touring two: border crossing

6/20 Page, AZ to somewhere past Kaibito, Navajo Res

Lake Powell with Glen Canyon Dam

We started off on highway 98 heading uphill (we were starting to pay for the wonderful descent that we had into Page and Lake Powell, it was like climbing out of a gigantic sink). We would be on 98 for the entire day, going through deep dips in the terrain as we passed over the hilly landscape. Every downhill slope that we encounterd was working against the 2,500 feet that we would ascend over the next 40 miles.

The photo above is of the Navajo Mountain, after climbing about 1500ft out of Page, AZ.

There is no straight line from Page to Cortez, the roads have to go around a series of canyons, gorges, and rock formations located in between. Above you can see some of this in the distance.

We stopped at the Kaibito Market in Kaibito to fill up our water bottles and get some lunch. We decided on a very healthy meal of fried chicken and apples :)

The communities on the Res are few and far between, and we planned for sleeping wherever looked comfy for the night. So about an hour before sunset we started looking for a camp spot.
We were traveling mainly through rolling hills with few trees, lots of big rocks, mountains, and primarily red dirt/sand with scrubby grasses. The sun was getting lower in the sky as we passed by these stately rocks and biked down into a wash area on a curvy road. As we headed back out of the wash the land transformed from the red sand and grassy scrubby plants into an area dense with evergreens. We quickly found ourselves a nice alcove off the highway where we could camp for the evening. It was near invisible from the road, secluded by wide pine trees. We set up our green and grey tent (which blended right in! Glad we didn't buy the orange one) and then cooked dinner.

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6/21 Kaibito to Kayenta, AZ

We were on our way shortly after dawn and a breakfast of peanutbutter and the most delicious commercially-sold wheat bread known to mankind (from Dunford bakers). Today was a day of large rolling hills through the Res. Up and down and down and up we went! It was a dry, hot summer day, probably about 95 degrees Fahrenheit and maybe 5 percent humidity. Lots of water and lots of sunscreen.

We stopped for a snack break on a driveway, and there was a small black sheep bleating. He had gotten both back feet wedged in the cattle grate. I was very worried he had broken his leg. I got his feet free, and he just sat there. I was worried he was hurt. Then as I walked back towards the road he jumped up and wandered off, bleating for the rest of his herd. Funny sheep. Livestock roam free in the Res, a few of the sheep have bells and are looked after more carefully, but cows and horses and sometimes goats just wander wherever they would like. There are tunnels underneath the highway so that vehicles and animals can pass from oneside to the other without having any run-ins with traffic.
Shortly after our encounter with the lamb, we passed by a towering silo with a large conveyor belt that ran over the road and up into the mountains. Later when we stopped for lunch in a small Grocery / Gas store on the Reservation we found out that this was for a coal mine.

There was a stretch of road where we were surrounded by mountains, cliffs, and gorges on both sides. The red rock walls of the cliff stretched hundreds of feet above us on our right and the view above was to our left.

We came to Kayenta, which is a tourist town located at the entrance to Monument Valley. We of course stopped at the McDonalds for a quick snack, and out in the dirt between the parking lot and the road was a donkey just hanging out. He was very cute and shaggy :)

After debating and discussing, we decided to stay at a hotel in Kayenta, and enjoyed a relaxing evening and wonderful hot showers!

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6/22 Kayenta to somewhere past Red Mesa, AZ

After enjoying the breakfast and coffee at the hotel, we headed out the next morning, towards the Four Corners, and passed a small herd of horses grazing at the side of the road (including Mommy and Baby above).

The route that we were taking (highway 160) went along (but not through) Monument Valley. This gave us some really interesting views along the way. Like the rock structures above and below, many of them seemed like they must have just fallen from the sky, standing out among the flat and rolling desert land. the one above is called Church Rock.

After passing by Church Rock, we climbed up and up! Above you can see Kayenta about five miles out. Below is Church Rock from the toip of the hill - it was a very large pile of rock and sand!

As we passed through this part of our route, we were introduced to the mesas that now accompanied the landscape. Here is Baby Rock Mesa:

The rock structures that make Monument Valley famous started to disappear and the landscape became more and more dominated by Mesa's and rocky cliffs.

The Navajo Reservation lands are scarcely populated. For the majority of our trip we were lucky to see any sign of civilation every 40 miles. These stops usually consisted of a very old building with some basic groceries and gas. We stopped at one of these places called Mexican Water and had hot dogs for lunch. We talked with some of the local Native Americans as we ate. This was very interesting as in previous stops it seemed as if everyone was just ignoring us. We talked with Leo and Karen and they were very helpful. They recommended that we stay at a camp site at the Four corners and gave us freshly baked, very delicious, fry bread. Setting our sights for the borders of the Reservation, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado, we headed out again.

As the sun started to set we were still over 10 miles away from the Four Corners and we thought that the terrain might be tough. Not wanting to be stuck out in the dark, we started to survey the landscape along the side of the road for a campsite. The Natives that we talked to said that it would be ok to camp along the sides, that the locals would not mind, but that we would be better off on the opposite side of the fence that followed the road. We found a couple of suitable sites, but decided on one that was ontop of the embankment that paralleled the road, and was well hidden. It is somewhat strange to setup camp on the side of the road, but it does have its benefits. It gives us more time to bike, and is much more secluded than camping at a campground (it actually feels safer when you know that people can't see you as opposed to when everyone at a campsite or RV park knows where you are, and knows that you don't have a car).

We had a spectacular view of the sunset over a 360 degree view of mountains and mesas. The view was only surpassed when the stars came out.

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6/23 Red Mesa to Cortez, CO

The other benefit of camping in the middle of nowhere is getting to wake up to a peaceful, quiet morning. We packed up and headed for the Four corners, with the goal of making it to Cortez.

We arrived at the Four Corners but were disappointed to find that there wasn't much there at all, and that it cost money to visit! Expecting to get a nice cup of coffee, and enjoy a short break, we were disappointed and decided to hit the road again.

Arizona thanked us for visiting, and soon we found that we were in New Mexico!

We went down a hill and turned a corner and found that we were in Colorado! Then, we were on the Ute Reservation. Colorado was already looking really nice. We crossed over the San Juan river. It was wonderful to see water again!

We stopped at a tourist guide center on the Ute reservation and bought come cold drinks. We learned about some of the possible things that we could do in Cortez, and that Mesa Verde was a steep, 20 mile climb from Cortez with almost no shoulder. We were disappointed to find that we probably would not make it into Mesa Verde. Sitting outside in the shade, finishing up our lunch, two cyclists coming through decided to stop, and we talked with them a bit about the area. We got some interesting information about the terrain, and found out that there was a good bike shop in Cortez.

As we passed into Cortez and left the Ute Reservation we were faced with a shocking site! There was grass everywhere! Every lawn we saw had sprinklers throwing off sparkling clean water on lush green yards! This was such a striking contrast to the dry, dusty, hot parts of the Reservations.