LeBleu Pack: Arizona Bound

We started our journey to our Southern Home a little over a week ago - it was sad to leave mom behind but she wasn't ready for the 4 day drive plus wasn't cleared by her doc to make such a long trip of mostly sitting. Before leaving I made sure her freezer was well stocked with individual lasagne, stew, etc., made sure her cat Page had enough cat food and was well stocked with kitty litter, did her laundry for her, tidied her house and lucky she has some family and great friends that live near to help her out. Oh and home-care is coming in twice a day to help as well.

We drove from Carman to Casper, Wyoming in one day and was happy to have such a wonderful reception from the night staff and a very comfortable bed at the Quality Inn. It was a smooth drive and just a wee bit of construction before the border. Border crossing went great - one guy took our passports and the vet papers while another one opened up the back, took one of our suitcases out and checked the truck. Much to our surprise both dogs never made a sound, I thought for sure when the border patrol opened up the back Blitz would bark at him and his kennel was facing the back. I guess they knew they had to behave or they wouldn't make it to Yuma.

In front of the hotel in Casper there are two life-size statues of horses and in the morning I took the dogs there to check them out. Blitz was very unsure of the horses, he has seen real ones from a distance but wasn't sure about these ones and with caution he did the GSP stalk and point as we approached them. Too funny!

Blitz was still unsure of the statue and Molly

was bored and wanted to leave

From Casper, WY we started another long day of driving through most of Utah and finally to Page, AZ where we will stayed an extra day to explore Monument Valley. I always thought that Monument Valley went on forever but it really doesn't but we turned off the main road and into Valley of the Gods which in some ways much more breathtaking than Monument Valley. Even saying this I wouldn't miss seeing both.

Utah weather was not very kind to us

as it rained most of the time as we drove through it.

Not only did we have to deal with heavy rains at times we also had to deal with some cowboys moving their cattle from one location to another. Of course Blitz and Molly freaked out a bit as they were very close to the truck. Traffic slowed down to a halt as these cattle not only had ranchers as escorts but also 3 sheriffs directly traffic.

We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls just

north of Provo, UT

Our morning view from our hotel in Page, AZ

with the moon still in the sky

We slept in a bit...6am (haha) and got ourselves fed, including the dogs, and off again on the road back to Utah. It was probably a good 2 1/2 hour drive to Monument Valley from Page and the scenery was pleasant.

We stopped at Twin Rock for lunch and this old Chevy

was at the entrance

We had a burger and sweet potato fries at the cafe at Twin Rock in Bluff, UT and we could of shared one meal as you get a ton of food...really good food. They make everything from scratch, even their kaiser buns. Duke & Rose Simpson opened up the trading post in 1989 and five years later the cafe , and Duke's motto is "If you go away from Twin Rocks hungry, it's your own fault." Needless to say, we didn't go away hungry.

We also came across this Mexican restaurant but it was closed as it was Monday. I loved their rooster so Craig stopped the truck for me to get a shot of it.

You've seen thousands of pics of Monument Valley so here's a couple more. John Wayne movies, actually probably every cowboy movie ever made was filmed here and of course Forest Gump...you know the scene where he is running down the highway.

Then onto Valley of the Gods where the scenery was magnificent. We came upon a few campers here and thought of our friends Trish and Rod who would absolutely love to park their trailer here. I did a bit of a pano with my phone in one location for a better feel of the place.

A little black and white

To us this looked like a hand with the thumb and finger pointing up

One thing that I am drawn to are the Navajo stands where the locals sell their jewelry and pottery. I love the feel of these stands, how each one is different and how they protect the seller from the scorching sun during the day. At sunset they make for a great place to capture the setting sun. I would rather buy direct from these artists than buying from a store where they will charge you 5x the price...and sometimes not even made by the Navajo.

The next day before we started our drive to Yuma we decided to take the short drive to Horseshoe Bend. It's about a 15 minute drive from Page and I would highly recommend seeing it...it will literally take your breath away. There is a 3/4 mile hike from the parking lot to the Bend and some of the terrain is up and down but it is so worth it, wear good shoes and bring water.

Now there is a sign at he beginning of the walk telling you about Horseshoe Bend and also warnings to please do not stand on the edge as the rock is limestone and sometimes you do not know what's underneath you. Craig and I had a few minor heart attacks as we watched some people walk right to the end of a rock to get a picture or hanging over the edge and a young girl was actually jumping up as her friend was taking a picture. I'm all for getting that perfect shot but I am smart about it and we were surprised that there weren't as many deaths from people getting too close to the edge. Just like the Grand Canyon there are no fences to keep you from falling. Craig was a bit more nervous than I was and as I was taking pictures he was holding the bottom of my shirt so I wouldn't fall, I'm thinking if I fell over he would be coming with me.

The white on the Colorado is a boat

The sand was red and the skies were so blue

You can see the edge on your left how fragile it can be

Blitz and Molly

Pano from my phone

The weather has been in the high 30'c range since we arrive in Yuma and no one is complaining. We did purchase a Rubbermaid Tuff Tub for the dogs to cool off in since they are not use to these temperatures. There were finally some clouds in the skies this evening so Craig and I headed out about 4:30pm to catch the sunset at 5:55pm. We drove to the Foothills and off the pavement to capture a beautiful sunset.