Dis, Dat & Dee Udder ;-): Utah & Arizona RV Trip - Day 6 (Canyonlands & Monument Valley)

The day started with a 5 am wake up call and quick get-ready for sunrise at the Mesa Arch. A 30 minutes drive and 15 minutes hike first thing in the morning is what justified the car rental. Otherwise, it would have been a bit more work to get the RV ready for the road. Unfortunately, the earlier cold front from Zion and Bryce Canyon caught up with us here (it was very cold at 5:30 am) and a thick layer of clouds in the East meant the “sunrise effect” (where the underside of the arch glows under the sun’s early rays) was a non-event. Bummer!

Huge dissapointment, but if the weather holds, check out the picture a bit further below (courtesy of Riccardo Maria Mantero, who was fortunate enough to have a cloudless morning; full image rights to Riccardo, i just borrowed it to make a point)

We quickly drove to the Green River and Grand View vistas, both grand, indeed, but underwhelming. I’m sure Canyonlands has its merits, and a longer trip would give it a fair chance (the area around Kayenta camp looked like it had a lot to offer). Cold, disappointed for the sun not showing up, and a bit cranky due to the early wake up, we went back for a hot cup of coffee/cocoa, then set on the road to our next stop: Monument Valley.

We’ve seen pictures and heard stories about Monument Valley. It’s in every Western movie ever made. It’s in the historic Forrest Gump run. It looks amazing. Spectacular even. We were excited for the jeep sunset tour we had scheduled with the local Navajo tribe. But as we started driving down, the weather kept deteriorating, to the point where a full-blown snowstorm was in effect as we arrived. The buttes were barely visible behind the thick veil of snow. The park closed for the day. They refunded our tickets. Monument Valley average temps for March were supposed to be around 60oF. Yet, snow was falling… With existing reservations in Page the next morning, we couldn’t spend an extra day in the off chance the weather would improve. We canceled the Goulding RV Park reservation for that night and drove on. Two hours later we were in Page. A Courtyard Hotel. After 3 days of baby wipes, a hot shower never felt so good!!