Day 63 ~ After arriving at Goulding's Campground about noon, we got settled in and realized we had a whole afternoon free. We decided to drive over to the Monument Valley entrance to see what the cost would be to get in, and also if we needed a tour to be able to do the photography I hoped for. At the gate, we found out that the pass was good for 3 days, so decided to go ahead and get it, check out the Information Center and then spend the entire day there the next day. That left most of the afternoon for exploring so we decided to travel up to Valley of the Gods. About 20 miles north, you travel through the town of Mexican Hat, aptly named as you can see by the first picture. Another few miles and you find the turn-off for the drive through the valley. A 17 mile loop past magnificent awe inspiring formations, we stopped and Bob got on his bike to take off on his own, while I did part of the drive slowly to take photos. Picked him up 10 miles or so later and we continued through the rest of the drive. The new bike is perfect for him. Comfortable and uphill rides seem no problem. Great day, like most all others have been this last 2 months. We are fortunate indeed.
Hints:
Monument Valley is part of the Navajo Nation /pass is good for 3 days / 20.00 per car - up to 4 people.
Goulding's Campground - 60.00 per night SPENDY - but very nice with all hookups and lots of trails and history of the area to explore.
Valley of The Gods - There is PLENTY of boondocking pull-outs along the 17 mile drive. We would stay here if coming through this way again. Some at the very beginning would fit our size rig, but we wouldn't have taken it on the whole drive as it was very wash-boardy.
