Monument valley
On our way out of Zion we saw more of the “giant” rocks (as Cobalt calls them), painted with yellow, white, peachy/orange, black and pink stripes. Other rock textures appeared as we moseyed along, including smears of oil paint from a palette knife. The scenery also continued to change, more notably after a one and a half mile tunnel. Instead of red, clay colored precipices, the mountains suddenly flowed as waves of tan, flaky biscuits layered with cross-cross cracks…
At first we were disappointed to arrive at Monument Valley near dark, especially when the park pass only lasted one day. But no sooner after frowning we were smiling because we got to witness one of the most marvelous sunsets!
(beginning of sunset)
(add a little color correction…)
SUNSET.
As the picture barely shows (for the colors aren’t nearly as vibrant), the sun, which shone bright yellow on the horizon, was enveloped by a complimenting red circle and an overall orange glow. These primary colors (including the red monuments and blue sky…minus the green grass, as there was none) glowed so brilliantly we both expressed “woah” in unison. Sadly, the colors faded quickly and were replaced by pastels but to our delight they continued to watercolor the sky for two more hours…
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Camping was, once again, a godsend. We were looking for an even cheaper place to stay since we were beginning to run out of monies, and heard of this roadside camping place near/on the way to Monument Valley. Apparently we passed it on the way to see the monuments, so it took us a while to find it on the way back (because it was getting dark at this point). In fact, we first pulled into – what we believe – was an Indian community because there was a small circle of trailer homes, cars, backyard playgrounds, and dogs…but no tents or signs of campers. Slightly embarrassed, we continued down the road, keeping our eyes open for any green signs of a white tent. Out of no where our lights flashed on one (which thankfully was reflective!) on the side of the road. We nearly passed it again but I pointed “here it is!” just in time for Cobalt to pull in.
This campsite was nothing like the one we had slept in the night before. It had about 8 picnic tables covered with a slanted roof/gazebo structure. Next to each structure was a place to either park a car or pitch a tent.
After pulling in we realized there was another car parked on the far right side of the site. Conversing with Cobalt, we decided to introduce ourselves to them so that mutually them and us (sorry if that’s on the correct grammar) could watch each other’s back. The campground was slightly sketchy so we figured this would be a good idea.
Approaching the car with our flashlights lighting the ground in front of us, a man stepped out of the back seat.
“Hello!” we called out, the darkness covering his face.
“Hello!” said he, friendlier than I was expecting. His lady friend stepped out the other door and walked around the car toward him/us. We asked if they were staying the night here. They replied yes and then we alternated introductions. To our delight, this couple (Luis and Aoife, pronounced “Efa”) was also on an adventure of a lifetime. They both came from Spain but Aoife was actually from Ireland. They told us about their adventures thus far in New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, India…travelling the world!! We tried our best to hold back jealously. ;)
Soon, a Native American woman pulled up in her truck. She got out and introduced herself as the person who is in charge of the campsite. She also told us about her family who lived very close to her. It was all very interesting and special to meet a real Indian! She was very kind and friendly and even told us that our $10 camping fee was going towards buying hay for her horses because they don’t get much to eat in the desert.
After she left, Cobalt and I set up our tent (pictured above) and then stargazed with our newfound friends for about an hour. The sky was so clear and dark (the moon hadn’t risen yet) that we could see the milky way — the first time I’d ever witnessed it!
(the next morning)
The night was chilly but the next morning warmed up pretty quickly. Our friends woke up at sunrise and left but wrote us a kind note that they left on our car while we were sleeping soundly in our tent. We were sad that we missed them because we wanted to talk more, see their faces and get a picture with them; but we were happy to have met them and pray blessings on their continued trip!
The next morning we headed to Arches National Park….