GC Day 3: Monument Valley to Flagstaff

October 17th

Broke camp just after 8am and went down to Kayenta for another refueling. Comparing the maps that Clayton and I had, found that mine had more detail (i.e. showed more roads), but we later realized that his was more up to date. My AAA map showed Highway 591 going south from Kayenta/US-160 and going over to Many Farms on US-191, whereas his showed a Highway 59 that departed US-160 just east of Kayenta; mine did not show this road. We chose the 591 route.

The burros on the side of the road might have been a better choice for this portion of road. After a very short while we wondered how many bolts from our vehicles were going to be left behind because of how rough this road was. A little over 20 miles later just past Chilchinbito it turned north and ended at...Highway 59. Apparently a newer highway that my map didn't even register and I'm guessing it would have saved us probably 30 minutes of time.

From there we drove down to Chelly Nat'l Monument and hiked down to the White House (30 minutes each way). In some of these photos from on top of the canyon you can see some of the dwellings that were built up in shadows and high ledges.

After a lunch in the picnic area nearby the visitor center where many locals were having birthday parties, we headed south to I-40 and then west to the Petrified Forest Nat'l Park.

Leaving there, we drove through sunset and into darkness and all the way to Flagstaff where we eventually gave into staying at the KOA along US-89 in town. But, took advantage of being across the highway from the major shopping area of Flagstaff to purchase a new lighweight tripod and an 8GB card for the camera. No more excuses!