Last Day in Monument Valley

Our last day in Monument Valley. The temp was only 107 F today. We elected to take a drive around the edges of the Valley, and so headed south on US 163 this morning. The road wanders through several more sandstone formations, but we noticed that they are getting farther apart.

Twenty odd miles south we came entered the town of Kayenta. This town is so large that it has a McDonalds! Not large enough to have a Starbucks, but it is the organizational center of the Navajo Nation. Educational facilities are located here, everything from boarding schools to Vocational Centers.

We turned east on US 160 and soon came to Baby Rocks. This formation is an outlier, being located far from Monument Valley, but is very interesting nevertheless.

We eventually turned north on US 191, our old friend from several days ago and found ourselves near the town of Bluff, Utah. It's easy to see where the name originated.

We ate our picnic lunch under a big tree on the grounds of the closed elementary school in town with this to look at as we ate.

The Twin Rocks Trading Post and  Cafe are tucked into an awesome setting, but we wondered if rocks periodically fell from the bluffs!

There is an upscale development just to the north of Bluff, with hotel and tourist activities available. It is a new area, with rafting, restaurants, and common rooms available. Most of the facility is closed now, but it is located in a beautiful spot! This is the backside of the property, but one of the nicest views.

We continued south on US 163, back to our motorhome after a 156 mile day trip.

But we had to stop for one more look at the colors and formations of Southeast Utah!

We've thoroughly enjoyed Monument Valley and encourage a visit if you can swing it. It's a locale unlike any other!

Tomorrow we're off to Arizona and hopefully some cooler temps (that doesn't sound right, does it?) We're starting our return to California, and expect to be home in about a week.