Days 4, 5, and 6 of Crazy-Awesome Adventure II

Greetings from the road — out here in the U.S. western states. As of today (Monday, September 13), my riding partner and I have ridden ~800 miles in the vast open spaces in two nations and four states.

Huh?

We spent meaningful and spiritually powerful time in the Navajo Nation, which spans large parts of four states.

In my last post, I showed that we arrived in Monument Valley, Navajo Nation, on Friday September 10. But what was most meaningful was a morning sunrise tour deep within the valley, led by a Navajo native and also an experienced photographer.

Like I did last time, photos tell the story:

Sunrise between two spires in Monument Valley

Reflections of a Monument Valley Monument

This tour was well worth it and exceptional.

Day 5: we rode more through Monument Valley to Cortez, Colorado, through four states. Technically, the hotel in which we stayed in Monument Valley was in Arizona. While still in the Navajo Nation, we crossed back into Utah and rode east on great roads with no traffic in sight for miles and miles. We visited the kitchy “Four Corners National Monument” which is where four states meet: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Interestingly, this monument is operated by the Navajo Nation Parks Department.

I am at the intersection of four states

One enters this tourist-trap from New Mexico.

After leaving this park, we rode north and soon entered Colorado. A few miles later, we left the Navajo Nation and re-entered the United States, another nation (giggle).

We stayed in a hotel in Cortez, which is a mid-way point between locations of interest on this ride.

Day 6: a lovely “coolish” morning greeted us, and I finally found that my Rev’IT jacket that I had been lugging around was needed. Otherwise, it has been way too hot to wear that bulky (due to its armor) jacket.

We rode north on US-491, crossed back into Utah, and arrived in Monticello, Utah, where we stopped to refuel and hydrate. (No worries — we stop frequently to drink lots and lots of water.)

There we turned onto National Scenic Road US-191 and rode north through visually dramatic scenery. I shot a lot of video on my helmet-mounted GoPro, but the video processing will have to wait until I get home since the small Chromebook I brought with me is very limited in capabilities.

US-191–typical of the roads we have been riding

We arrived in “mobbed, maskless, Moab.” Lots and lots of covidiots here. No worries — we keep our distance, eat outside, and unlike others, always wear our masks. While I don’t like it, I use hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available for frequent hand hygiene.

We checked into our hotel by noon, found lunch (painfully slow due to staff shortages), and then rode to Arches National Park. We rode 30 miles on all roads inside the park. It was as spectacular as it was last time we were here.

Arches and Pillars

Biker and an arch

Arches National Park

So far… 800+ miles of smiles. This trip is just about at our half-way mark.

Life is short: ride to fulfill dreams.