I never thought a two-day trip from one of our stops to another would warrant its own post, but with all we saw in what should have been a five and a half hour drive… yeah, this will be a hell of a post.
So Long, Fruita
We left our AirBnB in Fruita at around 7:30 am on Saturday, September 6. We made a stop at the coffee shop for one last mocha from Bestslope Coffee, then after stopping for gas at the nearby Sinclair, we were on Interstate 70 back in to Utah.
We exited the interstate at the same exit we’d taken just days before when we went to Arches National Park and made our way south, through Moab once more, then drove another four-ish hours to our first stop on this transitional trip, Four Corners Monument.
Four Corners Monument
Four Corners Monument marks the only place in the U.S. where four states meet at one point- Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico all meeting in the heart of Navajo Nation.
As we approached, we stopped at the booth on the road and paid our $16 fee ($8 per person) and headed up and behind the monument.
The marker itself is surrounded by a colonnade of sorts, with vendor booths surrounding the large medallion marking the convergence of the four states. Many of the booths were empty the day we visited, as were ALL of the Navajo taco trucks surrounding the monument which was a major disappointment for me.
I locked and started the truck with Ash waiting for us and we walked in to the monument. There was a line of people waiting to have their pictures taken as they found creative ways to ensure that they were in all four states at once. Brandy and I forwent that option and instead, waited for a break in the line and snapped a couple quick pics of the corners then went along our way, Brandy shopping the vendors around the inside perimeter and Ash and I taking a little stroll around the outside.
After we’d gotten our fill of goodies, we packed back up into the truck and headed out back west to our next big stop: Monument Valley.
Pictures from Four Corners can be found here.
Monument Valley
If you’ve seen a John Ford western movie, you’ve seen Monument Valley. If you’ve seen Forrest Gump, you’ve seen Monument Valley. In fact, there have been well over two dozen movies, plus countless TV shows, video games, and in other media. It’s iconic orange and gold buttes are recognizable in any art form.
The approach to the park is home to the famous Forrest Gump Hill, the hill where Forrest decides that he’s tired and wants to quit running.
Such an iconic location draws crowds for sure, and as expected, as we approached, we saw several cars parked on either side of the road with people meandering about the highway that runs right through the area. People were standing in the middle of the highway with that infamous sense of entitlement, that they belong there and that the cars trying to pass by should be second to them. I did slow… a little… as I passed through the crowds. The fella in the full-sized Ram pickup was not happy with the situation and rolled coal as he quickly accelerated past me and past the crowds. Once we got past that hill, though, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.
The region sits squarely in the Navajo Nation, just as Four Corners Monument does and, as such, we stopped to pay our entry fee as we approached the park. At the booth, the toll taker gave us a map and showed us where we were allowed to drive, specifically a 17 mile loop through the park, showcasing some of the most iconic sandstone structures to be seen. She did mention, too, that the road was an “off-road” trail. She used that specific term: off-road. I figured she just meant it was an unpaved gravel road like so many that we have traversed in our travels through the farmlands of the Midwest.
Spoiler Alert: I was wrong.
We made a quick stop at the visitor’s center where I ran in for our requisite trinkets, including a magnet and shotglass. I also looked for stickers for our water bottles but the only ones they offered were large decals so we skipped that. I headed back out to the truck where Brandy and Ash were patiently waiting and we went about our way toward the unpaved road.
Immediately upon leaving the pavement, we were greeted with the jostling of a true off-road trail. Pitted trails, large rocks to avoid, washouts bringing the wide trail down to a narrow, one-lane passage… it was magnificent! I had missed true off-roading so much and having the opportunity to do so again made me so happy! Brandy and Ash though? Not so much…
We started the circuit and stopped at many of the scenic overlooks and vistas to take pictures and video. Each of the major attractions had their own turnout/parking area where vehicles would file in and park, cameras readied and pics and vids taken by the thousands. We followed suit, pulling off at the most spectacular scenes.
As many of these pullouts were makeshift souvenir stands set up by local Navajo, them all selling their wares, whether pottery, jewelry or textiles such as blankets and ponchos. Brandy got out at a few of these spots to do some browsing but, surprisingly, didn’t buy much (I did buy bracelet for her at one of these stands though.)
At another one of these turnouts, we found a loose dog wandering through the lot. It was a mangy looking little fella, he looked hungry and I felt really bad, but there were signs all over the place stating to not feed the animals so I did my best to avoid doing so, with a heaping side of guilt, of course.
We continued on our way and at another lot further up the road, we encountered another dog. This dog appeared to be “on duty” though, meticulously watching a flock of cows or a school of horses off in the distance. We weren’t sure if these were actually ranch dogs (there was at least one true ranch that we passed by on the trail) but it sure would have made sense if they were.
Anyway, the loop continued on seeing us pass iconic sights such as Mitten Butte, John Ford’s Point and The Thumb.
The loop reconvenes with the main road which then, in turn, led us out of the park and we continued on our way along the border between Utah and Arizona until we stopped for a quick overnight in Page, Arizona.
Pictures from Monument Valley are here.
Horseshoe Bend
After one of the worst night’s sleep on the trip, we left the Motel 6 in Page just before 9:00. I did not realize we were so close to Horseshoe Bend, so once I’d discovered it was a quick jaunt to check it out, we did just that.
We pulled into the parking lot five minutes later and before you knew it, we were on our way down a mile-long trail toward the overlook.
It was a sunny and hot day. We were warned at the gate that it was going to be hot so take water. I noted that the trail to the overlook was slightly downhill which put in my head the struggles we were going to have coming back. No matter at this point though. We carried on and about 25 minutes after leaving Clyde in the parking lot, we were looking down 1,000 feet into the Colorado River.
As early in the morning as we were there, the walls of the great canyon cut harsh shadows over the view and my pictures reflect that.
I marveled at the tiny green specks of kayaks floating on the river so far below. They looked like grains of rice from that height.
After we’d seen the sights and taken the pics, we started the long, uphill walk back up to the parking lot. The sun was out full force by this time and the day was quickly warming up. We stopped a couple of times at the large bus stop-style shades they had a couple of along the way then finally, we made it back to the top of the trail, back to Clyde and we were on our way.
Pictures from Horseshoe Bend can be found here.
MST vs MDT
Hovering right around the Utah/Arizona border for an hour and a half in September, we pretty consistently battled the switch from Mountain Standard Time and Mountain Daylight Time. See, Arizona doesn’t observe daylight saving time but Utah does. Further complicating matters is the fact that the Navajo Nation DOES observe daylight saving time, so the areas of Arizona that are part of the reservations ARE on MDT whereas the rest of the state is on MST.
Soon, we got to Kanab, Utah, which is really where I’d wanted to stay, but was super expensive. Instead, when we got to Kanab, we hung a left and headed south into Fredonia, Arizona, a short 10 minutes down the road, to our awaiting AirBnB.
We turned down a small side street and both of us were somewhat dismayed by the condition of the houses on the street. We passed an abandoned and, quite frankly, spooky-looking service station a little way down the road, which in and of itself, I thought the placement was odd. Usually, you’ll see service stations on the main road, not on a small residential side street. That may explain why it was closed and abandoned.
A little further down the street, we approached our destination. We saw a house with a tall privacy fence all the way around and an old camper van and Jeep sitting in front of the fence, on the property. It was weird, but hey, let’s not judge the book by its cover, right?
I backed right up to the entry gate in the fence and Brandy, Ash and I opened the gate to a lush desert oasis hiding behind the wooden pickets. A nice, well-kept, green yard surrounded a flagstone patio with a sturdy pergola built above it. Next to the seating area was a fire pit and a couple of Adirondack chairs then, on the other side of the seating area was a hot tub that, unfortunately was unusable for the summer.
The inside of the house was cute, well-decorated with native Inuit style decor. The main bedroom was in a loft, the only room upstairs. It was a large room, large enough for a queen bed, dressers, a sitting chair, a desk and chair for Brandy to work at and some room to spare.
Getting up to that room was a challenge though. The stairs were narrow, steep, and turned a bend about three steps up. The treads were very narrow, to the point that when walking down, I’d have to turn my feet sideways on the tread to avoid slipping down the stairs. Then, the ceiling as we started up the stairs was very low, and despite the signs warning us to duck, I still managed to conk my noggin a few times during our stay. All of this to say, hauling both of our heavy suitcases and the tech bin for Brandy to be able to work was quite the challenge. I made it though, and got everything situated in short order.
There was mud room/laundry room immediately inside the door where we stored all of our empty and otherwise unused totes and luggage. Once everything was unpacked, I ran to the store to grab a few things, then went back to wait for Christy and Hayden to arrive later in the evening. I cooked up some nachos stuffs and we all ate before heading to bed in preparation for our first big journey of this stop: Zion National Park.
Conclusion
We’ve made multi-part drives on many, many occasions on our travels, usually just stopping for a quick overnight on our way to our ultimate destination. This was the most action-packed and satisfying intermediate trip we’ve taken. Seeing three iconic sights in the course of two days between Fruita and Fredonia is something I had no idea we were going to do until we did it and boy, am I glad we did.
There is a HUGE, action-packed week’s worth of adventure coming up here so make sure you read on for those.
Until then!
-Phil