Lazy start to the day as we were not in any particular rush to set off. Half the journey would be back in the same direction we came in to Monument Valley, via Bluff. The GPS said we should take Highway 261 cross country from Mexican Hat. However, when we got onto this road there were warning signs that the road is not recommended for RVs and that it’s an ‘unimproved road’. We decided to turn round and find another route. The new route took us almost all the way back to Blanding but we picked up Highway 95 west, making it a circuitous route around the perimeter of the Valley of The Gods.
The journey took us approx six and a half hours, much longer than the 4 hours we anticipated and Google suggested and took us through a very varying landscape. We left the tall spires of red rock behind in Monument Valley and headed north across a more lowland region towards Bluff and Blanding. Once on Highway 95 (Scenic Byway) the landscape changed dramatically and regularly. There were ploughed fields and green grazing lands. Red rock gave way to orange and then to grey. At one point we felt we were in vast quarry, where diggers had moved giant mounds of stones and shale and deposited them in peaked mountains. The pointed tops seemed to be man made but it was all natural. It looked like cement before water is added. Then we saw deep red slickrock streaked with black or grey. It’s usual to see huge mountainous rocks, which are soft rocks topped with hard, so that the rock beneath weathers away leaving top-heavy formations. However, now we saw the exact opposite – bases of hard rock topped with gravel and shale, which had worn away from the soft top-rock. It was a topsy-turvey world.
We reached Glen Canyon and the landscape became more dramatic and we stopped for a rest at the side of the road. There was complete and utter silence. There was not even a breeze. All we could hear was the sound of our breathing. There were so few people in this area there were very long intervals before we saw other vehicles. And there were certainly no houses or towns. Complete isolation.
At last we crossed the Colorado River via a metal bridge. The view that opened up was so wonderful we just had to stop as soon as possible to get a better view. We climbed and climbed until we came to a viewing area just near a town called Hite. Hite WAS a town before being washed away. All that remains now is a gas station, some accommodation and somewhere to eat. But there’s also a boat jetty for sailing the Colorado.
The journey seemed never ending after this. The roads just stretched on and on as far as we could see to the horizon until, eventually, we approached Capitol Reef National Park.
After a stop at the Visitor’s Centre, where we watched a film about the area, we found the RV Campground and checked in. It’s a small campground with grass (which is unusual). We saw a sign for 4×4 rentals and called them. We have a car booked for tomorrow morning so we can take all the off-road trails in the National Park and see a lot more without having to take the RV.
We have a view across fields with horses and onto a forrested hillside, which is on fire at the moment! Forest fires must be common here with such heat, but no-one here seems to be concerned. It’s 8pm and we are off for a walk.
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