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waitingman) wrote2016-11-18 11:56 am
waitingman) wrote2016-11-18 11:56 am
Entry tags:
Tour Diary - Day Ten
Looking up & looking down in Monument Valley...
Thursday 13th of October - Moab to Monument Valley
A later start to this morning, with a simple 'continental' breakfast at the Motel, continuing our mission to astonish locals by putting Vegemite on our toast & enjoying the looks we get. A brief conversation at our table with an older couple from Wisconsin (No, his name wasn't Yon Yonson, nor did they live in a bungalow there...) comparing travel itineraries & recommending they visit Dead Horse Point. Then it was time for final packing, loading up Travis again & meeting Gary at the service station across the road from his trailer park... in daylight this time, so no chance of missing it (the big sign advertising the trailer park had been switched off when I came past yesterday in the dark, making it all too easy to miss)
On the road again, though today it's only a relatively short distance to Monument Valley. Still a very picturesque drive, with Hole In The Rock & Church Rock on the highway & Newspaper Rock a few miles off it. This is a large flat area on a huge boulder, where the Anasazi natives drew pictograms & primitive writing 800 - 1000 years ago... which has been unofficially added to over the years by more modern natives of both the local & imported kind, before the National Park people fenced it off - thankfully before anyone 'tagged' it with spray paint. Afterwards, we hit the highway south again, with a quick stop for food in Blanding, (Julia - at a petrol station, that had a bowling alley inside, along with a small A & W Food outlet. A & W is a brand of soda here, but they also have food outlets) (Justin - Kind of like Coke having its own stores then...) then past & through Mexican Hat, making good time, despite earlier concerns, to meet our Hunt's Mesa Guide at 12.30
Good time, that is, until we arrived at the renowned Mile Marker 13, where you get a great view of the not-so-distant Monuments, immortalised on film by Tom Hanks in 'Forrest Gump' & by John Wayne in... well, a lot of movies. Today though, the road Forrest ran & stopped on was being re-surfaced, so everyone got to stop there too. Not for very long though - in fact just long enough for a quick photo, then we were being waved on by agitated flagmen, arriving at the Navajo Nation Welcome Centre just after the appointed meeting time, with no sign of our Guide
Turned out, after a couple of calls Gary made, we were waiting at the wrong place (or maybe the Guide was... no one admitted anything!!), but he soon came to us & we drove in convoy to his home near the entrance to the Valley. John Holiday & his son Ryan would be driving us up to Hunt's Mesa in a couple of serious, large Chevrolet 'Suburban' 4WDs, so we left Gary's truck & Travis in their yard, said hello to their 2 dogs (Max & Chushi - large but friendly) & loaded our camera gear & other bare essentials into the larger vehicle, piled in & off we went, barely 5 minutes after we'd met
Proper introductions were made on the road. We were being driven by Ryan, with his Dad John in a pickup truck behind, carrying the camping gear & food... it was essential we didn't lose him!! At first impression, Ryan looked to be about 18 & his comment that he'd only been doing the driving for his Dad "for a short time" reinforced that assumption. His revelation that he was married, had a 2yr old daughter & another on the way, did not. Turns out he's 25 & had done the drive up to Hunt's Mesa about 10 times. That sounded a bit more reassuring. He told Julia, with a straight face, that there was plumbing & electricity where we were going & had us believing him for about 10 seconds. There would, of course, be neither of these things. Oh Ryan - the trust is gone... & so early in the trip. Only kidding
Our little convoy headed down the highway towards Kayenta, but then turned off onto a dirt road that took us past some smaller, different formations called the Gorilla Rocks. These weren't the same as the Valley's distinctive sandstone formations - they were volcanic rock & reminded me of the Warrumbungles in northwest NSW - volcanic 'plugs', formed when lava rose to the surface & cooled rapidly, sealing off the eruption point. Must do some geological research to see if there were volcanos here at some time in the (extremely distant) past
By this stage, we were bouncing around in the back seats like jumping beans & the road only got rougher from there. Soon we were fishtailing across sand, before the 4WD was engaged & the real driving began. I hadn't seen such 'bad' road since Father & I went seriously bush in his WW2 jeep, back in the day. Ryan guided our large Chevy up & over rocks, boulders & between spaces that looked too small, but obviously weren't, all the while calmly filling us in on names of various features, some family history & general conversation, occasionally checking the rear-view mirror, to make sure his Dad was still behind us (I'm still wondering why Chevrolet, in their wisdom, decided to call a proper off-roading vehicle the 'Suburban' - Makes it sound like a schoolbus. Especially since the 4WDs parents use as kids transport usually have names like 'Pathfinder' or 'Discovery'... reverse psychology perhaps??). After a hair-raising tight turn around a hillside with a significant drop off to the left, we arrived near the top of Hunt's Mesa, where we could get great views of Monument Valley below & a beautiful vantage for sunset in a couple of hours. So we unloaded the camera gear, grabbed some water & snacks, then John & Ryan left in the pickup, to go & set up the campsite for us, a little further up the Mesa.
And then there were just three of us... The serenity, the view down into the Valley, the silence - so quiet I could hear the motors in my DSLR whirring & a lone cow bellowing waaay down in the Valley. Did I mention the serenity? It was shattered after about 20 minutes by the arrival of another tour group - One minute I was standing alone on a rock outcrop gazing at the Valley below me, the next there were 8 Thai people who proceeded to pretty much occupy the area & fill it with chatter, mobile phone beeps, setting up tripods etc & more chatter. So much for the serenity
Eventually most of them settled out on a promontory, where we assumed they would wait for the sunset, like we were doing. Gary & I had earmarked that location earlier, so we now headed a bit further west around the Mesa instead & found a pretty good alternative where we could mostly shoot around or over the Thai group. Julia wandered over the entire area, eventually finding a quiet little spot with a good view & settled down to enjoy what peace & quiet she could get. She looked pretty happy...
As sunset came around, the available peace & quiet was again shattered by the other group, as they launched a drone off the promontory. And so, sunset was soundtracked by the drone's motor whirring all over the Mesa & out into the Valley. Serenity?? More like obscenity. Oh for a sniper rifle... or a rocket-launcher
The sunset though, was glorious. First the formations down in the Valley developed a golden red glow, then the sky followed suit. As the sun sank, the colours became more pastel-like, then gradually turned grey, the light fading just as Ryan returned to drive us to the campsite & dinner, up more of those rocks he called a road...
Julia & I had a tent to ourselves, a little way down a dirt trail, away from the cooking & dining area & behind the tents set up for the Thai group, now also known as 'those noisy bastards with the bloody drone'. They further failed to endear themselves to us, as they moved their tents into the trail space that led from our tent to the communal area, meaning a detourthrough around scrub filled with cactus for us... lots of fun in the dark. Thank god for Gary's little headlamps he'd picked up in Walmart for $1. Saved us a lot of pain & embarrassment. The Thais didn't speak to any of us, including their (& our) Guides, unless we were in the way, or they needed something from one of the 4WDs. Never mind though - it was dinnertime! We were amazed at what the Navajo had prepared... Being a veteran of camping trips with my Father, I was expecting canned meals & maybe a loaf of bread to soak up any remaining bits... & water. These guys have a very different idea & now we know what else was in the support vehicle... After a generous dinner of large steaks, salads, baked potatoes & corn cobs (all washed down with some cask wine Gary had brought along) there was little for us to do, as our Guides were busy having their meals, cleaning up & checking their own gear, the Thais were insular & we'd been talking amongst ourselves all day & had nothing left. So... bed?
But first, Gary, Ryan & I headed to a little ledge overlooking the lights of the various small settlements down in the Valley, to try out some night shots. I have to confess that my favourite shot was the one I took of the moon & clouds with my phone... Bed now then - even though it was probably only about 9pm (we've been through so many time-zones lately, I had no idea any more...)
A fold-up cot, a sleeping bag & a little pillow & a little night lamp provided by our Navajo hosts. What more could you want... except perhaps a king-sized bed delivered by helicopter, with an ensuite attached. Maybe that's only on the more expensive tours
Thursday 13th of October - Moab to Monument Valley
A later start to this morning, with a simple 'continental' breakfast at the Motel, continuing our mission to astonish locals by putting Vegemite on our toast & enjoying the looks we get. A brief conversation at our table with an older couple from Wisconsin (No, his name wasn't Yon Yonson, nor did they live in a bungalow there...) comparing travel itineraries & recommending they visit Dead Horse Point. Then it was time for final packing, loading up Travis again & meeting Gary at the service station across the road from his trailer park... in daylight this time, so no chance of missing it (the big sign advertising the trailer park had been switched off when I came past yesterday in the dark, making it all too easy to miss)
On the road again, though today it's only a relatively short distance to Monument Valley. Still a very picturesque drive, with Hole In The Rock & Church Rock on the highway & Newspaper Rock a few miles off it. This is a large flat area on a huge boulder, where the Anasazi natives drew pictograms & primitive writing 800 - 1000 years ago... which has been unofficially added to over the years by more modern natives of both the local & imported kind, before the National Park people fenced it off - thankfully before anyone 'tagged' it with spray paint. Afterwards, we hit the highway south again, with a quick stop for food in Blanding, (Julia - at a petrol station, that had a bowling alley inside, along with a small A & W Food outlet. A & W is a brand of soda here, but they also have food outlets) (Justin - Kind of like Coke having its own stores then...) then past & through Mexican Hat, making good time, despite earlier concerns, to meet our Hunt's Mesa Guide at 12.30
Good time, that is, until we arrived at the renowned Mile Marker 13, where you get a great view of the not-so-distant Monuments, immortalised on film by Tom Hanks in 'Forrest Gump' & by John Wayne in... well, a lot of movies. Today though, the road Forrest ran & stopped on was being re-surfaced, so everyone got to stop there too. Not for very long though - in fact just long enough for a quick photo, then we were being waved on by agitated flagmen, arriving at the Navajo Nation Welcome Centre just after the appointed meeting time, with no sign of our Guide
Turned out, after a couple of calls Gary made, we were waiting at the wrong place (or maybe the Guide was... no one admitted anything!!), but he soon came to us & we drove in convoy to his home near the entrance to the Valley. John Holiday & his son Ryan would be driving us up to Hunt's Mesa in a couple of serious, large Chevrolet 'Suburban' 4WDs, so we left Gary's truck & Travis in their yard, said hello to their 2 dogs (Max & Chushi - large but friendly) & loaded our camera gear & other bare essentials into the larger vehicle, piled in & off we went, barely 5 minutes after we'd met
Proper introductions were made on the road. We were being driven by Ryan, with his Dad John in a pickup truck behind, carrying the camping gear & food... it was essential we didn't lose him!! At first impression, Ryan looked to be about 18 & his comment that he'd only been doing the driving for his Dad "for a short time" reinforced that assumption. His revelation that he was married, had a 2yr old daughter & another on the way, did not. Turns out he's 25 & had done the drive up to Hunt's Mesa about 10 times. That sounded a bit more reassuring. He told Julia, with a straight face, that there was plumbing & electricity where we were going & had us believing him for about 10 seconds. There would, of course, be neither of these things. Oh Ryan - the trust is gone... & so early in the trip. Only kidding
Our little convoy headed down the highway towards Kayenta, but then turned off onto a dirt road that took us past some smaller, different formations called the Gorilla Rocks. These weren't the same as the Valley's distinctive sandstone formations - they were volcanic rock & reminded me of the Warrumbungles in northwest NSW - volcanic 'plugs', formed when lava rose to the surface & cooled rapidly, sealing off the eruption point. Must do some geological research to see if there were volcanos here at some time in the (extremely distant) past
By this stage, we were bouncing around in the back seats like jumping beans & the road only got rougher from there. Soon we were fishtailing across sand, before the 4WD was engaged & the real driving began. I hadn't seen such 'bad' road since Father & I went seriously bush in his WW2 jeep, back in the day. Ryan guided our large Chevy up & over rocks, boulders & between spaces that looked too small, but obviously weren't, all the while calmly filling us in on names of various features, some family history & general conversation, occasionally checking the rear-view mirror, to make sure his Dad was still behind us (I'm still wondering why Chevrolet, in their wisdom, decided to call a proper off-roading vehicle the 'Suburban' - Makes it sound like a schoolbus. Especially since the 4WDs parents use as kids transport usually have names like 'Pathfinder' or 'Discovery'... reverse psychology perhaps??). After a hair-raising tight turn around a hillside with a significant drop off to the left, we arrived near the top of Hunt's Mesa, where we could get great views of Monument Valley below & a beautiful vantage for sunset in a couple of hours. So we unloaded the camera gear, grabbed some water & snacks, then John & Ryan left in the pickup, to go & set up the campsite for us, a little further up the Mesa.
And then there were just three of us... The serenity, the view down into the Valley, the silence - so quiet I could hear the motors in my DSLR whirring & a lone cow bellowing waaay down in the Valley. Did I mention the serenity? It was shattered after about 20 minutes by the arrival of another tour group - One minute I was standing alone on a rock outcrop gazing at the Valley below me, the next there were 8 Thai people who proceeded to pretty much occupy the area & fill it with chatter, mobile phone beeps, setting up tripods etc & more chatter. So much for the serenity
Eventually most of them settled out on a promontory, where we assumed they would wait for the sunset, like we were doing. Gary & I had earmarked that location earlier, so we now headed a bit further west around the Mesa instead & found a pretty good alternative where we could mostly shoot around or over the Thai group. Julia wandered over the entire area, eventually finding a quiet little spot with a good view & settled down to enjoy what peace & quiet she could get. She looked pretty happy...
As sunset came around, the available peace & quiet was again shattered by the other group, as they launched a drone off the promontory. And so, sunset was soundtracked by the drone's motor whirring all over the Mesa & out into the Valley. Serenity?? More like obscenity. Oh for a sniper rifle... or a rocket-launcher
The sunset though, was glorious. First the formations down in the Valley developed a golden red glow, then the sky followed suit. As the sun sank, the colours became more pastel-like, then gradually turned grey, the light fading just as Ryan returned to drive us to the campsite & dinner, up more of those rocks he called a road...
Julia & I had a tent to ourselves, a little way down a dirt trail, away from the cooking & dining area & behind the tents set up for the Thai group, now also known as 'those noisy bastards with the bloody drone'. They further failed to endear themselves to us, as they moved their tents into the trail space that led from our tent to the communal area, meaning a detour
But first, Gary, Ryan & I headed to a little ledge overlooking the lights of the various small settlements down in the Valley, to try out some night shots. I have to confess that my favourite shot was the one I took of the moon & clouds with my phone... Bed now then - even though it was probably only about 9pm (we've been through so many time-zones lately, I had no idea any more...)
A fold-up cot, a sleeping bag & a little pillow & a little night lamp provided by our Navajo hosts. What more could you want... except perhaps a king-sized bed delivered by helicopter, with an ensuite attached. Maybe that's only on the more expensive tours
no subject
General geological history of Utah. Volcanics about 40 million years ago.
no subject
Volcanic activity, continental drift, ice ages... let alone the possiblilty of comets, meteorites or invisible radiation waves destroying us from above
How lucky we are to be here... & yet we find so many ways to jeopardise that by ourselves...
no subject
Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon, Zion, Antelope Canyon, Rattlesnake Canyon, Colorado Canyon, Canyonlands, Monument Valey, Mystery Valley, Hunt's Mesa, Death Valley, the Mojave Desert... More people need to spend time in these places (but not when I'm there!!!) & maybe they'll get some perspective & understand what's worth living for & what's worth saving
And how...