The drive from Vermillion Cliffs wasn’t an easy one. We had some engine trouble that had us all on edge (thinking we would be stuck in Vermillion…some day a ranger would find our desiccated bodies on the side of the road, dried from the sun like human-sized raisins). Once we cleared the park, we had 3 hours of dry, hot, straight, boring highway through southern Utah and northern Arizona. Blargh.
Luke **really** wanted to go to Monument Valley to see where nearly every classic Western movie was filmed, so I built the itinerary to accommodate (so rarely do my travel companions have preferences that when they do voice one I pay attention). It was thus disappointing to find out a few weeks before we left that the Navajo Nation was closing all of its parks in an effort to reign in the pandemic. I get it, and I totally support their objectives, but it was also sad because we’d come all this way and were eager to spend some money on the reservation.
We spent the night in an RV park on the Navajo Reservation. It was interesting/saddening to see how strict the Navajo people were being regarding COVID. Curfews are in place overnight so it isn’t that lively right now. We were supposed to stay at a camp inside the Monument Tribal Park but that was cancelled so instead we found ourselves at a cheesy, commercial enterprise that had arbitrarily restrictive policies. No shower after 5pm but the pool is open until 7? I’m sorry, but that means 3 incredibly sweaty, stinky people in my party used the pool to remove the first layers of gross. The RV park was basically a gravel yard. Not great, but it got the job done.
Next up – and last in Utah – was Arches National Park. To be continued…
Vacation Days 