We waved goodbye this morning to my sister, Julie, who departed for the long drive back to Pasadena at about 10:00. Soon after, we left Goulding’s RV Park with No Repair Services Available Locally headed for Watkins RV Repair concealed in the brush between Cortez and Dolores, CO. We had a great drive through the desert of Arizona, Four Corners and into Colorado primarily because the scenery on US-160 between Kayenta, AZ, and Dolores, CO, is different but very interesting and almost bizarre. Geology has had a field day in this part of the world. The remote location (down a mile or two of dirt road) of Watkins RV was not really a problem because when we got there, the RV mechanic, Clark Watkins, jumped right into our trailer with diagnostic equipment in order to determine the source of our recent electrical woe.
We received good news! He had the necessary parts and expertise to fix our problems and would have us on our way in 3 hours. Since it was plain he needed no help from me, we asked where we could find some good local food, including chicken fried steak for me. He suggested a place in Dolores called That Place in Dolores. I was able to continue my quest to find the best chicken fried steak in the U.S. which has been my probably unhealthy search for the last two years. Happily, the CFS here had probably the best coating of anyplace yet. I would have to rank the chicken fried steak here right up there with the leaders, Jake’s in Bend, OR, and Dean’s in Clackamas, OR. This great restaurant also has superb pies that are made on site, great sides with your meal and great prices. The chef owner used to be the bigwig for food at the casino in Tawaoc where we were scheduled to spend the next three days.
After dining, we stopped in at the Dolores railroad museum which was free and pretty good but quite small. We were filling up with fuel after lounging around the museum for a while when we got a call from the mechanic who told us we were ready to go. We parted with about $785 and were on our way. We drove back to Watkins RV Repair and picked up our newly re-energized trailer, towed it to the casino and promptly set the trailer up in the wrong space. We were pretty scorched over our long drive, subsequent repairs, dining, museum viewing and return from Dolores to Tawaoc’s Ute Mountain casino and RV park.
We had just started to relax when there was a knock on the door of the trailer and opened it to find a Ute security cop named Sherwin who was big as a tent. He wanted to know why we were in space 38 when his records indicated the space was supposed to be empty. I explained that we were merely stupid and had not noticed we were supposed to be in space 19 instead of 38 when we set up. He was very nice about us blowing it out our ass and left us alone after directing us to square our location anomaly out with management in the morning, which we agreed to do. He was very nice about it which was fortunate because he did not appear to be the type of person sane people would want to wrestle with. We got to sleep pretty early tonight.
There are a few pictures we snapped along the way and you can see them if you click here

I started calling RV repair facilities all over northern Arizona and western Colorado, attempting to find a mobile mechanic to come save us from our electrical purgatory induced by last night’s smoky converter failure. I was able to contact a repair place in Page, AZ, and the guy laughed at me when I asked if they could come save me. The only other contact I made was with Watkins RV Repair in Dolores, CO. I finally was able to talk with the owner’s daughter who said they would not come to me but I could bring the trailer to them and they could solve our electrical woes. That became the plan for tomorrow because we were scheduled to move to an RV park at a casino in Tawoac, near Dolores, CO.
Since we were scheduled for another day in the Monument Valley area before our departure, we abandoned the trailer when it started to get hot and took off going north up UT-163. We cruised about 20 miles or so and had just crossed the San Juan River into a little town called Mexican Hat. We wondered about the name until we passed through town and spotted a sizable rock formation adjacent to the road that looks just like an inverted sombrero, hence the name. We shot a few pix and then continued on to Goosenecks State Park.
Goosenecks offers spectacular views of a very unique landscape of almost switchback-like river bends around massive rock formations. From the viewpoint at the top, the drop to the river carving through the rocks below is 1000 feet. At this remote location we also encountered many bikers, almost none of whom spoke English. Many foreign bikers must have been told to go to this state park and nearby Mexican Hat because I believe they were all here. On our way back to Mexican Hat we pulled out to take some pictures of the extraordinary rock formations in the area. They are quite stunning but the weather was warm so soon we were ensconced in a small bar and restaurant in Mexican Hat, eating and asking for many water refills. There was a sign in the bar’s parking lot suggesting that nobody park below the adjacent rock bluff due to rock falls but the bikers who arrived after us parked in a big row right under the dangerous part probably because they couldn’t read the sign in English.
We got back to the trailer pretty late in the day but it made no difference because we still had a compromised electrical system and no air conditioning. We cooked outside on the portable stove and the barbecue but had great steaks and corn on the cob for dinner. After sundown, we shlepped back into the trailer for some banter and reading because our TV and almost every other electrical convenience was not available. We did have alcohol which helped make our discomfort more enjoyable. I ended the day by picking up the satellite antenna, the electrical umbilical and the coaxial cable outside the trailer because they were now temporarily useless. Another pretty early-to-bed night.
We took a few pix along the way and the can be seen by clicking here

Today it was quite hot. Peggy and I hung around the trailer all morning long, mostly loafing, until my sister, Julie, arrived. She had come to join us all the way from Los Angeles, through a big portion of Arizona and into southern Utah’s Monument Valley because she really likes the scenery. Can’t say that I disagree with her.
After her arrival before noon Arizona time but after noon Utah time, we decided to take another spin on the 17 mile loop road through this amazing place. Since we went to the Valley later today than yesterday, all the colorful rock formations looked different in the afternoon light than they did yesterday morning. The wonderful, different views today were spectacular but the road conditions were no different. The road is shit, particularly for vehicles with low ground clearance. It is fortunate that Goulding’s Hospitality complex has a car wash because everyone exiting the Valley has a pink car due to the abundant dust from the dirt roads.
By late afternoon we were back at the trailer with both air conditioners attempting to lower the inside temperature below 100 degrees. Various alcoholic beverages were killed in the early evening in an effort to keep hydrated. We were enjoying the cool temperatures and watching a movie when the trailer’s electrical system took a dump, killing all the shore power energized components like the air conditioners, the TV, and any devices plugged into receptacles. Much stinky smoke emanated from the area containing a device known as the converter which all modern RVs have.
We now were forced to live with the 12 volt portion of the system which means some lighting, the refrigerator and the water heater. Movie watching went right out the window. We were in bed a bit earlier than expected tonight. I made some foolish efforts to contact mobile RV repair facilities to schedule a visit for tomorrow but there do not seem to be any such services near Monument Valley. It appeared we were screwed for getting any timely service in this part of the world. Bummer.
We did get a few pictures before electrical disaster struck and you can see ’em if you click here

Today we drove into Monument Valley. This magnificent place is controlled by the local Indians….uhhh…Native Americans and we paid the $20 charge to get into the area. The road from here at Goulding’s RV park to the fee collection station for the area is a nice, wide, paved road. There we encountered a grumpy Navajo who took our money, handed us our map and sent us on our way with a heartfelt grunt.
The monuments, mesas and other giant formations of sandstone and limestone are beautiful and quite majestic. The colors are fantastic. Many vistas are here that were used in John Ford movies starring folks like John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Victor McLachlan and Ward Bond. Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and The Searchers were filmed here. I almost expected to see The Duke riding by on a brown horse but instead only saw some horses in corrals that the locals use to tote tourists around this almost magical landscape. Every so often as you drive the loop road accessible to palefaces there are small hooches, some ramadas and a few old travel trailers that house locals who sell Native American items fabricated by local Zuni, Navajo or Hopi artisans. Some also sell cold drinks which is fortunate because it was quite hot today. There are also some private residences here but I didn’t see any evidence of rural electrification so evenings must be dull. The Monument Valley View Hotel and other nearby concessionaires offer many tours to parts of this place inaccessible to loop road traffic that include trips down closed but tortured roads and additionally offer visits to hogans where the suckers can watch Navajo women weave rugs while enjoying the almost furnace-like conditions. They are pretty pricey; prices start around $75 a head for a punishing ride on some thinly-padded seats in the back of a pickup truck. There do not seem to be any discounts for kids, military or the elderly, like me. I suppose I can figure out why the Indians do not offer discounts to the military seeing as the U.S. Cavalry was responsible for the almost complete annihilation of these people in the spirit of manifest destiny or the concept of killing all the folks living on the land miners of the Old West wanted.
After passing the nice fee station, the road immediately turns to dirt in most places with a few short gravel sections. The folks who run the place are apparently unaware of a piece of motorized road-building equipment known as a blade or grader because the dirt road surfaces are lumpier than a teenagers face. It takes more than 2 hours to cover the 17 mile route through the facility’s loop road because proceeding at any more than 10 miles per hour or slower will certainly result in the total destruction of automotive suspension systems. We spotted many fools with low-clearance vehicles that surely heard nasty scraping noises as their cars passed over the enormous potholes, abrupt surface changes and white eye traps. Many potholes were spotted in the pink dust that could easily swallow half of our truck’s 18″ wheels and big tires. Kidney belts might be appropriate for the more challenging sections of the loop because the washboard sections are seemingly designed to shake out pricey dental work.
Regardless of the road conditions, this place offers extraordinary views of the beautiful terrain. We completed the loop after a bit more than two hours and exited the facility for the short drive back to Goulding’s where we took care of some personal business inside the trailer while enjoying the park’s excellent wi-fi. It was a good time to retreat inside because the temperature when we got back from our drive was 105 degrees. At 8:30 this evening it was still 86 degrees with 8% humidity, up from today’s earlier reading of 3%. I am delighted we had the foresight to buy a trailer with two air conditioners, complete water systems, a shower, a toilet, a microwave, an ice maker, a refrigerator and freezer, recliners, shade awnings, tinted windows, a 35,000 BTU furnace and a HDTV. It is wonderful to be able to retreat from this area’s torrid afternoon weather. Remember to drink plenty of water here or you will surely shrivel up like burnt Saran wrap in this weather.
We shot some pictures during today’s loop and you can see them if you click here

It was already around 85 degrees when we started gathering up our stuff and preparing to leave Lake Powell at 0800 this morning. The temperature climbed steadily as we ambled through our departure tasks and by 0930 we were on our way out of the Wahweap Campground. We went south on US-89 over the Colorado River next to the Glen Canyon Dam and into Page until we found the turnoff to AZ-98 which goes southeast about 50 miles to AZ-160. We turned east on 160 for about half an hour until we hit AZ-163 in Kayenta where we turned north toward Monument Valley. In 25 miles, we were approaching Goulding’s which is a big complex of visitor stuff like stores, laundries, a lodge, many hotel rooms, cabins, a gas station, a theater, a museum and an RV park. It is right in the heart of Monument Valley. The theater offers free interpretive and John Wayne movies every night. All the Duke’s movies shown in the theater were filmed here in Monument Valley.
The RV park is situated right between two enormous rock monoliths which make the camping sort of like being in a furnace but the scenery is pretty spiffy for those like me that find geology fascinating. Between the two monoliths is a view out to the main valley floor and the extraordinary rock formations there are visible from our camping spot. The space we got was not even close to being level so we had to do some cribbing to get the Barbarian Invader level. I was pretty slow on setup today maybe because I was affected by the high temperatures. The wi-fi here is amazingly fast and full hookups are available. There are no discounts except from the Good Sam Club which saved us 10%. Spaces are very close together. Goulding’s offers guided tours into the valley but there are no discounts on those, either, not even for ancients or service personnel. After setup, we climbed into the trailer for some air conditioned loafing and napping. My satellite antenna could not get a shot of the satellites from the gorge where we are camped but the campground has free cable TV that offers about 25 channel and shitty reception. Everyone on the tube looks like they are behind a screen of gauze.
It is pretty plain why John Ford shot a bunch of John Wayne movies here. The desert and rock scenery is dramatic and would be considered iconic of western lore. We probably could have selected a time when the temperatures weren’t so malevolent but we can easily take in the scenery from our air conditioned vehicle and from within our traveling home which we will begin tomorrow. The day after, my big sister, Julie, is supposed to be driving in by car from Pasadena, CA. She must like the place because it is a long way from her house to here.
During our little spin across the desert we got some photos and you can see some of them if you click here

Today we were relegated to one of the onerous tasks associated with full-time RVing. We went to the laundromat and did the wash. Fortunately, the local laundry at the RV facility where we are camped was air conditioned because it was over 100 degrees here in Wahweap Campground at Lake Powell.
Peggy does most of the heavy lifting on laundry days. I mostly just punk the clothes into and out of the laundry, look stupid when she tells me I have put some item into the wrong machine and stuff quarters into the slots. I am also the chairman of rotten clothes folding so Peggy has made it plain that I should leave the finesse parts to her. The laundry here is the least expensive of anyplace we have used on our two year journey. Washers were only $1 and dryers were $.50. They had ample machines and we did not have to wait to use them. After the dreaded laundry task, we popped into Page, AZ, to fill up on diesel because we are off on another adventure tomorrow.
After getting back to the Barbarian Invader, we mostly just drank cold porter and hid inside the air conditioned interior because the temperature when we got home from our errand was 105 and the humidity was negligible. Many of the campers who were left over from the Memorial Day weekend boxed up their stuff, trailered their boats and split.
Once the temperature got down to 90, we ventured outside for some outdoor cooking and stargazing. I could get used to lounging around, cooking on the barbecue and our portable two-burner stove and watching the sunset followed by the dazzling display of stars visible in this torrid place. The scenery is fantastic, the lake is beautiful and the evenings have been very enjoyable. Gotta watch those daytime temperatures, though. It is hotter than Hell here in Lake Powell in June.
There are no pictures today because we were slugs.

It was a mixed bag today. In the morning we accomplished two dreaded tasks; we took Charlotte to Lake Powell Ford to get the oil changed and then we also went shopping. Neither of these tasks can be enjoyed in an environment where the daytime temperatures frequently exceeds 100 degrees F.
At Lake Powell Ford, the staff was very nice and they dress in attire unseen in other locales. Mechanics and service writers wear shorts due to the inability or unwillingness to air condition their working spaces. Lots of water receptacles are strewn about to tempt them to keep hydrated in the abundant warmth and negligible humidity. Today the temperature was 101 F and the humidity was 3. After relieving us of $121, we departed with Charlotte’s transfusion complete.
We then drove the short distance to a Scab-Mart where many Navajos were both shopping and operating the registers. They all had wonderfully luxurious black, shiny hair and nobody seemed to be in a hurry. Maybe it is their adaptation to living and working in the torturous climate here in the summer. After being very successful with getting all the stuff we needed, we parted with another $160 and headed back to the Barbarian Invader to re-stock our larders.
The sun was blazing down on us in the RV park so we climbed into the trailer and pumped up the air conditioning. I had no idea that two air conditioners on one trailer were a good thing until today. I thought we were merely hauling around another rooftop compressor because that is how the trailer was outfitted but today I realized the wisdom of multiple units. Both of them performed flawlessly and provided the elderly inside a delightful oasis from the outside. I think I might have even napped in the cool.
Soon it was 4:30 and we emerged from our Nirvana to take a very short drive down to the Lake Powell Resort and Lodge to board a boat for a cruise on the lake. Despite the withering environmental conditions, the Lake Powell area is absolutely beautiful and from the lake the scenery is maybe even better. The azure blue lake below, the bright blue cloudless sky above and the horizons on all sides filled with yellow, orange and red bluffs of extraordinary height and texture. The scenery is stunning. It costs $58 a head to take the cruise but I believe we got every penny’s worth on this jaunt. There is one caveat: many Oriental persons were also on the cruise and, despite them all having a seat on the vessel, they seemed to believe it is prudent to almost immediately abandon their seats and stand alongside the deck rails and block all views of the scenery for others while taking many selfies and otherwise obscuring the panoramas that would have been enjoyed by those not getting in the way. It must be a cultural thing or perhaps they have nothing to see where they live and they have instead endeavoured to make sure nobody else will either. They were not unattractive folk but they make for picket fence views of the surroundings. I am glad I do not hail from where they come from because it must be ugly.
After two hours of partially obscured views of the beautiful surroundings, the boat returned to the dock and disgorged all it’s contents for a tram ride back up the steep hill to the Lodge. The Orientals must not have understood the tram workings because they all trudged up the hill while the better informed and shaded passengers sharp enough to board the tram instead of blocking access and views rode to the top. Of course the fully occupied tram had to dodge around the miserable-looking idiots blocking the narrow road to the air conditioned Lodge who should have been waiting for the second tram under the shaded arbor on the dock. Serves ’em right.
We returned to our trailer and awaited the sun’s retreat over the western horizon before we emerged for some outside cooking and star gazing. The sunset was gorgeous and a welcome relief from the blistering daytime brilliance. The skies here are very clear at night and suffer little from the effects of light pollution. The stars were brilliant and Peggy and I laid back in our chaises trying to be the first to identify passing satellites while waiting for dinner to cook on the barby. It was great.
We took some pix out on the lake and you can see them if you click here

We departed from Jacob Lake, up by the Grand Canyon, and drove down US-89A from about 8000′ elevation to about 3500′ in the desert not far to the east. The road is not real wide and drops the 4000’+ in about 15 miles. At the last screwy turn of the road down, a beautiful series of bluffs appears on the north side of the highway and they are colored dark red with little patches of other colors, even blue, mixed into the scenery.
On the south side of the road is mostly featureless desert but every so often the gorge of the Colorado River can be seen. It looks like a jagged wound in the surface of the world. Since it is late May, a variety of colorful flowers can be seen alongside the road. The desert we could see was mostly green, not the dull brown I expected. It was gorgeous instead of just appearing to be a bleak wasteland. On the north side of the road is the Vermillion Cliffs and they selected a great title. They are not only brilliantly colored, they also are impressive since they extend thousands of feet above the highway.
We eventually ran into US-89 at a tee intersection in the middle of nowhere and turned north toward Page, AZ, and Lake Powell. No sooner had we turned north than we started a long 6% climb to about 6500′ and a big plateau. The road here was destroyed by a huge landslide in 2013 but has been fixed since. It now passes through the most enormous cut through the rocks I have ever seen. I am surprised it was not a tunnel. The cut must be several hundred feet deep with almost vertical walls through the red rock formation.
Once on top of the plateau, the road starts a long decline to Page, AZ. One of the interesting items we saw as approaching Page was a fossil fuel-powered power plant which seems out of place since it is immediately adjacent to a huge hydroelectric plant of the Glen Canyon Dam. The dam backs water up for around 200 miles and the water was over 500 feet deep at the dam although I imagine the normally brown or red Colorado has left quite a bit of sediment in the bottom of the lake by now. There certainly isn’t much sediment below the dam because the water is emerald green.
We passed through Page and over the dam to the Wahweap RV Campground where we got a fabulous spot overlooking the lake and the spectacular rock formations surrounding it. The RV section we were assigned has full hookups, crummy wi-fi, very snazzy restrooms and absolutely stunning views of the surroundings. It was pretty warm when we arrived but as the afternoon wore on, the temperature went up to 100 degrees so we set up the trailer, climbed inside and turned on the air conditioning. We will venture outside once the temperature goes down below that expected at the surface of the sun. The weather report indicates it will be a great night for stargazing.
We got some pix both on the way and once we arrived at Lake Powell and you can see them if you click here

Another foray into the park was on our agenda for today. We got up fairly late, took showers, fed ourselves and drank much fortified coffee prior to hearing a little thunder in the distance. Soon the thunder was not in the distance anymore and we were treated to some impressive but frightful cracks and rips accompanied by big widely-spaced raindrops. That was our clue to get into our beloved Charlotte and head for the park.
We took the gravel road from Kaibab Camper Village to AZ-67 where we turned south into Grand Canyon some 40 miles away. On the way to the park, we passed first through rain and then through something like sleet or snow while getting occasional glimpses of lightning followed shortly by some terrific thunder. As we got closer to the canyon rim, the skies cleared with puffy clouds that looked like they were raining elsewhere.
Yesterday, we went to both the Lodge area overlooks and up a long side road to Cape Royal. We decided this morning that the side road we traveled yesterday offered the views of the canyon we liked best so today we skipped the touristy, more crowded Lodge part. We took the turnoff to what the park maps call Fuller Canyon. The road is quite narrow, particularly for a gigantic F-250 pickup, and there are very sharp curves, some with suggested speed limits of 10 mph. It is not a road for timid drivers afraid to keep their car on their side of the yellow lines despite being confronted with a deadly drop about 4 feet away on the other side. The round trip to see all the viewpoints here is about 35 miles and speed limits are necessarily low so allow at least 3 hours. We even encountered some rental RV drivers unfamiliar with operation of wide vehicles that cheerfully placed two feet of their vehicle in the oncoming lanes as we approached and passed with the right side tires grooming the ditch. There is little wiggle room here.
In spite of the challenging road, along the way the viewpoints into the canyon offer unforgettable vistas. We pulled into paved areas or parking spots at Point Imperial, Vista Encantada, Roosevelt Point, Walhalla Overlook on the way to the end of the road. There, we took a stroll to an enormous arch thingie called Angels Window and a bit further to Cape Royal. Viewing opportunities at Cape Royal are abundant with perspectives of many different canyon aspects. The emerald-colored Colorado River and some rapids can be seen 7 miles laterally and one mile below the viewpoint. We had great views across vast sections of northern Arizona. What a spot.
We headed back home about 6:00 PM after getting some fantastic photo ops and had not been on AZ-67 northbound within the park for 10 minutes when we encountered some gesticulating Rangers and boxy vehicles with many flashing and gaily colored lights alongside the road. It seems one of those drivers incapable of keeping his eyes on the road while texting or talking or thinking had driven his formerly shiny Toyota off the side of the road, across the ditch, into some mostly dirt terrain before coming to rest on some national park logs. The driver looked sheepish as we passed. He appeared to be getting his personal stuff out of the car because it looked like the car would not be going anywhere except onto the back of a tow truck.
A few miles later, we encountered the Grand Canyon bison herd and they were out in numbers, some effectively blocking the road. They are wonderful, shaggy monsters and it is fortunate they are typically docile because if they weren’t, we would be SOL. The adults are car-sized and the calves are cute little rambunctious Bolsheviks. We also spotted not less than 150 plainly visible mule deer on our way north on AZ-67. This place is great in May; we saw abundant wildlife, fantastic canyon views, scenic forest vistas on roads bordered with many types of flowers. I’ll put this place on my repeat list, if I can find it.
We took a few pictures along the way today and you can see them if you click here

We got on the ‘net by using our phone and found that the Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge serves buffet breakfast so I foolishly insisted that we get up, drink our fortified coffee and drive into the Lodge for breakfast which they quit serving at 10:00 AM. We departed our RV park by about 8:25 headed for the Lodge. It is about 40 miles to the park boundary and the speed limits are not high on AZ-67 but we got to the Lodge by about 9:30. I parked while Peg got us a table.
We had a great seating location overlooking this granddaddy of national parks. However, despite the absolutely terrific views, the food was not anything to write home about. I would describe it as nominal. Service was great. After dining, we headed outside to get in some strolling along the rim of the Grand Canyon. The views are truly magnificent but the rim is up over 8000′ elevation so fast walking is almost terminal for old, fat, out-of-shape retirees gasping and wheezing along the edge of this extraordinary demonstration of geology and erosion.
We crept along the canyon rim a while, snapping pictures, looking for places to sit until my heartbeat got below about 200 and jealously guarding the shady spots we found on the rim trails. Peggy is not real skookum on abrupt edges, particularly mile-high ones, so she steered clear of the more ugly passages out to some viewpoints. From the north rim, you can see many geologic layers extending down a mile to rocks near the Colorado River that are over a billion years old. The colors of the layers are fantastic here. Also visible is the south rim about 10 or 15 miles distant and 1500’ lower than the north rim. Beyond the south rim the flat terrain of northern Arizona extends to the horizon.
We finally left the Lodge area and headed for one of the only other north rim roads which goes down about 20 miles from AZ-67 to a promontory called Cape Royal and a wonderful viewpoint called Point Imperial, where there are great vistas with stunning views of the east end of the canyon. It was here that the food I insisted on eating this morning started to have a peculiar effect on my digestive system so we headed back down the extremely narrow road to AZ-67. On the way, we spotted some of either the biggest coyotes we have ever seen or funny wolves, condors, bluebirds, deer and, surprisingly, a big herd of bison. We also encountered a myriad of apparently suicidal drivers coming at us on the very narrow road who had decided that driving on our side of the double yellow line was okay on tight inside corners. I would happily blow my horn at them and watch their faces as they shit themselves while trying to get their vehicles back into their own lane without careening over the edge of the extremely narrow road into nothingness for several thousand feet.
I was fortunate to make it back to our RV at about 4:00 PM since I got to see the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway which we saw during last year’s trip up the east coast. Truex won.
We took some pix and you can see them by clicking here