2018.10.11 - Cortez, CO to Monument Valley, UT
Thursday, 10.11.2018 - Cortez, CO to Monument Valley, UT - We had a short drive ahead of us today, so we decide to backtrack the 10 miles to Mesa Verde National Park to go thru the Visitor Center. It was still rainy with clearing possible later this afternoon.
The Visitor Center was pretty busy and we were a bit surprised to see that you had to buy tour tickets to go thru many of the sites that you could "self-tour" the last time we were here. Of course, that was over 30-years ago when Shelly was barely two, so it's not really surprising. It was a 20-mile drive back into the park to see many of the other sites, so we decided to limit this visit to the Visitor Center. We did check out the campground on line and discovered it accommodated RV's up to 45-ft. A note for the future.
After checking out the Visitor Center, we were on the road towards Monument Valley by 11:30am, stopping for gas in Cortez before we continued south on Hwy 160. We turned west off 160 and followed the San Juan River via Utah Hwy 162 on the "Trail of the Anchients". It was definitely not a main thoroughfare route - the road was really "undulated" in stretches, probably due to all the clay formations that the road was built upon. To deal with the sudden dips and rises, you really had to slow down. Weather wasn't helping either in that it was raining most of the way. One unlucky U-Haul driver evidently didn't slow enough and ended up on it's side on a hard corner - luckily, help had just got there when we passed by.
Once we got to Hwy 163, the weather improved, especially after we passed south of the historic Mormon settlement of Bluff, Utah then on to Mexican Hat, named for a nearby rock formation.
The Visitor Center was pretty busy and we were a bit surprised to see that you had to buy tour tickets to go thru many of the sites that you could "self-tour" the last time we were here. Of course, that was over 30-years ago when Shelly was barely two, so it's not really surprising. It was a 20-mile drive back into the park to see many of the other sites, so we decided to limit this visit to the Visitor Center. We did check out the campground on line and discovered it accommodated RV's up to 45-ft. A note for the future.
Statue of the "Anchient Ones",
depicting an ancestral Puebloan
climbing up a cliff face
After checking out the Visitor Center, we were on the road towards Monument Valley by 11:30am, stopping for gas in Cortez before we continued south on Hwy 160. We turned west off 160 and followed the San Juan River via Utah Hwy 162 on the "Trail of the Anchients". It was definitely not a main thoroughfare route - the road was really "undulated" in stretches, probably due to all the clay formations that the road was built upon. To deal with the sudden dips and rises, you really had to slow down. Weather wasn't helping either in that it was raining most of the way. One unlucky U-Haul driver evidently didn't slow enough and ended up on it's side on a hard corner - luckily, help had just got there when we passed by.
Once we got to Hwy 163, the weather improved, especially after we passed south of the historic Mormon settlement of Bluff, Utah then on to Mexican Hat, named for a nearby rock formation.
Mexican Hat
South of Mexican Hat, you cross the "Old Bridge" spanning the San Juan River near Goosenecks State Park (named for the "goosenecks" in the river) then you're pretty much in sight of Monument Valley. There are numerous pull-outs along the highway where folks are snapping shots of the distant mesas, including many who stand in the middle of the road getting the infamous "vanishing point" view of the highway as it passes between the spires.
Monument Valley view
Valley of the Gods - via a dirt road not to "friendly" to motorhomes
Our destination tonight was the Monument Valley KOA. Not much to brag about - basically a bunch of gravel sites in a sparsely habitated area, but still pricey at $60/night. When we got there, it was nice and sunny, so we decided we'd cook outside tonight. By the time we set up the Instant-Pot on the picnic table, storms were starting to roll in again and it was soon raining. We opened the motorhome canopy and moved the cooking operation under cover.
Nice and sunny for a change from our KOA Campsite
Instant-Pot Stew under the canopy
Here comes the rain....
Being somewhat "out in the middle of nowhere", we were hoping for some "dark-sky" star-gazing, but it wasn't to be. Cloudy skies and rain continued throughout the night, so that was that.
Tomorrow - another short travel day to Moab, 150 miles back to the north. We tried to get reservations earlier for the campground at Deadhorse Point State Park, but it was booked solid for the next two weeks. Same went for the campground at Arches National Park. The Moab KOA would have to do for the next two nights.
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