11/10/14 Monument Valley or Bu......well maybe not

Well, the best laid plans and whatnot......I left Goosenecks with the intention of heading to Monument Valley. I stopped and saw the Mexican Hat Rock, then spotted a cafe by the rive. After a pleasant walk by the river followed by a truly awful Navajo Taco at the Old Bridge Grille, I continued my journey. Well, I could tell it was windy, but I didn't realize how bad till I got to the top of a hill and saw Monument Valley engulfed in dust. :-( I pulled over & mulled my options.....decided to head back to Bluff & Sand Island BLM. I hoped it would be warmer & less windy there.

 

11/10/2014 12:05:22 PM


Crazy that that rock doesn't come tumbling down.
11/10/2014 12:05:40 PM


Pretty sure these petroglyphs over the cafe were a modern addition
11/10/2014 12:31:19 PM



11/10/2014 12:32:01 PM


Is this the same San Juan River I've been staring down 1300' at for the past few days? Hard to believe, especially since I was less than 10 miles away.
11/10/2014 12:32:54 PM


Dunno what this was but it was cool.
11/10/2014 12:35:53 PM



11/10/2014 12:36:40 PM


It was nice to be able to touch the water that had been so remote from my perch high above.
11/10/2014 12:39:21 PM


Strange symmetry
11/10/2014 12:41:11 PM


Yeah, I parked in a bad spot. I wasn't QUITE blocking access to the hotel. Of course, if they don't want people to park there they probably shouldn't paint lines....
11/10/2014 12:44:42 PM


Hehe... view from my table
11/10/2014 12:52:11 PM


Sigh......this looked fabulous. Unfortunately looks were deceiving. My first Navajo taco was a disappointment. The chili was so watery it turned the frybread to mush instantly/ Bummer.
11/10/2014 1:00:46 PM


So many closed and abandoned places!
11/10/2014 1:44:47 PM


I pulled over here to evaluate my options. I was getting blown all over the road and the dust was just horrendous. I finally decided to turn tail and run. Sand Island BLM by the river was supposed to be nice, and I hoped lower elevation would mean warmer and less wind. Monument Valley was going to have to wait.
11/10/2014 1:45:14 PM


I wondered if Valley of the Gods might be sheltered by the mesa. Um, not. Driving through there was like having a sandblaster aimed at you. It was almost comical.
11/10/2014 2:08:56 PM



11/10/2014 2:12:03 PM



11/10/2014 2:12:12 PM



11/10/2014 2:12:29 PM


It just kept getting worse. I hoped no one at Goosenecks lost their stuff as I'm sure it was windy up there too.
11/10/2014 2:12:46 PM


My hope that things would be better at a lower altitude turned out to be correct.  Sand Island was still windy, but it wasn't sandblaster, hang on to your hat & car doors, windy. The wind through the trees was actually very pleasant. When I was in the camper it sounded like a light rain.


Gorgeous cottonwoods(?) at Sand Island.
11/10/2014 2:32:28 PM


Not sure if it shows here but the ramp is more like a ledge. :-) I guess the river is low....
11/10/2014 2:33:00 PM


I scored a site on the river, yay!
11/10/2014 2:46:03 PM


Can't beat waterfront!
11/10/2014 2:46:14 PM


My site
11/10/2014 2:46:33 PM


This is a pretty place with its soaring rock walls, softly rushing river, and a nice mix of vegetation.
11/10/2014 3:26:16 PM



11/10/2014 3:26:58 PM


Fireball :-)
11/10/2014 3:28:12 PM



11/10/2014 3:28:20 PM


Yeah, ok. I'm pretty sure we've heard this before....introducing non-native pests to eradicate non-native pests is usually sooooo successful. :-(
11/10/2014 3:30:20 PM


There are hundreds & hundres of petroglyphs here.
11/10/2014 3:34:44 PM



11/10/2014 3:36:06 PM


I used the cloning tool in Lightroom to eradicate some graffiti. It would have been better with Photoshop but I don't have it on this computer. It's a shame people are such assholes.
11/10/2014 3:36:25 PM



11/10/2014 3:36:47 PM



11/10/2014 3:37:23 PM





11/10/2014 3:37:55 PM



11/10/2014 3:38:07 PM



11/10/2014 3:38:31 PM



11/10/2014 3:38:39 PM


More graffiti removed here using the cloning tool.
11/10/2014 3:38:45 PM



11/10/2014 3:39:05 PM



11/10/2014 3:41:58 PM



11/10/2014 3:49:34 PM


Loved this view from my site
11/10/2014 3:59:25 PM


Incredible fall colors here.
11/10/2014 4:29:56 PM



11/10/2014 4:36:24 PM



11/10/2014 4:40:19 PM


The river looks so calm and placid, hard to believe it carved those incredible canyons.
11/10/2014 4:43:02 PM


I thought about moving to this site but a school group had the 5 adjacent sites reserved for the next day. I decided to stay where I was.
11/10/2014 4:46:53 PM


Sure was a pretty view though.
11/10/2014 4:48:25 PM



11/10/2014 4:50:55 PM



11/10/2014 4:51:57 PM



11/10/2014 4:52:03 PM



11/10/2014 4:53:11 PM


I thought this guy was fixing to leave with the pop top up. I was thinking, "Oh, that looks like a bad idea!" But he was only backing up a few more feet. Their nose had been kind out in the road....
11/10/2014 6:22:56 PM