The ten days that Anthony and I spent together traveling is probably the equivalent of a 25 year friendship. I had just turned 40, and Anthony would turn 37 later on this trip. We had only known each other for a few years, and we were both dads with young children, so an opportunity to bond with a bro on the road typically does not happen at our ages.
I've heard horror stories of friends traveling together and then never talking to each other again. But we were really good travel partners. I'm chatty, have a lot of heart and am generally interested in the world around me. Anthony is smart, deep, sincere and is generally interested in the world around him. We definitely created a life-long bond on that road trip in 2009 that we will carry for the rest of our lives.And now we pick up where we left of in Flagstaff AZ:
June 25, 2009
We had a great time hangn’ with the locals last night, so it was a little slow-going this morning. Nonetheless, we were still up early. Our new friend JP had all the parts we needed and even assisted Anthony putting in the new seals on the front hub. If that sounded like something that you’ve only heard in the pits on NASCAR TV, that’s because it is! Myself? Well, with a wireless connection and my laptop, I got to catch up on some work that I didn’t get done before we left, so this little stop actually worked out well for me.
It was about a two hour job to get Trusty back up and running, but with a couple of trips down to the auto parts store and lunch we weren’t officially on the road until about 2pm.
It’s amazing how Flagstaff really sits in and around an alpine forest. It’s definitely not what I would expect in Arizona. And as you head out of Flagstaff, you go from alpine forest to chaparral to scrub brush to desert all in about 20 miles.
At the Wupatki National Monument we saw adobes that have been there for over 800 years and through the Navaho Nation we got a glimpse of the Painted Desert. The colors in the rock formations are endless, leaning heavily on reds to oranges.
We drove through wide open spaces and even found an old deserted Standard Oil gas station. Ironically, as we pulled up to take pictures, an electric powered freight train roared by just on the other side of the road.
From there we followed the 163 North to Monument Valley. We hit the Utah boarder just before sunset, so we made our way through the post-pile monuments at magic hour. Mother earth has done wonders with God’s work in this place. Again, the colors in these rock formations are unbelievably vibrant. That along with blue skies blended with white and gray clouds in the background, gave the landscape touches that would make a landscape artist go wild!
By the time we made it to Moab, UT it was already dark. We stocked up on some food before we entered the Canyonlands National Park so we could camp out. Trusty has a cool tent that folds right out on top, so there will be no setting up tents for us!
We finally found a nice spot to settle into, just off the beaten path, at about 1:30am. As we stepped out of the car, our weary eyes awoke to the amazing display in the sky above. It’s a new moon, so with no moon out tonight the stars dotting the black sky were endless. The Milky Way washed across and overhead like a hazy river cutting through a field of lights. This truly is a stargazer’s paradise. I even saw a couple of shooting stars dash across the sky leaving trails of stardust behind. OK, I know, that last part might have gone too far, but no it wasn’t the beer talking! I’m from the city so for me, being out here is just plain amazing!
Day 3 – June 23, 2009
Start: Flagstaff, AZ
Destination: Canyonlands National Park/Moab, UT
Mileage: 318 Miles
Did we make it? Yes
The road to Monument Valley - Brush
Deserted Standard Oil gas station
Hat Rock
Monument Valley
Trusty with pop-up tent!
No comments:
Post a Comment