Sunday, September 15, 2024
With another day of driving east ahead of me, I took my time getting out. I kinda hated leaving the place. It was super quiet and the extra sitting room was excellent.
There were three stops scheduled for the morning. All of them had short trails. The first was a place called The Toadstools. Out and back it's pretty easy 1.8 miles.
After an easy walk, mostly in a sandy wash, you arrive at the toadstools.
Along the trail I met a woman with a trash bag and grabber. She and a team of volunteers keep the area clean. I asked about trails ahead. She suggested a place called The Beehives, just this side of Page, Arizona.
She was right. The loop trail is a mile and a half with only some light scrambling.
Of course since I was passing through Page, Arizona anyway, I felt compelled to revisit Horseshoe Bend.
I stopped in twelve years ago. It was a parking lot and a dirt path to the overlook.
Now there's a bigger lot and paid entry, $10 a car. From there it's a half mile gravel path. And yeah, it was busy.
Note the boats down below...
From there it was just a drive northeast. It didn't look this far on the maps.
When you approach the Utah state line, you pass through Monument Valley. With all the people wanting to pull off and take pictures, the state has added more and more pullouts.
The biggest pullout they've actually named the Forrest Gump Viewpoint. If you've seen the movie, you know it.
Look at all these dufuses standing in the road...
My home for the night was a few miles north in the town of Mexican Hat. There's actually a rock formation atop a hill resembling a sombrero. Not seen here.
It's not visible from the San Juan Inn, my home for the night.
Check in was a little surreal. As I walked out of the lobby, four big guys rumbled up in even bigger bikes. They took off their helmets and started conversing in French.
Turns out they're from Quebec.
Sunset from the motel walkway...
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