So Long to the Southwest
I write this blog post with a tear in my eye, and memories swirling around wistfully in my head. Sadly, we are winding down to our last days in the Southwestern United States, and our last days on the Navajo Nation. At the end of this week we will be packing up our home and heading back to the Midwest, where it all began. We are bound for Chicago, Illinois where we are excited to be making our new home in Roscoe Village.
After a short, but certainly sweet two years in Chinle, Arizona we are sad to say goodbye to all of the amazing friends we have made, as well as bidding a fond farewell to the grandeur of this incredible place. We feel incredibly lucky to have lived in the land of the Navajo, and to have visited so many unique and interesting features of this grand planet. We will forever remember this land. A land full of stories. A land meant for adventure.
Here are some snapshots of what we have been up to this Spring and Summer....a farewell tour of sorts.
Central AZ
Jillian, Clover and I took a weekend excursion to the Red Rock country of Central Arizona. We spent the good part of a day in and around Sedona, then drove West to Cottonwood where we set up camp in Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Lucky for us it was open, because the State of Arizona has dealt with budget shortfalls by closing many State Parks and Rest Areas. We spent the night there before heading for Jerome, Arizona one of the West's wildest mining towns back in the day. Perched on the side of a mountain, with winding narrow roads and relics from the cities wild past, it was an amazing place to see.
We then headed back east to hike on Bell Trail in the Wet Beaver Creek Wilderness. Truly an oasis in the desert, after hiking among cacti and brilliant red rock we entered the bright green riparian forest where we discovered a crystal clear creek flowing over and around the ruby red stream bed. We all enjoyed escaping the hot sun and cooling off in the shade and cool water.
Overall it was quite the weekend and we arrived back in Chinle around sunset on Sunday and kicked our exhausted feet up with visions of natural beauty swirling around in our heads.
Camp Site @ Dead Horse Ranch State Park
Sign in Jerome, AZ describing scenes from the "Wild West"
Bell Trail
Blooming Prickly Pear along the trail
Clover seeking shade
Rock, Grass, Water
Memorial Day Weekend
Our summer officially kicked off with a visit from two of our very best friends Cam and Kelly who reside in Ogden, Utah. They made the drive down in order to catch us in Chinle before moving later on in the summer. We filled the weekend with plenty of time outdoors, hiking and biking, as well as plenty of time enjoying good company and good food.
Biking the Slickrock Playground
We were lucky enough to be able to schedule a guided hike in Canyon de Chelly with Elsie.
She and her family have lived in the canyon for decades, and she is kind enough to guide the curious and willing down the canyon on trails that have been used for generations. The trail we hiked down, and back up, was called Baby Trail as seen in the picture above.
L to R: Elsie, Kelly, Evan, Cam
Canyon de Chelly
Our guide Elsie leads the way down
Exploring Three Turkeys Canyon and Ruins
Zion National Park
The view of Lake Powell from our hotel room in Page, AZ. We stopped here for a night, met Jillian's sister Anna the next day, and continued on to Zion National Park. (Sidenote: If you are ever in Page, do yourself a favor and stay at the Quality Inn ... the price is right and the views are kickin')
We stayed in Springdale, Utah and explored the canyon by taking the free shuttles into the park. It was an amazing place, and although we were only there for a couple of days we were able to see some amazing sights.
The Driftwood Lodge in Springdale, Utah... the gateway to Zion National Park.
The view from our patio at the Driftwood Lodge
We were up before sunrise to catch the shuttle into Zion National Park, and began hiking up Angel's Landing Trail.
Chained Handrails
Posin'
The sun begins to illuminate the canyon walls
Steep drop-offs on either side of the trail as you approach the "landing"
Virgin River in Zion Canyon
Illumination
Hanging Garden
The entrance to "The Narrows"
Anna and Jillian @ Zion
Clover cools off while we pose
Clover Drenched
Leaving the park we drove through a tunnel, which offered up some views of the park
A Last Hurrah: "Chuska Style"
Saying goodbye to our friends in Chinle was tough, but we were fortunate to go out in style with an overnight camping trip into the Chuska Mountains with the Dunstons and the Scarboroughs. Over our two years in Chinle we had some great times with Julie, Dave, Ryan, and Patricia on hikes and bikes, over beers and dark n' stormy's, inside and outside, rain, snow, and sunshine. We set up camp on friends' land and were able to enjoy some frisbee golf, great food, and a warm campfire under the stars.
Where we set up camp
Jillian gets the tent ready
Light on Water
Clover testing the water
Dave, Patricia, and Julie on the "Frolf" course
Fruita, Colorado
At the end of June I threw the bike on my care and headed up to Fruita, CO in search of what I had been led to believe is some of the best singletrack mountain bike riding in the world. I met good friends Dominic Baker and Isaac Smith and we tore up a few trails...great riding and good times.
We also headed up to Colorado National Monument one evening to catch the sunset and see what it had to offere. I was fairly impressed with the formations and the view of the Fruita Valley below.
Independence Monument
Arches National Park
On my way back from Fruita I decided to stop in Moab, Utah at Arches National Park for some sightseeing. Here are some of the pictures I took on my afternoon tour of the park.
La Sal Mountains
Sandstone Spires
