MONUMENT VALLEY 2005
BECOMING A TRADITION
CLICK ON A PICTURE TO OPEN IT, THEN F11 TO MAXIMIZE
Monument Valley - a tiny portion. This picture is a composite of 7 overlapping shots taken about 1 or 2 miles south of the Arizona/Utah state lines. You may need to explore a bit......it should open into a screen filler that you'll need to scroll to see all of.
Goulding's Resort. A 1st class facility with a full range of services. At left center is the hotel, restaurant, gift shop and museum. Center is the gas station, snack shop/convenience store, and car wash. Laundromat is behind it, and airport to the right and in front. Community services and campground are in the green area in the canyon. Prices are fair, service excellent, food delicious. What more could you ask for ?? Be sure to try the Navajo Taco in the restaurant.
A Kluster of Kolbs ?? Nawww, too trite, but we did have a good turnout with Mk III's, FireStars, FireFlies, and a Kolbra, not to mention a Cessna C175 and a Mooney.
Some, like Boyd Young in his very nice Mk III took immediate advantage of the nice early morning weather and took off exploring. Others met in the restaurant for breakfast and talk before hitting the flight line.
At mid-morning the wind came up and the intrepid pilots returned to earth to visit and relax. 90 degree temps sent some into the shade of this conveniently parked RV's awning, some under Lar's camper awning.......
.......and some into the shade of wings. Could it get any nicer than this ?? Others took advantage of the time to do chores, make phone calls, etc. Then, when the wind died down in the afternoon and temperatures dropped, we headed out again. This year it seems like more people headed north to the San Juan River, near Mexican Hat, Utah for the different scenery there. It was great.
Mexican Hat, Utah, on a bend in the San Juan River. An easy flight about 20 miles north of Goulding's. A tiny town, but very scenic.
Are these formations north of town what inspired the name ?? They look almost artificial, don't they ?? Do you think this looks nice ?? Go just a short distance to the west. Later, I learned that the name came from a large rock balanced on a smaller rock nearby. I don't have a pic of it, so will remedy that next year.
This roller-coaster of a road will carry you high up onto the plateau, and on to a viewpoint overlooking the goosenecks, or horseshoe bends of the San Juan. Of course, we have a better way, don't we ??
How about a viewpoint overlooking the viewpoint from Dave Rains' Cessna 175 ?? This is awesome scenery.
Another view of the same area.
Now, we'll fly out over the canyon and take a look back at the viewpoint. Those folks can only dream of a view like this. Can you believe the convolutions of the river ?? Amazing.
While we're at it, let's take a look waaaay down into the canyon. Hmmm.............whazzat ??
Well, I'll be....! ! ! 2 rafts & 2 kayaks. Now I've got something to look forward to on vacation this year. I really enjoyed rafting down 10 miles of the Colorado last summer, and this is a whole different scene. Looks good to me, for sure.
Time was passing, the wind was rising, thermals were getting more active, and the ride was getting pretty bumpy, so we turned and headed for home........then noticed this formation on a peninsula. Look at the perfectly straight lines and cross lines. Looks like Egyptian pyramid builders laid this out, doesn't it ??
John Hauck took me for the afternoon run in his "Miss P'fer." P' fer plane. :-) After another thorough look at the canyon, we headed back thru a corner of Monument Valley. What a ride, what a view. Next time, I'll remember to bring something dark to try to kill some of the reflections. Next time, I hope to be flying Vamoose, too. Now, where have you heard THAT before ??
..
