NOV 1/10, Monday, to Monument Valley and Bike rack mishap
We left at 9 am under a sunny sky. We drove 160 south to the “Four Corners” where we stopped to take a few pictures. We had to pay $3 each to get in. I was a bit disappointed in the whole area, but overall it was neat and I don’t regret paying to see it. We bought a souvenir for our wall and a pin for my hat!
We drove back north for about 5 miles and turned west on Hwy 41. It was not the best of road, very bumpy. It became 162 once we entered in Utah. We turned left on hwy 163 and stopped near Mexican Hat for a geo-cache. It’s a good thing too; I found our bikes leaning against the back of the rig and once we took the cover off, noticed the upright bar holding the bikes down had broken. We took the bikes off, put them in the truck box and backseat and drove into town where I found a welder and $30 later; we were back on the road. I’ll have to get that fortified later! Part of the cause was the bolt that holds the hitch tight had come loose allowing the whole thing to bounce up and down and creating too much stress on the rack.
The scenery really changed in this area. We were now looking at sandstone rocks, red cliffs and sand and eventually saw our first glimpse of the Monuments. We stopped for lunch, checked the bike rack and took a few pictures.
We continued and arrived at the Navajo Monument Park where we had to pay $5 each to get in to get to the visiting centre. We found everything just too expensive here so decided to leave. We went across the highway to Gouldings where we spent the night at a Good Sam Park for $25. At least that was cheap and we have full hook-up, WI-FI and Cable! Beautiful area surrounded by huge boulders and hill side made of red/orange sandstone. Later in teh evening, the furnace wasn’t giving any heat so I checked the tank and found both of them showing empty!??? It was dark so we turned on the electric heater and we went to bed.
Tomorrow, we head to Camp Verde, Arizona where I’ve made reservation for a week. This is a Western Horizon Park!
N 37* 00.420’
W 110* 12.914’
Alt: 5319 feet
We drove 144 miles (232KM) in 6.5 hrs (3.5 driving) @ an average 44 MPH
Nov 2, Tuesday, to Camp Verde, Arizona
We left at 9 am after I fixed our problem with the propane. It was a loose connection and I got it fixed so we were able to have coffee. (I can’t remember if I mentioned it but our coffee pot gave up and refuse to be turned on, even though it’s only a year old! Black Decker?????)
Anyway, we went south-west on 163 and stopped in Kayenta, a small Navajo town where I fuelled up at $3.09 and we had breakfast in a small restaurant built like a tepee or round house, depending on how you looked at it. It was very nice and the food was good and plentiful. Here, we turned on hwy 160 and headed south-west again to hwy 89 where we turned left and went south to Cameron. We stopped here to stretch our legs, let Tucker out and find a Geo-Cache (what can I say!?).
We finally arrived in Flagstaff after going the Coconito Pass @ 7200 feet then it was west on I-40 and south on I-17 to Camp Verde. It was a very good day and an enjoyable drive. We are now in Verde River RV Park, a WHR campground and we paid $35 for 7 nights. We are set up and it is really HOT here, especially compare to what we’ve been used to; it’s 89*F (30*C)
N 34* 36.042
W 111* 52.864
Alt: 3117 feet
We travelled 231 miles (371 Km) in 6 hrs (4.5 driving time) @ an average 53 MPH
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