Memphis to Monument Valley

5 Sept –

Before leaving the camp at Nashville we published the last blog and swapped some books at the camp library. Our e-readers can no longer be loaded as the download programme from adobe has stopped working. We have tried everything and now have given up on them. We will fix the problem when we get home. Thru Nashville and back on the I-40 for a short drive of 108 miles to a state pack at Natchez Trace. We decided to cut the trip to Memphis in half as we will go out to Beale St there.

6 Sept –

We drove thru Lexington, stopping for a shop before heading into Memphis and our camp at Gracelands RV Park. We stayed here last year but got a better site out the back under the trees and on grass. It was now hot and humid and after booking a shuttle into Beale St we relaxed in the pool. We were dropped off at Beale St at 6:30pm. This is the club and bar area of Memphis but was fairly quiet when we arrived. We found two good bars with great bands, one playing modern country, the other the blues before heading to The BB King Club. There was a really good band, 4 vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboard, sax and drummer, all Afro American. They played blues, ballads, country rock and even a bit of Elvis. The place was full with a great atmosphere .We had a great meal, me with my usual burger and Val pork ribs. The music was so good we stayed there until 10:30pm and caught the last shuttle back to camp.

7 Sept –

Got a text from Claire saying that Phoebe had broken her little finger at school. Hopefully it will not be a problem for their trip. We decided we had better start getting some miles under our belt so drove 216 miles stopping for a lunch break. The first part of the trip was thru Memphis and over the Mississippi River into Arkansas and back on the I-40. Our overnight stop was at a state park on Lake Dardanelle, a very pretty lake.

8 Sept –

We continued on the I-40 for about 80 miles across the Arkansas/Oklahoma border and a further 100 miles to Lake Henryetta where we found a site with power overlooking the lake. Two other RVs were here and they said that you are meant to pay at the town hall 4 miles back down the road but nobody pays. That will suit us! When the temperature went over 100F (38C) at around 5:00pm we retired into Ernie and the air-conditioning. When it cooled in the evening we chatted to the other campers. They told us this lake is famous for ‘noodling” for catfish.  I had seen it on an extreme fishing programme on TV. The idea is to wade in the muddy water feeling underwater along the banks for holes where the catfish live. Finding one, you don a protective glove, reach into the hole as far as possible, and grab the catfish by the mouth and wrestle it out. The catfish can be up to 80lbs! We WILL NOT try this tomorrow! Today’s trip 176 miles.

9 Sept –

We drove back thru the town of Henryetta and fuelled up at a record low price for us of $1.95/gallon. Converted to NZ$ it would be 70c/l. Later down the road we saw $1.79/gallon! We skirted around Oklahoma City still on the I-40 and the landscape changed from rolling hills to flat farming land. We pulled off the interstate and parked on a side road for lunch. Later we realized we were on the old Route 66. Our overnight stop was at a RV Park in Elk City for laundry and internet. We booked some camps and a scenic rail trip for next week. Again it was hot in the night but rain and thunder came and it all cooled down. Today’s trip 208 miles.

10 Sept –

The theme for today was “Show Me the Way to Amarillo” over the border into Texas. This area is the Texas panhandle high plains. The landscape was flat with no trees or hills. We are slowly gaining altitude however and were now over 3000ft. This was cattle country with corn and beans feeding the cattle in huge feedlots. There were also many windfarms working as we were buffeted by cross winds. We stopped at a rest area before passing through Amarillo, a nice green looking town, and another 40 miles where we found an RV Park just off the I-40 at a one horse town called Vega. It had been a pleasant cooler day. Today’s trip 180 miles.

11 Sept –

We continued on the I-40 over the border into New Mexico. Immediately the landscape changed from farms of corn and beans for the cattle feedlots, to ranch land and semi desert. We continued on a steady climb and this coupled with a strong head wind, made “Ernie” a thirsty boy! After a lunch break at Santa Rosa we stopped at the first RV Park we saw a further 90 miles west. At some stages the road was over 7000ft.  Today’s trip 223 miles.

12 Sept –

We drove our last bit of the I-40 to Albuquerque where we turned north. Our most direct route to Phoenix would be to stay on the I-40 to Flagstaff and then south but we are taking a 200 mile detour for a scenic train ride and to visit Monument Valley. We missed doing these trips last time we were in this area 4 years ago. We followed the “550” with spectacular desert country with red rocks and soil and many ridges and buttes.

We had both forgotten how much we love this desert scenery. Half way to Durango where the scenic train trip departs from, we stopped for the night in a small New Mexico town called Cuba where we spied a handmade sign for an RV Park. It was deserted so we parked up but could not contact the owner as there was no cell phone coverage. Black clouds rolled in and soon an electrical storm and rain. After it had cleared some workers returned to their RV and told us there was cell phone coverage in the centre of town. We walked into town which was very run down with most businesses closed and abandoned. All a bit sad as it could be a nice town. There was more rain when we got back and the owner showed up and charged us $5 to stay!

13 Sept –

The great drive continued and soon we were in oil country which seems to be the only source of income in this area. As we neared the New Mexico/Colorado border there were more signs of life and some nice towns. Arriving at Durango, Colorado we shopped before finding our pre-booked RV Park. Val did some laundry later in the afternoon then the usual electrical storm arrived with rain. Tomorrow we take the scenic train trip.

14 Sept –

It was a really early start as we were booked on the 8:00am scenic train trip. We caught the trolley down to the station. It was cold so we were in full winter clothes and jackets. We had booked a “gondola carriage”, basically an open carriage with two rows of seats facing outward. A very large steam engine pulled the train with various styles of carriages, ours was the cheapest! It was a narrow gauge track (36”) and the first hour of the trip was up the valley where Durango is situated passing homes, farms, a golf course etc.

The train left civilization and we climbed into the gorge of the Animas River. Great views of the river sometimes right beside us, at other time hundreds of feet below. A great feat of engineering which only took 9 months to complete. We climbed 3000ft to the frontier town of Silverton.

We had a 1 ¾ hour break before the 3 ½ hour return trip. We had lunch at a local brewery and wandered the cute town.  The couple we sat next to offered to take us back to our camp. Halfway to the camp Val realized we were going the wrong direction and it turned out they were in a different camp. They took us back to the town and we caught the trolley home. It was a long day but very enjoyable.

15 Sept –

We headed west to Four Corners Monument.  This is the only place in the USA where 4 States meet - Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. It is traditional to but a body part in each State.

On thru Mexican Hat and in the distance we could see the mesas and buttes of Monument Valley. What a sight! Our camp was at Navajo campground right inside Monument Valley with fantastic views of the area. The valley road is very rough so we booked a guided tour for tomorrow. The sunset over the buttes was great as there was a full moon rising. We sat with a glass of wine and enjoyed the spectacle.

16 Sept –

A spectacular sunrise before our guided tour at 10:00am. We were the only ones on the trip with a very quiet Navajo Guide. He was very good however and we bounced our way passed many fantastic sights. There were mesas, buttes, and needles everywhere. This is where many cowboy movies were shot. We also saw some arches and visited a Hogan, a traditional Navajo house. The trip was 3 hours long, expensive but well worth it. After lunch we walked to the visitors centre and continued on for a 3 mile hike thru the desert and up to a view point. There is a hotel here but it is very cleverly disguised. Another great sunset.

17 Sept

We had a quick last look at the view before heading out of Monument Valley and down towards Flagstaff. We stopped 20 miles before Flagstaff at a National Monument at Sunset Crater. We had stayed here 4 years ago. It was a very cold night as we are over 7000ft.

18 Sept –

We had been confused by the time last night and the radio this morning made things worse. Our GPS insisted that the time was an hour earlier than our clocks and the navigator (Val) insisted we had not gone into a new time zone. We had to go to the visitors centre and ask what the time was. The GPS and the radio were right! Arizona does not observe day light saving and therefore has the same time as the Pacific Time Zone. All very confusing! As we only had a short trip into Flagstaff, we went for a walk around the crater area. This is an extinct volcano with a moon like landscape. At Flagstaff we booked into a camp for laundry and to charge up “Ernie’s” battery.