We got as far as Tuba City AZ and spent the night.  We drove through Monument Valley where all the westerns were filmed.  They would have to edit out all the power lines to the homes if they shot there these days.

Monument Valley

Monument Valley

Canyon DeChelly



White House Canyon De Chelly



Spider Rock--Spider Woman taught Dineh to Weave

Next stop was Canyon De Chelly (deshay) which, unlike Mesa Verde is still being used by the Navajo Nation.  The Dineh have farms in the bottom of all the canyons, sharing the ruins on an everyday basis.  The drive along the South Rim was great, lots of wildflowers, and the lookouts were easy walks down from each parking lot.  It might have been better to do this before Mesa Verde, since you can't go into the ruins here without a Native American guide.  The Navajo Nation controls all the access rather than the national park service.  It was still very interesting.



Ann in Four States




Ken in Four States



We stopped at Four Corners for pictures--it's more for the experience than the view--trust me.  The monument is the only thing there.  We decided to come back to Cortez because the campground here has the best showers and the most grass of any of the places we stopped.  When we get to Texas I will have to give everything in the camper, inside and out, a good cleaning--dust, dust, dust, and grit!

We drove out to Shiprock on Saturday.  Ann wanted to see it up close and personal after over-flying it at 30,000 feet so many times.  We got within a couple of miles, but the road to the rock is 4WD quality so we decided to use the long lens instead.  It is part of a volcanic upthrust in the middle of all the sandstone pillars--very interesting.  Sunday we went to Church again in Cortez, three weeks from the first time we were here.  It was fun--they told us one more time and we would have a calling.