Blog

I woke up this morning in Taos and the weather gods were kind, we only got a dusting of additional snow, and the clouds are supposed to break and be sunny this afternoon.
I decide to wait a bit and go to breakfast with Randy and Sondra at the Taos Diner (sorry Greg, no Michaels this trip). By the time we we finished eating the sun had come out and the streets were already melting , so I decided to get on the road.
The plan : Drive to Tuba City AZ. and stay the night so I could get up and get some shots of the Vermillion Cliffs in the morning. They are about sixty miles northwest of  Tuba City. I love a plan!
This is what the truck looked like after the drive yesterday.


I got on the road by 10:30 and took 64 west towards Tres Piedras and over to Tierra Amarilla. This route goes up over 9000 ft but the snow plows had it cleared remarkably well. At the top though, it was in a cloud so visibility would drop to about to about 100 yards, and then the sun would peak through and light up the treeline.
I stopped and shot this.


The temp was 21 f. but the stuff they put on the roads was melting the ice, so it was slushy , not slick. Once down off the mountain the temp warmed above freezing and everything was dry.
I took 64 through Farmington, an oil/gas town and a HUGE speed-trap, everyone was sticking to the speed limit which at 45mph seemed excessively slow for such a wide road. There were several little towns there strung together and it seemed to be the longest part of the trip, starting at Bloomfield,through Farmington, Kirkland Fruitland and Waterflow, all 45 mph and slower. eck!
Just past this is Shiprock, a town named after a rock formation south of town,  which looks like this if you have not seen it.

Very dramatic, and it does look like a ship on the horizon. It's made more impressive by the fact that it sits out there by itself, it looks lonely.
Onward to the west. Hwy 64 turns into 160 just four miles south of Four Corners. I didn't go see it, it isn't high on the bucket list.
Heading west on 160 however, I can see the faint silhoette of a big bucket-list contender....Monument Valley.
Spontaneous Plan Change:
I have never been and here it was just north of Kayenta AZ.
I made a quick stop at the Holiday Inn to see how much a room goes for in Kayenta, $89reg, on special for $69.
I think it was the "empty motel" special.
Confident in securing a place to stay for the evening, I leave without booking because it was 4:30 and the light was fleeting. I drove north on 163 and finally got to see all those iconic rock formations towering  above the desert floor.
The light wasn't ideal but I got a few shots and a checkmark on my bucket-list. I'll have to come back and explore this area more extensively.

Driving back to Kayenta I review the change of plans and by the time I get back to 160 I have decided the march of the Tuba was back on!
72 miles of dry straight road and 30 minutes of faint light, and that much closer to the Vermillion Cliffs in the morning. No problem.
I land at the Dine' Inn Motel (pronounced din-eh, its Navajo) for.......drum roll please...fifty bucks a night, I love these "empty motel" specials.
Shiprock was obvious, Monument Valley easy to see how they named that, Tuba City........?  I arrived in the dark, so in the morning....... I'll look around.