I’m always apprehensive about staying at motels with doors that open to the outside, rather than a hallway as with most hotels. I figure there is no barrier to thieves or undesirables from robbing you. Wetherill Inn was setup like this. But thankfully nothing happened during the night.

We got up at around 7:30AM. We didn’t necessarily have a schedule, only to get to Mesa Verde National Park in time to see much of it before the attractions closed.

Breakfast at Wetherill Inn was at a breakfast room down the hallway from reception. It was a bit more limited than what we were used to at previous hotels. I guess we’ve been spoiled with scrambled eggs and sausage. The breakfast bar had an array of boiled eggs, oatmeal, donuts, and cereal. I was pleased to see they had Lucky Charms which I occasionally have at home for a snack. Next to us was a German family. I had a short discussion with Sharon about how Germans and other Europeans get off for multiple weeks for vacation, while Americans choose to go in the summer time when school schedules coincide. We’ve seen many more Europeans compared to past domestic trips I’ve gone on.

We finished up breakfast and began taking out our luggage to our car. I made a mess when I tried to put the ice in our styrofoam cooler. A maid walking by said that she’d clean it up. I felt sorry for her and cleaned it up myself. Hotel maids have one of the most thankless jobs…that is having to clean up other people’s messes day in and day out and then having to clean up their home when they get home. I feel sorry for these women, especially on the Indian Reservation we were visiting. From the views of the town I could tell there was much poverty in this town. Probably people just trying to make ends meet, wondering where their next meal would be. I wasn’t sure who owned Wetherill Inn, but I had hoped it was a local family and that they were making a profit on it.

We drove off to a cover of Tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream” on the radio. Very appropriate on this trip. Luckily we had a Buick with SiriusXM which gave us access to all my favorite satellite stations. We stopped at a gas station on our way out. It is important to always be gassed up before leaving a town. It can be difficult to find gas in the American west as they are few and far between, although things are getting better.

Once again we experienced the vastness of the American West. Miles and miles of nothingness. A ranch house here and there, which kept me continuing wondering how these people got food.

We arrived in Cortez, Colorado, and decided on Burger Boy, a local Drive Inn restaurant. We found a table nearby and a waitress arrived to take our order soon after. Sharon got a bacon cheese burger and tater tots, while I got a cheese burger and fries. I was wearing my “Mount Juliet” shirt with lettering resembling Mt. Dew. This attracted the attention of a local who asked what it meant.

After eating we decided to drive to Mesa Verde, just a few miles away. This was the closest a National Park was to us compared to other destinations. When we arrived at the vistor’s center we found that all the ranger guided tours were booked. This was a disappointment but we decided to drive the length of the park viewing overlooks while rounding roads with switchbacks. The views were great as were the fall colors.

We stopped by the highest point in the park which contained a fire tower where rangers would position themselves to look for fires. There had been a fire as recently as 2003, but the largest fire was from 2000. As we drove around the park we saw evidence of the remnants of the fire with dead tree around.

We then drove to the Cliff Palace, the granddaddy of the cliff dwellers. This was the one I had read about in my social studies book in 5th grade. I had seen it before in 2011. Sharon and I ventured down to the viewing area to see it. On our way down we saw another tour group at the top waiting for the 3PM tour. We ventured past them and down the stairs to the viewing area. We saw a tour drop getting their tour up and close with the mesas. I wanted them to move out of the way so I could get a good picture. While we were waiting the ranger at the bottom played a wooden pipe. It annoyed Sharon that those around her wouldn’t be quiet so she could get a good recording of the flute.

“Pardon me,” said a gentleman to us. “Are you going on the 3PM tour?” We said no, and he offered us his 2 tickets. We gladly accepted his offer and thanked him. Sharon decided not to go as she new ladders were involved and she has a fear of heights.

At the top of the hill the park ranger, an older Italian lady was just beginning he spiel. She talked of journeys and how all of us had begun our journey at some point. She then had us talk to someone we didn’t know to talk about our own journey and find out about their journey. This is every introvert’s worst nightmare. I stood there awkwardly.

Then it was time to climb down the stairs to view the cliff buildings. At the locked gate were two gentlemen who apparently decided not to use the ladders to get out of the Cliff Palace. The ranger let them out and we were on our way squeezing through tight pathways and narrow stairs. We climbed a ladder to get to the nearby overlook of the Cliff Palace. While we were there the ranger told us the story of the Native Americans who lived in the Cliff Palace.

It was built around 1200 and only was used for about a hundred years. There are 150 buildings in the palace for about a hundred people. Corn and other necessities were stored above the buildings. Women carried water up and down the cliffs by having the pail on their back and the rope wrapped like a headband on their forehead. They know this because female skeletons were found which had osteoporosis. Men lived to about 35 years old while women lived to 25.

At some point in this story the cliff dwellers picked up and left. This has always intrigued me. Our ranger tour guide wrote it off as being something akin to changing jobs. I’d like to think it was something else. Maybe a drought or nearby aggressive tribe.

We ventured into the Cliff Palace and stood around a circular water well like structure. Instead this was a religious structure called “kivas” used for ceremonies. It was ventilated somehow.

I used my Flip Camera to film the entire tour. I don’t think this guide was as good as the one I had in 2011. The current guide focused on demographics and history. The previous guide from 2011, apparently a Native American, focused on the spiritual and mystery of the cliff dwellers. Still this current tour was fascinating. I wish there was a way to sleep overnight at the cliffs. But the ancient ruins couldn’t take it.

On our way out we were able to view a painting on the inside of one of the pueblos. Around the window where we had to view the painting you could see it rubbed to shine from the hands of the visitors rubbing against it. I wondered what the cliff dwellers would think about modern day man looking at their residence today. How it turned into a tourist attraction with special emphasis on history.

I found my way back to Sharon who was sitting in our rental car. She had written her blog. We decided to head back and check into Retro Inn in Cortez. And so along the winding road we went. Sharon has a fear of heights and was white knuckled much of the time. It took longer to get out of the park than to get to the hotel once out of the park.

Retro Inn is located at the edge of Cortez. It looks like it was repurposed from a run down hotel to a quirky decade themed hotel. In the yard is a bench with an Elvis statue by it. There are yard furniture painted in bright colors. There’s a phone booth and large sized chess set nearby.

Our room is 1959 and has framed posters of Wally and the Beaver, scenes from I Love Lucy, and the Honeymooners. Our bathroom is 50s era pink. We were thrilled to be staying in an attraction in itself.

After checking in we went to Lotsa Pasta and Thatza Pizza for dinner. I had a small sausage pizza while Sharon had lasagna. My pizza was a bit spicy and lacked enough tomato sauce. But it was still good.

While we were eating Sharon mentioned that the temperature was to drop later this week and Colorado was to experience their first snow. Sharon had not packed warm clothing so we stopped by Walmart to pick up a warm pullover.

Tomorrow we will go to Moab to visit Canyonlands National Park.

We had to get up early today as we had to check in at 8AM for the 8:30AM Upper Antelope Canyon Tour. So we set our alarm for 6AM. Breakfast at the hotel gave us a bit more options than past hotels we had stayed at during this trip. As a bonus they had bacon and donuts among the usual waffles, toast and eggs. The orange juice machine was broken, but they were kind enough to leave a serving container of apple juice. I had a bit more extra bacon since it was very thin. Also I managed to get strawberry jam for my biscuits, a rarity since I can’t eat an entire jar for strawberry jam by myself at home (Sharon is adverse to strawberries. 🙂

After a hardy breakfast we checked out of our room simply by putting a key in a basket on our way out. I guess everyone had to prepay before getting their key.

We made the 5 minute journey to the tour operator’s check in point for the Upper Antelope Canyon Tour. I showed the lady at the desk my online purchase receipt and she gave me a pass to get on bus #5. We would be loading at 8:20AM. We hung around the tour operator’s souvenir area, an old converted gas station until our tour departed.

The vehicles being used were 15 passenger vans, an upgrade compared to the pickup trucks on the Google street view. We drove on the outskirts of Page and onto a sandy road leading to the canyon. These vans obviously had 4 wheel drive and off road tires on them to avoid being stuck. Next to us sat a couple from West Virginia who had rode the Amtrak train from Chicago to San Francisco and were working their way back. Obviously a very long trip. They must have been retired or flexible jobs allowing them for having a lot of time off. They recommended that we go to Bryce Canyon as it puts everything else to shame.

We entered the Antelope Canyon simply by walking in. No climbing ladders or stairs. The brochure described it as a walk on the beach. And it was. A nice sandy floor with spectacular views simply by looking up. I set my cell phone to cloudy view to get the colors to really come through. My Nikon DSLR camera did not take good pictures, probably because I don’t know how to use it. I’m sure there were some settings on it I could have tried, but I have not figured it out yet. And during this tour was not the time to learn. So I stuck to my cell phone camera.

It is impossible to describe how beautiful it was inside the canyon. Just about anyone with a cell phone could take spectacular photos with the right settings. Our tour operator was kind enough to point out where to take photos and even took photos for us. I had wondered if this tour had started getting popular only after social media and cell phone cameras had begun to get popular.

After several minutes it was time to walk back through the canyon tightly squeezing past other visitors in the narrow bends of the canyon walls. I quickly snapped some photos on my way out. It was a great tour and Sharon said that it was the highlight of the entire trip so far.

Next was our drive to Kayenta to eat and then visit Monument Valley. During our 2 hour drive through desert and buttes I began to wonder how unpopulated these places were. And then I wondered about ranch houses which were so far from a grocery store…how and when do they shop? Do they have to bring a cooler to keep milk and meats cold? And is this anything like the outback of Australia, except with less cars and less hotels around.

After a while we arrived in Kayenta to eat at Pizza Edge. I got the feeling that theft and vagrants were a problem at Pizza Edge as there were big signs saying “Bathrooms only for customers” and “Water cups are for water.” We ordered a medium meat lovers pizza and cheese breadsticks. The cheese breadsticks were especially good with a lot of gooey cheese.

Next was on to Monument Valley. As we journeyed on the road and buttes seemed to turn into that familiar landscape seen in Western Movies. Surprisingly the area around the buttes seemed to be green rather than yellow or brown covered. I guess the area had some rain lately.

We stopped at the Navajo Welcome Center to get tickets before moving on to the Visitors Center with gift shop and museum. This area had a great iconic view of the mitten buttes. There were people there getting the usual Instagram shots. We shopped around at the gift shop. Sharon got a blanket and I got a Christmas ornament.

Next was on to the drive around the buttes. It was on a gravel road which was a bit narrow at times. Along the way there were stop offs for photo opportunities. Sharon’s phone battery had run out, so we opted for photos with my camera.

Our Buick Encore was getting pretty dusty throughout. Along the way we’d occasionally see tour groups riding in the back of pickup trucks with just a canopy over it. I couldn’t imagine riding in the back of a truck considering how dusty it was. Sharon concluded it must have been visitors without cars who arrived on a tour bus not suitable for the Monument Valley Drive.

Sharon was anxious to get back to the Forest Gump point as we were burning daylight. So we exited the park and drove north outside of the park to mile marker 13. There were already several people there standing in the road where Tom Hanks as Forest Gump stood and said “I’m pretty tired, I think I’ll go home now,” and then walked the opposite direction as Greenbow, Alabama.

We drove back to Kayenta to check into our hotel and get supper. Sharon was craving a meat and three, while I couldn’t get enough of Pizza Edge. So we compromised. Sharon got a chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and green beans from Amigo Cafe, while I got a meat calzone from Pizza Edge. Both were across the street from each other. Amigo Cafe was very small and crowded. I put in my order and had to wait to get out the door to get to Pizza Edge. While driving around I saw some shady characters walking around the roads and I wasn’t sure what to think. I decided that we should keep our motel room locked. I just get the feeling that crime might be a problem in Kayenta as there seems to be a lot of poor people here would love to rob a tourist.

After eating the huge calzone I swam in the motel’s indoor pool (I was the only one there) while Sharon worked on her blog.

Tomorrow we go to Cortez, Colorado and on to Mesa Verde.

Today’s day started with a trip down to a crowded breakfast for some eggs, sausage and cereal. Eating the Fruit Loops cereal reminded me of church camp – the only time when I eat that type of cereal.

We decided to leave early to check out the Mormon temple. Since we weren’t Mormon we would not be allowed inside the building, but we did get to take a few photos of the front of the building. The building is one of the most prominent structures in town. Built on a hill and painted in white, it provides a contrast against the red rock surrounding St. George.

Next it was on to St. George Church of Christ. We were welcomed in by several friendly people. We did meet another couple visiting from Glasgow, KY. Since there is no other church of Christ within 50 miles, the church has the equivalent of their Sunday evening service in the afternoon, right after a fellowship meal.

Our Bible study consisted of a verse by verse study of Titus 2 and 3. There was much discussion. Our sermon was about the different schools of study like psychology, geography, astronomy, biology, etc, and how they pertained to the Bible. Our preacher was a bit older gentleman, as was the majority of the congregation. I feared that in a few decades this church could die out.

During the Lord’s Supper we used the “to go” communion cups which we use at Fall Creek Falls. Easy, portable, and probably cost effective.

Church let out at noon, right on time. We saw a Pizza Hut delivery vehicle pulling in apparently to deliver the pizza for the fellowship meal. Sharon and I headed out to In and Out to get a world’s famous burger. After waiting in a efficient drive through line (an outdoor waitress took our order Chik-Fil-A style), our food was served. I ate my burger fairly quickly. It was alright, and I guess how some people can find it familiar like a comfort food.

Next we drove to Lake Powell. Along the way we passed through towns like Hurricane and Fredonia…and in between a lot of nothingness. I began to wonder if this is how the Australian outback is like, except with a lot less cars and very few towns in between. I saw off road vehicles and wondered how they got permission to drive on government land.

We made it to Lake Powell after around 2 hours 45 minutes of driving. I had timed it with what I thought was 15 minutes to spare. But we were in luck as Arizona did not spring forward to Daylight Savings Time. So instead arriving at 3:30PM for a 4:15 tour, it was actually 2:30PM. We hung around the gift shop and lobby until it was time to board the boat at 4:00PM.

Lake Powell was created in the 1950s after a dam was built. I imagined what it must have looked like in the 50s before the canyon flooded. Our narration headphones described how vital it was to dry areas around such as Phoenix. It has enough water to keep the area going for 10 years without rain.

The rock walls around the lake seemed unearthly. Somehow with natural lakes you’d expect to see vegetation around. Instead the rock walls were bare. As the sun settled in the horizon the colors of the rocks really shined through. Both Sharon and I got some great photos.

After walking back to the resort building and seeing a Jack Rabbit along the way, it was time to eat. We chose Big John’s Texas BBQ. Sharon pointed out that it must have been built in an old gas station. The limited inside seating gave me the impression too. Outside a band played, but it was just too loud for us, so we waited for a table inside. My chopped beef brisket was great and the mild BBQ sauce had an extra kick to it.

We checked into our hotel around 7:30PM. I took a dip in the pool while Sharon composed her blog and watched the Karate Kid Part II.

Tomorrow we have a Antelope Slot Canyon tour before going to Monument Valley.

Soon after our trip to Ireland Sharon and I began talking about doing a domestic trip in the fall. After some investigation we decided on Utah and Arizona. I had been to Utah before, but just to Moab and Arches National Park, but that was 7 years ago and I was anxious to go again and show Sharon the beauty of those places. When I went to Moab, I really wanted to see Monument Valley, but our scheduling couldn’t accommodate it. This time around I made sure to plan for Monument Valley.

We decided on Las Vegas as our starting point. It was easier and cheaper to get to compared to Salt Lake City, plus it was closer to some of the attractions we wanted to see. Frontier was the airline of choice, mainly because it was so cheap. It’s a budget airline that nickels and dimes travelers for every little service. Need a carry on bag? That’ll be $20. Need to select your seat? That’ll be $18. You get the picture. Still when we were booking it, the tickets were still cheaper than Southwest (at the time). Soon after booking it, Southwest came out with a sale which would have made it worthwhile to go with them, but alas it was too late as our Frontier tickets were non-refundable.

Our travel day started with my USB thumb drive getting confiscated by TSA. I had the tool for years, but it was attached to a pocket knife, so off it went :(. I just hope no incremenating things were on the the USB drive. It might be a good time to change passwords.

At the gate were they put all the other low cost carriers – Frontier, Allegiant, Sun Country…and by default British Air. Apparently Allegiant Air had a delayed flight and all of the plane’s passengers were milling around anxious to catch their flight. The only problem is that they were blocking people from getting off their recently arrived Allegiant plane, which delayed things even more as it was the plane they were taking to their next destination.

After a while things calmed down at the gate when the passengers from the other plane left. Our plane left on time. This was a no frills flight, with beverage and snacks being served to paying customers, and they weren’t complimentary. The seats did not lean back. I found it difficult to get sleep ( as I Next to me a lady made small talk. I really wasn’t interested in talking to her but I did give her acknowledgement. That same lady next to me, pushed her way through people in front of her when the plane landed.

After retrieving our checked luggage we rode the shuttle bus to the car rental center. I spent about 30 more minutes in line to get my rental car, only to find out all rental cars had been rented and I was left with a 15 passenger van. They told me to take it to my hotel and come back in the morning to see about getting a car or SUV. I was very disappointed in Dollar / Thrifty Rent-a-Car. I had reserved my car months before and they should have a car available for me. But apparently they overbook their cars and end up looking like poor planners.

After a short night’s sleep I got up at 6:30AM and got a nice Buick Encore. This was to be our home for 8 days. It was a good one. Satellite Radio, leather seats, etc. I was satisfied.

We ate breakfast at our Home2 Suites by Hilton Hotel. The breakfast area was a bit crowded because a tour bus of people in suites were eating breakfast. The line to get something microwaved and to use the waffle machine was a bit long. Since there was no where to sit, Sharon and I ate in our room.

We checked out soon after and drove to Mesquite to get some necessities including a styrofoam cooler to keep our drinks cold.

After eating at Caparelli’s Sandwich Shop in St. George, we headed toward Springdale, the entry gate to Zion National Park. Both Springdale and Zion have very limited parking areas. We finally found street to park on near a bus stop. There was a fee associated with the parking, but the bus was free. We rode the Springdale bus to the Zion Visitor’s Center. After buying our passport book and a Christmas ornament, we got on the Zion bus to take us to the last stop – the river walk trail.

The river walk trail was crowded to say the least. It was nice weather and a Saturday, which I’d say contributed to the huge amount of people. Sharon was stop ever so often to take photos. I was pleased she was having a good time.

Zion Natonal Park lies at the bottom of a valley cut by a small river (more likely a stream). We were told it is prone to flooding, even when there is a sunny day outside…as in up the river there might be a flash thunderstorm.

At the end of the trail is a place called the narrows which is a river only type hike. Some people had rented special waterproof pants and shoes to walk in the narrows, something I figure I would never do.

It got to be about 4:30PM and we headed back. We had wanted to stop at a certain point to take a photo, but alas the sun was in the wrong position causing a shadow. So we decided to drive back to St. George – where our hotel was and where our restaurant of choice – Roy’s Pizza and Pasta was.

The pizza was good. We got a medium. I could have ate more, but Sharon had said we shouldn’t eat so much because we would feel stuffed. At Roy’s one of the bus boys appeared to be very young. He was maybe 12 or 13 years old. He was getting refills and taking dirty dishes off. I was glad he was learning responsibility (probably at the urging of his parents).

It was back to check in at our Comfort Inn at St. George. One of our key cards doesn’t work, but on the positive side they had complementary chocolate chip cookies at the front desk. I spent some time in the pool while Sharon wrote on her blog. I had a brief period of time by myself in the hot tub before some kids and their dad came by. Pretty soon the whole family including their mom came by along with 4 other ladies. I could tell they were probably Mormon as they discussed that they were building a temple in a Utah locale.

Tomorrow we will go to church in St. George before heading off to Lake Powell for a boat tour.

Nineteen years ago I first visited Nevada on a work trip. It was mostly at Lake Tahoe, but driving back we stopped at Reno to view the casinos. It was there and throughout the trip that I got a sense of dirtiness as if something wasn’t quite right in the town. Maybe it was the casinos with their blacked out windows keeping patrons from seeing the position of the sun and how long they’ve been there. Maybe it was the patrons’ greed in striking it rich. Maybe it was the fact that the gamblers were rich themselves and decided to throw their money away. More still it could be those who were dirt poor due to their gambling problem.

Regardless of why it made feel that way, it wasn’t something that I had interest in. I didn’t care to be there (I found Lake Tahoe and Yosemite much more interesting). And now, nineteen years later I’m going to the granddaddy of the gambling cities – Las Vegas, but only for one night, and we probably won’t even visit the strip. Instead it will be an “overnight and run” type of trip. My wife and I don’t want any part of the sin city’s lifestyle. We are more interested in the nearby national parks. We’ve got 8 days of vacation planned before flying back from Denver. It’ll be quite a trip. We’ve got full days planned for all the days.