A MONUMENTAL VISIT........

10.05.14
Left Flagstaff 9am, snowcapped mountains but pleasantly warm, D&M   now smelling much nicer as they can shower in the van with hot water.
Long uninteresting roads across flat plains with only herds of buffalo to watch as you head towards the mountains 100 miles away. Occasional Indian raiding parties gallop pass but after I greet them with my now standard phrase ' How ....I bring  greetings from big queen across the water ' they gallop off to raid some poor homestead as and leave us to continue.
After Camerons Trading Post, (no relative I hope) we turn right to Tuba City where we stop for coffee in a diner and have a plate of puppies. Not my idea and I'm not going there so go look it up somewhere, and restock at a Bashas supermarket...... no alcohol available as we are now in the Nations and alcohol is banned. Bloody shades of Morocco but at least we are well  stocked.
Suddenly scenery gets interesting as we head for Kayenta ;
red mesas, massive rock formations, and the promise of things to come. As we approach our destination of Gouldings Trading Post, we cross into Utah ( clocks go forward 1 hour)  and we enter the Navajo reservation that is Monument Valley.  Gouldings is historic, go look it up on Wikipedia, and a cracking campsite in Red Box Canyon with stunning views out to the valley.  We have a jolly evening , first   having  been taken on the shuttle bus to the cinema to watch films on the history and culture. This place is John Wayne country, Stagecoach having been filmed right here after the Gouldings collared John Ford and showed him pics of the area, followed by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon.. They show JW movies every night in their cinema and have a museum.......tbc