We headed to Monument Valley as the last Utah stop on our adventure. It was everything it was hyped to be – spectacular, inspiring, crowded, expensive, but a must see. The Navajo Reservation was very strict about camping, hiking, 4WD travel and drinking, so it cramped our style a little. Our campsite had great views but, as a site, it was just an expensive gravel patch. We drove the 7-mile dirt road around all the rock formations. It was truly John Wayne country. It became very windy as we headed back to the campsite. So windy in fact, we decided to eat in the reservation restaurant instead of cooking. It’s amazing how cheaply you can eat when you can’t order a cocktail.
The next day we headed to Flagstaff in very stormy weather, stopping briefly in the historic district. We picked up Route 66 there in Flagstaff near the old railroad station. Next, we visited Seligman with interesting motels and diners. Then Truxton which was pretty desolate. Then on to Kingman where we spent the night. There were flash floods during the evening, and we were the only ones in the typical Route 66 Rutherford’s Diner. The next morning, we were off on a very narrow, twisty road to Oatman, AZ. We saw one car on the side of the mountain that may have missed a curve. Oatman is a famous Rt 66 tourist stop, famous for its donkeys roaming the streets. The donkeys worked the local gold mines in the 1920’s but when the gold ran out, they were just turned loose. There are signs everywhere saying not to feed or pet the ornery donkeys, but every little store was selling donkey food. Go figure. It was a fun drive along such a part of Americana. That was the end of our route so and we were homeward bound.
