Map References - Day 15 - Sep 18
September 18 track:
Comb Ridge & Valley of the Gods:
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The trail winds its way through and around the impressive rock formations with short side trails that lead to what look like spectacular backcountry campsites at the base of the buttes along the ridge. Towards the end I stopped at a grand overlook whith an impressive view of the entire valley.
The 500mm lens captured a close up of the 2 spires that the road passes between - see the middle picture at the top. From the same overlook, I noticed some interesting formations way in the distance to the south so I tried to capture those as well. They are in fact part of Monument Valley.
After descending the Moki Dugway, I turned onto the western end of the Valley of the Gods Trail (Southeast #43, page 195). This is also an easy 2 rated graded dirt road but I happened to be there at a great time of day which brought out the amazing colors of the various buttes and rock formations with imaginative names like Setting Hen, Rooster Butte, Rudolph and Santa Claus.
I decided then that I would make time to head a bit more south than I originally planned to pass through Monument Valley, although I didn't have time to stop by the visitor center and drive the 17 mile loop road. I did get some nice shots from the Trailblazer as I was approaching.
As an aside, while I was working on this post an image kept popping into my head of a very thin spire in the middle of nowhere with Clint Eastwood climbing it. I realized that this was from the movie "The Eiger Sanction" where his character is training for a climb of the Eiger in Switzerland, noted for its dangerous climb. The spire is in fact in Monument Valley and is called The Totem Pole. What does all this have to do with my trip and overlanding?
Well nothing directly except that through some side research and linking, I came across a still from the movie that shows the vehicle Clint Eastwood's character was driving in the area, which led me to this site:
http://imcdb.org/
The Internet Cars Movie Database. So if anyone wants to know for example:
- What SUV was Clint Eastwood driving in The Eiger Sanction?
- What offroad-equipped car was Pierce Brosnan driving in The Thomas Crown Affair?
- What did that crazy river jump in Romancing the Stone?
- What snorkel-equipped truck crossed that deep water in Dante's Peak?
Its all in the database. Sometimes the Internet still amazes me!
OK, back to the trip. As the sun was setting I was driving east through Arizona and then onto New Mexico.
As was the case earlier with Yellowstone and Grand Teton, some very worthwhile areas would unfortunately have to be missed on this trip. Places like Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona and Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico which I passed through in the dark on my way to Espanola.
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