Well, the day started early. REAL EARLY! We were awakened at 02:15 by an alarm in the RV. Long story short, we ran out of propane – inauspicious since the refrigerator and freezer run on it! So, we got up, packed up and left before the animals were awake! First stop, Tuba City. Guess what? The only gas station in town had a sign on the door, “Sorry, we’re out of propane.” Groan!
Now we’re in trouble… next stop is Monument Valley, and my AllStays app says there ain’t no propane in Monument Valley. So I called the RV park where we planned to spend the night and the owner answered the phone and cheerfully reported that yes, they do have propane. Problem was that she had to call in someone to work the propane fill mechanism and would have to call me back to find out what time I’d have to be at the park to meet up with him. She, meanwhile, was in Oregon, so we’re doing this all by phone.
About an hour into the trip to Monument Valley no word from the RV Park owner. I’m wondering how much it was going to cost me to replace all the food in the fridge.
Lo and behold, I see a seedy, pretty broken down gas station in the middle of nowhere. The station IS the town and there are two big old propane tanks outside. I pull in and ask if they dispense propane to RV’s. “Sure” the sweet Navaho lady (I’m in the middle of Navaho country) behind the counter says, “just let me call Julius to help you.” 2 minutes pass, 5 minutes pass, no Julius. And then I remembered, native indian time is like island time, except slower!
Eventually, Julius shows up and I get my propane tank filled. Turns out the thing is only 9 gallons and I took 8.7. I’ll have to check it more frequently.
Anyhow, on we went to Monument Valley, which is both in Arizona and Utah but all on the Navaho Reservation. Didn’t realize the Navaho were so entrepreneurial! It cost $$$ just to approach the Valley, and if you wanted to go visit John Ford Point, you needed to hire a guide, at a cost of $250 per person.
So we just took photos from the viewing deck. Here are a couple…
The approach to the Valley.
Almost exactly like the photo in Wikipedia except this one was taken with my iPhone!
After Monument Valley it is axiomatic that one must stop where Forrest Gump stopped during his cross-country run. Popular place, this is the best I could do to capture the spot.
Onward to Four Corners, Mesa Verde and Pagosa Springs!
