t like to poach eggs. I chose the Southwest Green Chile Omelet that came with toast and potatoes and was more than enough food for me, and Russ decided on the Southwest Breakfast Burrito that was about as big as Russ’ arm and would have easily fed us both! Should have taken a picture of that!

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park (MonumentValley) is one of the most photographed places on earth, and the site of many a Western movie (and as the backdrop in many other films such as Forest Gump and Back to the Future III). In fact the first movie ever filmed in the valley was Stagecoach in 1938 starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford. The Valley is part of the Navajo Nation located on the Utah/Arizona border, and has a 17 mile scenic drive on a very rough dirt road. The entrance fee is $5, and you can tour with a Navajo guide for some extra moola or you can drive it yourself. We figure they keep the roads particularly bad to try and entice more people to pay for the guided tours which are basically converted pickup trucks with a makeshift seating area propped on the bed in back. After walking around the Visitor's Center, we chose to drive ourselves, and it does make for an interesting and bumpy ride!

The monuments in the park have very descriptive names like East and West Mitten Buttes, The Three Sisters, The Thumb, Totem Pole, and Elephant Butte just to name a few. Just as we (and several of the guided tours) arrived at John Ford’s Point, a Navajo man on horseback rode out to the point and posed in typical John Wayne fashion as everyone snapped photos. Quite an impressive sight! Evidently he does this daily every time a tour truck pulls in to the little parking lot there, and after a few minutes of posing out on the point, he gallops back to where all the tourists are and for $2 you can have your photo taken sitting on his horse. (No, we didn’t take advantage of this opportunity.)

Just down the road from the entrance to the park is Goulding’s Trading Post, Lodge, & Museum (www.gouldings.com). In 1924 Harry and Leone (a Mike) Goulding purchased 640 acres next to Monument Valley and began trading with the Navajo people. A few years later they built the stone trading post that still stands today and is used as the museum as is their apartment upstairs furnished as it was when they lived there. Back in the 1930s when the Gouldings learned that John Ford was looking for a place to film a Western, Harry went to Hollywood with photos of the Monument Valley area and the rest is history. There are many photos, autographs, and memorabilia throughout the museum, and the mess hall that was originally built for the crew of “The Harvey Girls” is now filled with movie stills, posters, call sheets, and there’s always a classic John Ford – John Wayne film being shown on a TV. Located behind the museum is the structure that was used for the exterior shots of the personal quarters for John Wayne’s character, Capt. Nathan Brittles, in the movie “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” in 1949. It was actually Mike’s potato cellar where she stored her fruits and vegetables, and the interior shots were really filmed in Hollywood studios. The Gouldings were lifelong friends of the Navajo people, and a memorial overlooking the Valley rests just outside the trading post.

The next day we were leaving Goosenecks State Park to begin our trek towards FL, but before doing so realized that we were able to see part of Monument Valley in the distance from our campsite (photo is obviously zoomed in). It had been a cool place to visit with all of its history and awesome geological formations, and a place we can now check off of our list.

We try to discover new places along our travels, and as we made our way south and east, we had planned a couple stops to places we had not visited before. In northeastern AZ we stopped briefly at Canyon de Chelly National Monument (www.nps.gov/cach). This place is unique within the National Park Service in that it is entirely located on Navajo Tribal Trust Land within the Navajo Nation. It preserves the ruins of the early Anasazi people as well as the Navajo along three major canyons which can be viewed as you drive along the canyon rims. We decided to forgo the auto tour as we were trying to get to our next destination before nightfall, but we did stop in the Visitor Center where we got our NPS book stamped, learned a little bit more about the area, and watched a local artisan.

Only 4 miles away is the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site (www.nps.gov/hutr) and was our next stop. Purchased by John Lorenzo Hubbell in 1878, the Hubbell Trading Post is the oldest continuously operating trading post on the Navajo reservation and was operated by Hubbell family members until it was sold to the National Park Service in 1965. As usual we started in the Visitor’s Center and for a short time watched a Navajo woman weaving one of the many rugs that are sold over at the Post. We walked across the parking lot to the trading post which opens up into the grocery store and then breaks out into several rooms filled with handcrafted jewelry, rugs, and baskets along with all manner of items hanging from the rafters and lining the walls and shelves.

Behind the trading post stands the Hubbell family home complete with the original furnishings and artwork. We happened to arrive just as one of the rangers was giving a little history on the family and house to a couple of other people. Original pieces of art work line the walls including a portrait of Geronimo (in red hat at right) for which he posed and Native American baskets line the ceiling among the rafters. This was a fascinating stop and one of those hidden gems we discovered along the way.

We spent the night in Grants, NM, and over the next couple of days made our way across TX spending the night in Vernon and Lindale, and finally in Forest, MS. Tomorrow we’d be seeing our good friends (and Capitol Reef co-hosts) John and Nancy at their home in Union, MS.

Goosenecks and Bridges

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2011 trip so far: yellow-bellied marmot, mule deer, bison, moose, pronghorn antelope, elk, coyote, beaver, black bear, grizzly, bighorn sheep, wolf, mountain goat
*Birds we’ve seen on our 2011 trip so far: mountain bluebird, golden eagle, Indigo bunting, Lazuli bunting, Say’s Phoebe, yellow-rumped warbler, Western Tanager, bald eagle, blue heron, American white pelican, trumpeter swan, osprey, magpie, mountain bluebird, Clark’s Nutcracker

We had decided to make a return trip to Capitol Reef National Park (www.nps.gov/care) for a couple of days on our way south. Dotty and Gary were so happy to see us, and we had made plans to have them over for dinner during our stay. Their son, Brian, was staying with them and helping out so of course he was invited, too. We had also invited the rangers, but Kyle was the only one to make it as everyone else was out of town or already had plans (though Holly stopped by later with her fiancé). Russ also invited Walter, a man camping by himself in the site behind us who we had chatted with shortly after arriving. I kept it simple with spaghetti and garlic bread, but Dotty insisted on bringing a salad and one of her fabulous desserts. Many of the trees were turning color, and there were still apples ripe for picking left in some of the orchards. Of course we had to pick a few near the campground, and they were delicious! We had a wonderful visit with Dotty, Gary, and the others, and even managed to catch a glimpse of the International Space Station flyover again one night and watched our beloved St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers for a trip to the World Series! (Yes, I’m crazy enough to take photos of happening events on TV!)

Our next stop was Goosenecks State Park (Goosenecks) in southeast Utah. It gets its name from the tight turns made by the San Juan River in the canyon below, and is said to be one of the best examples of an “entrenched meander” in the world. (Never could get a panoramic photo showing all the bends at once.) This park is basically in the middle of nowhere with no trees whatsoever and sits about 1,000 feet above the winding river which exposes rock layers dating back nearly 300 million years. Camping is basically wherever you want to park with no hookups though there are 4 “sites” with a picnic table and fire ring, and we chose one along the canyon rim not far from the cliff’s edge (see photo taken of the RV from across the ridge). There are no fees at this park, and we stayed 3 nights building a fire nightly while sitting under the stars, amazed at the clarity of the Milky Way, and even watched the International Space Station pass overhead each night. On our last night we were the only people in the park, not another person for at least 20 miles…a little spooky!










Goosenecks was a great location for taking day trips to other places such as the nearby Valley of the Gods. Since we were planning to visit Monument Valley during our stay, and this is basically a mini version of that, we decided to forgo driving the very rough 17 mile road that takes you through the Valley. However, I did get a shot of some of the spires and buttes from above as we traveled along the Moki Dugway towards Natural Bridges.

Now what is Moki (pronounced mokee) Dugway you ask? It’s a graded gravel and dirt road carved into the face of the cliff edge of Cedar Mesa that was originally built for the uranium ore trucks for travel back in the 1950s. Over the next 3 miles the steep switchbacks take you up about 1,000 ft. to an elevation of 6,425 ft. with spectacular views of the valley floor below and some fascinating geological formations (does that look like a skull to you?)









Natural Bridges National Monument (www.nps.gov/nabr) is about 45 miles from Goosenecks SP and “preserves some of the finest examples of natural stone architecture in the southwest”. There are three natural bridges that have formed over millions of years, and after viewing the brief presentation at the Visitor Center, we set out on the 9-mile driving loop. The first stop provides a view of Sipapu Bridge (at left) which is Hopi for “place of emergence” and is the largest of the three bridges with a span of 268 ft. and a height of 220 ft. Next stop was the Horsecollar Ruin, an ancestral Anasazi cliff dwelling near the base of the canyon that was abandoned more than 700 years ago. We had to hike about 3/10 of a mile along an unfenced rocky path to get to the overlook (you can’t reach the ruin from this trail and neither of us were into hiking all the way down there and back anyway!) Stop #3 was the Kachina Bridge (at right) so named for the rock art at the base of the bridge that is supposed to resemble Kachina dolls (though we couldn’t see that from our vantage point). It’s considered the “youngest” of the three bridges and spans 204 ft. with a height of 210 ft. The smallest, thinnest, and what is considered the “oldest” of the three is Owachomo Bridge, the last stop on our drive. Its Hopi name means “rock mound” and is so named for the rock formation located at the east end of the bridge (pictured at left...a zoomed in view of the bridge below right). Owachomo spans 180 ft. with a height of 106 ft., but due to its fragility, who knows how much longer it will stand. Though not as spectacular as Arches National Park, this was still a worthwhile stop at a place we'd heard so much about.

Our plan for the next day was a visit to Monument Valley, another day trip about 30 miles away.

An Extended Stay in Utah

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2011 trip so far: yellow-bellied marmot, mule deer, bison, moose, pronghorn antelope, elk, coyote, beaver, black bear, grizzly, bighorn sheep, wolf, mountain goat
*Birds we’ve seen on our 2011 trip so far: mountain bluebird, golden eagle, Indigo bunting, Lazuli bunting, Say’s Phoebe, yellow-rumped warbler, Western Tanager, bald eagle, blue heron, American white pelican, trumpeter swan, osprey, magpie, mountain bluebird, Clark’s Nutcracker

As we headed south to UT, The Folly added another state to the list of where it has spent the night by staying in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Blackfoot, ID which brings the total to 38 states! Along the way trees were beginning to change color and created an incredible palette of red, yellow, orange, and gold with plenty of green still visible. Autumn has always been my favorite time of year.

We arrived at Camping World’s parking lot in Draper, UT, on Sat. and had secured a room at the Extended Stay America just a few miles up the road in Sandy since we couldn’t stay in the RV during the repairs and needed somewhere that would allow 3 animals at a reasonable price. Each room has a fully-equipped kitchen (which was handy since we also had to empty our refrigerator), and having lived the last 4-1/2 years in an RV, the hotel room seemed almost spacious! During our stay, new General Manager, Becky, was the epitome of customer service, and she and her staff work very hard to assure everyone has a pleasant stay.

Our plan was to move into the hotel Sun. and move the RV over to the service door that afternoon, but the full wall slide decided to stop working and would not retract. Just what we needed…another issue! On the bright side at least it didn’t happen while we were in the middle of nowhere. The next morning the service dept. managed to get it in and worked on figuring out the problem on top of repairing the leveler jack and all the body damage from the accident. A huge thank you to LaMar, Wayne, and everyone in the collision service center for all their help.

We spent a week in the hotel, then about a week in the RV in the Camping World lot while we waited for parts to arrive, and then another 4 days in the hotel. During this time there were things we needed to take care of but we also found some time for fun. A couple of days after we arrived, Russ took advantage of the free Grand Slam at Denny’s for his birthday, and as we were leaving, we noticed this drawing on the wall created in 1997 by a customer. What an incredible talent!

Of course being in Salt Lake City, I definitely wanted to attend another rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Last time it was in the 21,000 seat Conference Center auditorium where they are held during the summer and Christmas seasons due to the large crowds, but this time we were going to watch them rehearse with those great acoustics in the Tabernacle itself…or so we thought. When we arrived, we discovered that the rehearsal was being held in the Conference Center again because they were preparing for that weekend’s semi-annual General Conference. Though disappointed, we still enjoyed the rehearsal, and before leaving learned that they would indeed be rehearsing the following week in the Tabernacle.

We arrived even earlier the next time so we could tour some of the grounds and facilities again. We started in the North Visitors Center admiring the paintings and displays in the lower level and met two of the young missionaries who are always available to answer any questions. We had watched a short video on the charitable outreach done by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and were amazed by the scope of their endeavors. Not far from Temple Square is an area known as Welfare Square, which began its operations during the Great Depression, and houses a bakery, a cannery, a storehouse, a thrift store, an employment center, and so much more, all designed to help people help themselves become more self-reliant and self-sufficient. (We had hoped to tour this facility during our stay but never made it.) From here we went upstairs taking the winding ramp that features an amazing mural of the heavens and universe along the entire wall leading upstairs to the domed area where the magnificent 11-foot marble Christus statue resides.

It was time to head over to the Tabernacle and wait for the doors to open. The Choir had already begun rehearsal and was in mid-song when we walked in...WOW!! The sound was incredible!! (And this wasn’t even the entire choir and orchestra since they would not have all fit.) We had attended an organ recital here in the past, and we witnessed the acoustics when a pin was dropped or a piece of paper was ripped in half, but the sound that reverberated through this deceptively simple-looking structure built in the mid-1800s was amazing. We stayed for about an hour, and when we left, chatted with a couple of members outside who informed us that the windows in front of which we were standing had the original glass from when it was built back in 1867 so of course I had to take a picture through them!

The Church also runs the Family History Library (FamilyHistoryLibrary), the world’s largest genealogy library. Founded in 1894, the current 142,000 sq. ft. facility houses nearly 2 million rolls of microfilm, 700,000 microfiche, and 280,000 books plus access to several family history databases from their computers and plenty of volunteers readily available to assist with any questions. The library and its resources are free of charge to anyone in the world which probably explains the average of 2,500 visitors they get each day! I decided to check it out and focus my research on my dad’s side of the family since so little is known and there are no surviving relatives. Shortly after finding a vacant computer in the main research room, Sister Eppich came to ask if I needed any help. She spent the next 2-1/2 hours with me sometimes researching on the adjacent computer, and I did find some interesting information. Genealogy research can certainly be addictive and I almost didn’t want to leave. What an incredible resource this facility is and all for free!

The local Sweet Adelines chorus was preparing to compete at the International competition in Houston in about 2 weeks, and I had planned to attend a rehearsal. However, it just so happened that Mountain Jubilee Chorus (www.mountainjubileechorus.org/) was holding a send-off concert free of charge. Not only would they be performing both of their contest sets, but also the men’s chorus, the Beehive Statesmen Chorus (http://www.beehivestatesmen.org/), and several quartets would provide some entertainment. Though the acoustics at the venue were not the best, the 100 member Mountain Jubilee Chorus did a great job led by Master Director Tori Postma, a woman well known in the organization and whom I’d heard about for years. The show lasted about 1-1/2 hours, and the place was packed. In fact they had to bring in more chairs and open the sliding doors to the room behind where we were sitting to accomodate the standing room only crowd. (As a follow-up note, Mountain Jubilee Chorus placed 7th in the world at International and won the audience choice award for Most Entertaining Chorus!)

One morning while parked at Camping World we awoke to find a cloud layer enveloping the surrounding mountains, and bet it was probably snowing in them thar’ hills. As it began to clear, we discovered we had been right! That’s the edge of our RV at the right edge of the photo so you can see how close it came.

Now you’re probably thinking that it was time for us to head east to Florida for the winter with a stop in St. Louis as we’ve done in previous years, and you’d have been partly right. There were a couple more stops we wanted to make, and we needed to be in FL by Oct. 27 for our annual dr. appointments, but there was a major change to our winter plans this year (and we’d be skipping St. Louis). We had accepted a campground hosting position at Greenbelt National Park in MD just outside of DC beginning Nov. 1 till Mar. 1…thought we’d try something different! Crazy, huh?! Keep in mind we haven’t lived in the snow and cold for nearly 30 years so this could be very interesting. Stay tuned!