We started pretty early from our campsite in Cortez this morning and headed toward Four Corners Monument (where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona all come to one point). It's not much of a monument other than a plaque on the ground, but we did stand in four places at once, so that was kind of cool. It was a quick stop – get out, take a few pictures, use the bathroom and head on your way. Of the four states, we picked Utah.
We drove into Navajo country with huge red rocks and canyons. We stopped in Bluff City, Utah for a bathroom break and gas. The town is most famous for twin rocks – two practically identical rocks (fairly self explanatory). It's all part of the Valley of the Gods. It's amazing how small you feel in the universe when you see some of this stuff. I can't imagine the weight on the rocks that make up the formation. We took a tiny side road to the historic section of town. The old houses they had there were made with an orange adobe-type brick which had a very southwest-ie feel, but then they had these gorgeous Victorian-type shutters and porches. It seemed kind of out of place, but they were really neat houses.
As we pressed on, we got a glimpse of Monument Valley from a long ways away! You see these odd shaped rock formations get larger as you get closer. The road to drive through Monument Valley is off the beaten path a bit further into Navajo country. We stopped at a small town called Mexican Hat just before we got there. It's called Mexican Hat because they have a rock formation that looks like a head with a Sombrero on top. A little abstract perhaps...
One thing Phill pointed out was the swirls and zig-zags of color in the sand on the mountain sides. Their shapes are similar to the patterns in a Mexican blanket. You can't help but wonder if this might have been the inspiration for their designs.
Monument Valley was strange altogether. You see odd rock formations all over the southwest, but I think what's striking about these is how tall and thin some are, and how they all seem to be placed together in this otherwise open desert. Again, you can picture exactly how this used to be the bottom of the ancient sea that once covered the area.
We made a quick stop for a snack at Goosenecks state park. The pictures don't do justice at all to the scenery. The pictures look very gray and the water looks muddy, but the sight was awesome! Over time, the river has cut huge canyons out of the rocks and left “goosenecks” still standing. It's kind of a strange sight.
We got to Natural Bridges National Monument in the late evening. We were starving by this point, so we found a little picnic area and made ourselves some dinner. We got our little cookstove out and heated up our bag of pasta and meatballs. Why haven't all of our meals been from a bag!?! It was delicious one-pot cooking! Ants were all over the picnic area though. Don't red ants bite? We weren't sure, but didn't feel like risking it. So, we did this kind of synchronized dinner prep walking and sitting on top of the table in order to avoid them. Considering the circumstances, it was a pretty smooth operation.
Natural Bridges National Monument has three main natural bridge formations in it. Natural bridges of this size were formed millions of years ago when sandstone was deposited and slowly uplifted as part of the Colorado Pleateau. Moving water eroded away the center of the rock creating the massive bridge. Arches are formed in a similar way, but more by the erosional force of frost and moisture. The bridges have been named several different times, but most recently were named after Hopi words after the park expanded to protect nearby Puebloan structures.
The first bridge we got to was called Sipapu Bridge, which means “the place of emergence.” The Hopi believed that the bridge was an entryway from which their ancestors came into the world. I didn't realize how much of a hike it was, so we did it in flip flops. Considering the hike is along rock edges, it probably wasn't the best idea. I walked down to the overlook point and Phill continued to the bottom of the canyon. From the lookout, I had a great bird's eye view of the canyon and the bridge. It is massive! The bridge is 220 feet in height with a 268-foot span, 31 feet wide and 53 feet thick. Phill was just a tiny spec once he got to the bottom.
We both hiked to the bottom of the second bridge, Kachina Bridge. It's about a mile and a half round-trip, but the elevation change is pretty significant. We got to the bottom and stood under the bridge. I had that feeling ain agof being so small and insignificant in the universe. The expanse of these bridges is unreal. We walked around a bit and headed back up the canyon.
The sun was starting to go down and we wanted to do the final hike to the Owachomo Bridge. Luckily, it was a relatively short hike. This bridge is only 9 feet in thickness now. Streams no longer erode away at it anymore, but frost and snow does. It's possible that a crack could send the bridge crashing down – or it may stand for another thousand years.
We stuck around for another half hour or so to watch the sunset and then headed on our way to Glen Canyon/Lake Powell. It was not a fun drive for Phill. There's flashing signs every couple of miles for free range cattle. Imagine hitting some farmer's cow in the middle of nowhere. Within 20 miles of the park, Phill saw headlights a long ways in front of him make a strange sweeping motion across the sky and then stop. By the time we approached, another car had arrived and I noticed something large on the side of the road. Sure enough, someone had hit a huge, black and white cow. Fortunately everyone was okay and they were able to pull the car out of the ditch. But honestly, what do you say to someone in that situation? “Hey man...sorry that cow came out of nowhere. Hope your night improves.” We pressed on.
On a side note, a cow's eyes don't have that reflective stuff in them that make most animals' eyes glow in headlights. Tricky...
We chose our campsite in the dark last night and set up as quickly as we could because we were very tired. But we woke up this morning with a completely uninterrupted view of Lake Powell. I guess we chose well. I can't wait to spend the day here. We have no plans...finally!
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