As we left Grand Junction we reflected on the art we had seen and Southwestern influence that seemed to us
visible in many of the pieces. There is no doubt that the climate, the vegetation, the animals and, particularly, the Native Americans in this
area have played a tremendous role in the art, architecture and lifestyle we have found here. One of the paintings we saw in Grand Junction was particularly poignant in that it not only portrayed the things we just mentioned but the landscape these three friends we passing through seemed to have changed very little since their time. We continued west
on I-70 and before long we crossed back into Utah. In the distance on
 |
| Colorado River and Mountains
|
both sides of the car we could see lofty mountain peaks but the road itself enjoyed a stretch of remarkably flat land known as the Colorada Plateaus. There are two segments of this prarie and they would obviously have been a tremendous boon to early travelers in the area. Just past the tiny
community of Brendel we turned abruptly south on US-191 and made our way toward the entrance to Arches National Monument, paralleling part of the approximately 32,000
miles of the Union Pacific Railroad. This part was pretty far south of Promintory, Utah, the site where the
famous "Golden Spike" was driven. The area through which we were now traveling increasingly displayed the huge, unusual rock formations so often seen in movies and post-cards. Their beauty is really breathtaking and we took tons of pictures which we don't have space for here. But - one picture we will add is one you should be familiar with. See if you can identify it! Fortunately for us there are 'rest areas' along US-191 and we took advantage of one. As we pulled in we
noticed we were also near a boat landing on the Colorado River where rafters enter and leave the river on day-long rafting excursions. We saw a number of rafts filled with folks and they really seemed to be enjoying themselves - although - their navigation skills seemed a bit rusty. Near a section of craggy peaks known, oddly, as "Three Penguins" we said goodbye to the railroad
and made our way toward the entrance to Arches National Monument. Although we had thought that the scenery was spectacular for miles, as
we entered the park it became clear that we were in a really special place. The stratified colors of the rocks ranged from almost stark white through beige and yellow to pink, orange, red, burgundy and black. The shapes that rose on every side were mysterious and beautiful. We learned that many of them were referred to as "Hoodoos." In ancient times the Native American residents of the area believed that individuals who did
not live a good life were destined to be turned to stone. They were
doomed to stand for eternity brooding over the land in which they could no longer reside and forbidden from entering the after life.
We even stopped occasionally to take a closer look at some of the flowers that seemed to have
taken root in almost unbelievably
arid surroundings. Many of the formations we saw around us evoked images of huge animals and
we thought we could identify elephants, birds, groups of people conversing, dinosaurs, the Sphinx and wandering giants.
I'm going to try to let some of these amazing pictures do the talking for themselves. They can do a much better job than I can.
Our visit to Arches was quite 'spiritual' in that it is difficult to be in surroundings such as this without feeling the power of forces beyond
ourselves. But, as with all good things, our visit had to come to an end some time. We reluctantly saddled up and hit the road out of the park.
It was time to prepare for our evening stop and we were approaching a place we had been looking forward to - Moab, Utah. Amazingly, when we arrived there was a huge festival underway with music, art, crafts, food and much more. We even met people from South Carolina!!! And the bands playing were straight out of the 60's. In fact, we felt like the entire community was a 'throwback' to an earlier time and we really enjoyed it!!! Since this post is way overdue (due to the fact that we had to
go out of town for a while) so we'll close for now and get it out there for you to
see. Oh - remember that I asked if you could recognize one of the earlier photos???? Well - back up there at the top there is one with a caption - "Colorado River and Mountains." If you haven't recognized it yet ... it's the picture at the top of our blog!!! We really liked it and wanted to share it with everyone. See ya.
The Mesa itself is deceptively large and stretches for more than fifty miles. The road into the park rises well above the tree-line seen in the photo and can be a bit harrowing in places. However - the place is phenomenal. The drive to the Visitor's Center is not too bad and there is 
much to see in that area alone. In fact while we were there a number of Native American craftsmen from Zuni, Navajo and Ute tribes were there selling their carvings and jewelry and we could not possibly pass that opportunity up. Lodging is also available near the center and roads and trails lead from there to many if not all of the more than 4,000 archaeological sites and more than 600 dwelling sites. Mesa Verde was discovered in 1874 but did not become a National Park until 1906. During that interval - and even after it became a park - the pueblo dwellings and other tribal sites were absolutely pillaged by artifact seekers and people who plundered them for objects to sell. The
damage that was done and the items that were lost are incalculable but the good news is that it is such a 
rich cultural and historical site that Mesa Verde is now one of the most carefully managed archaeological sites in the world. We could have spent days at that incredible place - but - there was much more to 
explore so we reluctantly packed up and headed down US-160 through the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation - toward a truly unusual place. About twenty or twenty five miles after leaving Mesa Verde we came to
the spot at which four of our states come together at almost perfect right angles. The location, known as "Four Corners" is located at the edge of the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation and has become quite a tourist attraction from which the 
local tribes benefit. In the picture to 
the right, each of us is standing in a different state - me - Arizona, Linda - New Mexico, Lou - Utah and Sherwood - Colorado. 
Interesting!!! We wrapped up our visit and headed into the Navajo Nation Reservation. It is absolutely huge encompassing more than 27,000 square miles!!!! And, the scenery is like a movie set every time you
the edge of Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. In fact, Page sits right in the middle of an area completely surrounded by National Parks. One, in particular, we were looking forward to visiting the next day - Grand Canyon National Park!! But - it was a long drive and we had a lot to see along the way. One of the most unusual sites we 
saw was a contemporary Indian burial site - not very old either. We weren't able to get much information 
about it so I guess it is one of those things that will - for us - remain shrouded in mystery. We made it to Page and got settled into our hotel for the evening and then went out to do some exploring. Lake Powell is a huge impoundment second in size only to Lake Mead which is about 325 miles further west down the Colorado River near near Las 
