Restock and Ride

Saturday 9 May 2015

I'm having a fundamental problem figuring out what time it is.  "So how difficult can that be?", you ask,  "Just look at your watch dufuss."  Well first of all, I don't wear a watch anymore because I'm pretending to be a millennial.  Of course Val wears a watch, but she refuses to change it from one time zone to another, so I only know what time it is in Chicago. (Not useful.)  Thus I rely on my millennial gadgets, (cell phone, lap-top, dash mounted GPS), all of which get their times from various sources depending on where they think we are, AND NONE OF THEM AGREE.

The issue is that all of UTAH is on Mountain Daylight Time (MDT), but Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time (MST).  EXCEPT for the Arizona Navajo Indian Reservation which uses Utah time (MDT), however the Arizona Hopi Reservation, which is completely surrounded by the Navajo Indian Reservation uses the non-Indian Arizona MST.  (Revenge of the Native Americans.) Since as we are dipping in and out of Utah, Arizona, Navajo and Hopi lands, we could be in one zone but the cell tower in another and the dash GPS probably doesn't know the zone rules.

All of which is my excuse, (plus it's rainy and cold), for not getting up AGAIN this morning until Val's stomach starts grumbling.

Anyway.... we eventually got on the road and made it about 500 yards to the nearby Wahweap Marina/Resort gift shop to buy....?  Then another 100 yds for gas and a propane fill.  Then another 2 miles to see the Glen Canyon Dam (and its gift shop), then about 1.5 miles for a Safeway stop.  By this time it after noon and we're ready for lunch.  Great Mexican restaurant in Page AZ, (across the street from Safeway).

 Dam Security

Dam Big Dam

So its now about 1:00 pm (+/- an hour) and we've progressed all of roughly 4 miles, (and a block to lunch).  Dam good thing I didn't have a plan.

Actually I did have a plan (consisting of Plan A and Plan B).  Plan A was out the window due to the late start so the fall-back was to camp at Navajo National Monument, about 2 hours up the road (and which although is inside the Navajo Reservation, is on MDT because it's under Federal jurisdiction).  Go figure.

The first scenic view along the way was:

Navajo Generating Station

Now you might say UGH, (no ethnic slur intended), what a terrible thing to plant in the middle of this magnificent country.  However, the last time we were here, (about 30 years back), these three stacks were spewing thick black smoke for as far as the eye could see.  A substantial improvement.

Beyond that, some pretty scenery as we passed from time zone to time zone.

Down stream from the dam.

Grand Staircase, Escalante National Monument in the distance.

Just more eroded dirt.

We stopped at one overlook in the middle of nowhere and were immediately approached by a cute, fluffy dog with no obvious owner.  She sat down about 10 feet away from the car window and cast us this "I'm lost and can you please help me?" look. Being a sucker for big round eyes, I threw her a couple of pieces of Val's leftover Chicken Fajita and instantly she was joined by two other not so cute, but equally hungry accomplices who eventually consumed ALL of Val's leftover Fajitas plus a slab of roast beef.  When it was all done, I felt shamefully conned by the doe-eyed leader of this band of gypsies.

Finally reached Navajo Nat'l Monument where at over 7,000 feet, it had been snowing earlier in the day.  Never to be daunted from her daily walk, Val shamed me out into the now clearing (but still cold) early evening.  The walk was to an overlook of Betatakin Pueblo Ruins and some spectacular canyon scenes.  Well worth freezing my posterior off.

OK... Same scene but different lighting.

We're now back, hunkered down in the Funmobile with the gas furnace fired up and catching up on email, blog, news, etc.  Surprising we even have a connection as we are pretty distant from any population center or even a main road.  Forecast calling for a low of 36 degrees so we shouldn't have a freeze-up issue.  Fingers crossed.

Good night from Navajo National Monument (but on MDT)

Brad and Val