Day 4 Out West

The next morning we woke up and began our drive towards Monument Valley. 
The road is incredibly picturesque - it is so straight leading up into Monument Valley. 

 Monument Valley is operated by the Navajo - and when you arrive it is a dusty road with warning signs about going into the valley loop if you don't have 4 wheel drive. We took that as a challenge and took our Ford Edge in. We made it! But it was certainly nerve wracking in some of the areas with sand. The roads are not maintained very well - and the driving is just a free for all. Definitely one of the worst "roads" I've ever traveled on - but we saw a Camaro do it, so I guess anyone can make it work! 

The weather was not ideal while we were there - it was so cold! We packed for the desert - not 50 degree weather. 

 After that, we loaded up - hit up a McDonald's for some Big Macs, and then headed towards our next stop in Page, Arizona. We checked in to our hotel, and then quickly headed to see our first site - Horseshoe Bend. 

Horseshoe Bend is one of the most breathtaking sites, and it's a fairly short distance to the view from the parking area. It is a shear drop off at the edge of the cliff, and the water below is such a beautiful color. We were able to see the most beautiful sunset, and the line of photographers at sunset is impressive along the side of the cliff. 

Then we headed for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, and hit the hay before our adventure to Lower Antelope Canyon the next morning.

Day 3 Out West

Day 3- We woke up and hit the road to head to Blanding, UT
Right outside of Moab we stopped at a total tourist trap called Hole in the Rock

Next, we stopped at Hovenweep National Monument - where Ancestral Puebloan cultures built dwellings along a valley. The dwellings were several stories, and remarkable considering how long ago they were constructed.

Then we continued our drive to Natural Bridges National Monument. The natural bridges area was incredible, and very few people were in the park because the weather was beginning to get bad - but this made for some pretty cool cloud coverage.

The bridges were stream-carved, and it's truly amazing to see the height of the arches. The bridge pictured is the Sipapu bridge, and at its arch it is 220 feet high. 

After we saw the bridges we headed back to the hotel after a long day in the car, to prepare for our next day's drive into Death Valley.