Day 7 -- Flagstaff, Arizona to Monument Valley, Utah -- 172 Miles

Today we rolled out of the Flagstaff KOA camp where we have so much history, and headed down the highway going west. We needed to fill the tank (easy on the wallet at three dollars a gallon) and stop at the nearby Safeway supermarket to fulfill our grocery list. It always kills most of the morning when shopping is necessary, and this morning was no exception.

By 10:30 we had our full tank, our full fridge, and were headed for the open road -- in the wrong direction as it happens. I knew we had to grab Route 89 toward Monument Valley, but I thought Route 89 forged its way north couple of miles west of our camp location. Wrong. We were already on Route 89 (which used to be Highway 66) and once we got turned around and headed East the road signs made that perfectly clear.

Initially we had an interim destination that we hoped to reach long before Monument Valley, that of the Wupatki National Monument where we hoped to see sandstone dwellings that dated to the eleven hundreds when the Cohonia, Kayenta, and the Sinagua cultures converged at Wupatki for mutual protection and innovation sharing.

The road to the Wupatki National Monument Vistors Center left Route 89 and coursed about 15 miles across the high desert. Even before reaching the center we could often see atop small sandstone bluffs the handiwork of the ancients as they constructed dwelling using the natuarlly-occuring sandstone blocks that were constantly weathering out of the mesa sides.

We really enjoyed our visit as the Visitor Center folks were extremely friendly and helpful and our Lifetime National Park pass got us in for free. The biggest attraction of the center was the several hiking trails that led visitors down into the sandstone-studded arroyos to get a closeup view of how the natives lived close to a thousand years ago. I really like the trailside flora identification plaques that helped us recognize and appreciate the many types of sage, cacti, and grasses that lay around Wupatki.

After our visit we stayed long enough to have our lunch in the parking lot and Concetta called ahead to secure a KOA camp reservation for the night in Monument Valley. After that, we made our way back to Route 89 and hastened to put some miles behind us. The reason for the rush was that we had unfortunatley picked up an extra hour while we sat eating our lunch because the time zone had changed to Mountain Zone. Since it was now two o'clock and we had better than a hundred and seventy miles to go, haste was a necessity.

We spent the rest of the day until just a few minutes after 5:00 p.m. racing to get checked in before the office closed. Nevertheless, the beauty of the drive as we headed north on Route 89, Route 160, and finally Ruote 163 to reach our destination was stunning. All the the sky had been studded with a thick layer of cumulus clouds. The clouds were fluffy and whispy but darkened and ominous. As the day wore on the sky continued to darken and at time we felt like we were completely surrounded.

Soon, on the far horizons in every direction, wisps of diaffonous blackness appeared telling us that rain was falling everywhere across the darkened orroyos and the lofty sandstone megaliths alike. Darker and darker the surrounding skies appeared until in one instantaneous stroke, rain began to pelt the RV huge droplets that quickly turned to mushy hail keeping the full-on wipers busy.

Finally, as we motored north the last few miles the sun broke out and promised a late afternoon of easy setup for the rig. But good news was not awaiting us as we checked in at the Monument Valley KOA. When I showed the clerk our KOA card she said that she had not received our reservation. I'm sure our faces fell at the news, but then the clerk hastened to add, "But we have a full-hookup site for you. Things got even better when she told as the price for the night as it was 30% cheaper than the on-line reservation site had indicated.

We were so thrilled that we booked two nights. We decided that we wanted to take one of the guided tours that offered to come right to the the camp to pick us up and we'd get to spend a morning really getting to see the monuments in Monument Valley. According to the brochure the vehicle has completely open sides which should make for great photos.

So here we are, taking it easy. Tomorrow we're going to go on taking it easy, well, except for the fact with other half of the day tomorrow is going to be devoted to laundry. That's always fun. We'll get to see if all our socks come back with their mates. Tonight Concetta concocted an excellent dinner of pork chops, fried potato chunks with Anaheim peppers, green salad, and a bit of very nice Cabernet aged in burbon barrels. Rounding out the meal was a tiny bit of chocolate and a sip of coffee. Just the end of a perfect day.