The Wild Wild West

(2 for the price of 1 today, don't miss the first of two instalments below. Also, alot of photos have been uploaded so have a look at them here and here. If I get a chance in the next few days I'll link a few of them to the blog but in the meantime enjoy the read)

Monument Valley is the iconic image of the Wild Wild West (as Emer like to call it) and we were finally on our way to see it. It's on of those endearing images of America and one I was really looking forward to seeing. So much so that I wanted to go in when the park opened at 6am to see the sun rise over all the monuments - I was told that this is the best time to get photos of the park, I hope you agree. We drove to within 10 miles of the park entrance and found a sandy lay-by to park for the last few hours of the night. I set the alarm clock for 5.30 am and off to bed we went.

The alarm clock seemed to go off 10 minutes later but a quick check out the window confirmed that the sun was rising. We got dressed and drove the last few miles up to the entry booth. $6 each and we were in the park. We were given a map and sent on our way. Monument Valley contains those big red sandstone buttresses that are seen in all the cowboy films. To see these you drive around them on a dirt track. It's basically a trail that has been dug out of the desert that vehicles have compacted over time, exposing rock in places. It is said that most vehicles can drive it when it's dry so we reckoned Ita was up to the challenge. The speed limit is 15 mph but I doubt we ever went over 10, crawling at 3-4mph at times. There are a number of viewpoints along the way and the fact that it was so early meant that we had each of them to ourselves and didn't have to worry about holding people up along the route. We had booked horse riding for the afternoon so we went back up to the visitor centre, parked up and went for a nap.

We awoke around midday and cooked some dinner. We then headed down to the horseriding booth to pay for horse riding and (well we assumed anyway) be brought to the horses. It turned out if we wanted a lift down it was another $20 so we declined that offer and took Ita down for tour 2 of the valley. Again, the whole thing rattled for the whole journed but we made it down to the horses safe and sound.Ther are two versions of what happened next:

Emer's Mam's Version:

It was great. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and we returned safe and sound.

The real Version:

We were introduced to our guide for the afternoon. Rob, a Navajo (native Indian) teenager just out of high school, showed us the ropes and introduced us to our horses. I was on Hairy and Emer had JW. It soon became apparant that these horses weren't as well trained as ones in Ireland would be and soon into the ride Rob informed us that the horses in their stables are wild horses that have been tamed (some better than others). They stopped whenever they felt like it sometimes to chew on herbs, Emer's even showed her who was boss early on by rolling her. Also, since this was Navajo territory, there was no such thing as helmets. The trail brought us well off the beaten track and into the desert to other formations not seen on the self guided motor tour throught the park. We saw some natural arches, listened to some Navajo songs been sung under natural arches, viewed some Navajo stone markings, met some wild cows, walked through empty river beds and generally had a wonderful three and a bit hours. Near the end we went for a bit of a gallop and Emer's horse had had enough of her and started acting up. Emer had to hit the deck to avoid being kicked off and she swapped horses with Rob, riding Mohawk back to the trailers. We took our sore and sandy bodies back into the RV and over the bumpy road back out of the park.

Monday brought the next natural feature in the Navajo region - Antelope Canyon. Every year the Colorado River floods and area of the Arizona desert near the town of Page. This water meets a section of rock and finds the easiest path to get through this. What has resulted is a breathtaking section of canyon with curving walls that look different at every moment of every day due to varying amounts of light that penetrate it from above. We paid $3 per person to get into the area where you book your tour for another $25. This brings you through the desert on the back of a modified pick up truck. When I say modified I mean it's had a couple of benches and a bit of a roof welded onto the bed of the truck. Our driver/guide brought us through the 1/4 mile section of the canyon showing us the best places for photos and explaining a little how it occurs. We were then given our own time to go and take photos on the way back. The amount of photographers there jockying for tripod space was unbelievable but when you see the amount of incredible photos that can be taken you understand why. Thankfully on the way back through it was alot quieter than on the way through so we got to setup some photos but an hour really wasn't enough for me. We headed back over the bumpy desert run to the RV and then headed to an RV park close to the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately it had been damaged by fire a couple of years ago and they still hadn't replaced the pool or hot tub and their internet was terrible.

We tidied the RV and did our laundry and other non-fun things that seem to build very quickly and hit the hay. We watched the first episode of season 5 of the wire. For those of you who know the show I am talking about it has really gripped us over the past few weeks - both of us wish this wasn't the last series. The following morning we hit the road before ten in order to get a full day at the Grand Canyon. We drove the hour or so up the highway, went through the entry booth (we bought a annual national parks pass so we no longer have to pay any entry fees into national parks) and headed on to the RV parking lot. Now I have seen numerous photos of the Grand Canyon, both amateur and professional, but nothing can prepare you for the jaw dropping site the first time you look over the rim into the valley below. It is just incredible.

We walked along the rim route for a couple of miles, stopping a good few times to take photos and just soak in the awsomeness of mother nature at work. We stopped in the shade of a tree to have our packed lunch and I had a bit of a wander down the rocks to the edge. The view that I had of the canyon was just amazing and is filed in with those other experiences we have had along the way on the "will never forget" shelf. We took a shuttle bus back to the RV, relaxed for a while and then went into a bar in the hotel to watch the Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets in the first game of the Western Conference Finals. It was especially sweet as we were sitting beside some very vocal Denver fans and I was in my Kobe Bryant shirt. It was only the first game of 7 but a sweet victory none the less. We then hit the road into the darkness towards Vegas.....