25. Apr, 2016

25. Apr, 2016

25. Apr, 2016

25. Apr, 2016

TUESDAY 13-05-08 

It rained most of the night and the morning bought a cloudy but dry start to the day here in Monument Valley. 

We strolled to the shower block which at this campground is behind the office in the main building. The wet sand was ok to walk on and things didn’t look too bad, at least now that it’s wet it’s not able to blow everywhere. The showers here are top notch with lots of hot water and there’s real power behind the water. 

As thunderstorms were expected today we hadn’t planned to do much. We paid for 24 hours internet connection for $3 and booked an all-day tour for tomorrow which will take us through Monument Valley – a grand total of $208. Establishments like this flourished after robbing tourists became more lucrative than attacking wagon trains.

After a morning of domestic chores and using the internet we felt the need to get out and go for a bike ride, after all we could sit indoors anytime, this trip was about getting out and doing things. On the way out I used a payphone to book our tickets on the Durango & Silverton railway www.durangotrain.com . I had to use my phone card, a brilliant idea, something I’d never come across before, and a really useful alternative to a mobile phone with no signal. We’ll be travelling from Durango to Silverton on the train and returning on the bus as reviewers of the journey say that the round trip is rather a long day. I’ve booked a later bus back so that we get to spend a little longer looking around Silverton. 

We rode down to the crossroads about two and a half miles away. It was quite interesting, and lovely to feel part of the landscape. The air really did smell fresh and clean. For the ride we had dressed for the inclement weather that had been forecast, but by the time we had reached the crossroads we were rather hot to say the least. I had a fleece and light raincoat on and I was boiling, the problem was it was easier to wear them than try and carry them on the bikes. 

There are two kinds of films I hate, they are War films and Westerns because I think they glorify something which was less than glorious, yet here we were, having an early evening meal so that we could catch the shuttle bus down to Goulding’s Lodge to watch the free nightly showing of a John Wayne movie. Tonight it was ‘The Searchers’ which was The Chef's preferred choice from the three films offered in rotation. The ‘cinema’ was a fairly small wooden hut. Being the first to arrive we got seats in the front row, next to the isle. The chairs were the most uncomfortable ever and throughout the film I kept trying to move around to take the weight off my backside. I noticed that when I moved I could see the shadow of my leg in the bottom left hand side of the screen, so I couldn’t move around as much as I would have liked, still mustn’t grumble as we were at least spared the annoyance of being surrounded by people rustling bags, munching popcorn and slurping fizzy drinks. 

After the film there wasn’t a shuttle vehicle provided to return us back to the campground and so we had to walk back a distance of about a mile in the dark, with only the moonlit sky and a very occasional lamp post to guide us. We got back to the RV at around 23:30 and went to bed. 

LOCATION TONIGHT: Goulding’s Campground, 1000 Main Street Monument Valley, Utah

25. Apr, 2016

MONDAY 12-05-08 

Parking in the truck (HGV) area meant that from time to time during the night they started their engines to keep either the cabs warm for the sleeping drivers or cold for their cargo. There was a particularly noisy truck which had chosen to park right next to us. 

This morning we went for the full works and had a lovely hot shower. I started the generator, the hot air central heating was on and we had more than enough water. Somehow the noise we created with our generator was not a fair payback to the still sleeping truckers for the much greater noise they had subjected us to all night. 

Most of the journey south towards Monument Valley could not be described as spectacular. Much of the time it was just a relentless grind up hill and down dale on a less than ideal road surface. We did pass through Moab which we will be visiting in its own right very soon. It seems silly to be passing through it and not stopping, but that’s what happens when you change a cunning plan. As we passed through town we saw the campground we have already reserved for our stay there, and potential car/jeep rental outlets. 

Comprising of mainly high desert, Monument Valley covers 2,000 square miles and sits on sacred Navajo Indian land. The Navajo name for the valley is Tsé Bii’ Ndzisgaii (Valley of the Rocks). The valley’s vivid red colour comes from iron oxide exposed in the stone and the darker, blue-grey rocks get their colour from manganese oxide. As we approached there was a sign telling us we were entering Navajo Indian territory and were subject to their laws (would scalping be a punishment?). 

The run in to the valley and our campground was very scenic, with lots of photo opportunities. My biggest disappointment was that I hadn’t seen anywhere to hire a car. Mexican Hat was the nearest town but I saw nothing there as we passed through. In my original email to the campground www.gouldings.com booking the pitch I did tell them I wanted to hire a car on arrival and the places I wanted to visit, but they didn’t have the courtesy to mention in their reply that we wouldn’t be able to. 

We now have to find a way of filling three days without a secondary means of transport other than our trusty bikes. There used to be horse rides from down the road here but no more it seems, not unless it’s only provided during peak season. It would have been great to have had a dude’s ride as this is the perfect location given that so many Western movies have been made here. 

Oh yes and the weather. Every picture I’ve ever seen of Monument Valley has shown cloudless blue skies, lovely weather to match lovely scenery. Soon after we arrived here there was a sandstorm, we couldn’t see down the valley and our engine compartment is now probably full of red sand. I felt sorry for those RV’ers who arrived much later than us and had driven in such strong cross winds with blowing sand reducing visibility. Then it started to rain, it’s still raining in fact which means that the lovely red sand will be red mud by tomorrow morning. 

There are organised trips we can go on from the campground. I might just go on the one to John Wayne’s cabin so that I can p**s on his front porch, just so that, if he’s up there, he’ll know just how I’m feeling right now. So it’s off to bed to the sound of heavy rain beating down on the roof. 

LOCATION TONIGHT: Gouldings Campground, 1000 Main Street Monument Valley, Utah (GPS: N37.006329 W110.215256)