AZ Wednesday

This was probably our longest day of driving. After a nice complimentary breakfast at the Hogan Restaurant in Tuba City, we headed out first to see dinosaur foot prints just outside of the city. The man who greeted us there and told us about the fossils in the red rock seemed like sort of a vagrant, however he directed us to the tracks and Kate snapped several photos, which unfortunately I do not have. From here We drove through the Hopi nation to the Hopi cultural center. It was a long scenic drive. Unsure on the exact rules of photography we did not stop to take many, if any pictures. The Hopi cultural center was very enjoyable with a lot of interesting history to read about. The grounds were speckled with dogs and people selling crafts. We probably took a hour or so to take in the museum before heading back onto the road. Chinle was our destination, and it would be a while before we arrived.

Upon arriving in Chinle we immediately noticed that this town was noticeable more rough around the edges than Tuba City. We found our motel, checked in and then decided to get a quick bite to eat before taking a little bit of Canyon de Chelly. We ended up eating at a "Church's Chicken" which is a chain out west that basically offers KFC fare with a bit less seasoning. Satisfied with a belly full of grease we continued to the park and drove to the Northern rim's scenic over looks. This canyon was very different than the "Grand Canyon", however it was spectacular because the walls are pretty much a straight drop down. Feeling especially mortal I found myself not quite as brave as I used to be. I'd watch with a bit of trepidation as Kate walked frighteningly close to the edge of the cliff. And gingerly inched out a couple of times, but never feeling the need to peer directly over. Luckily there were a few spots where the National Park Service had constructed some stone railings allowing me to safely peer into the depths. We spent a few minutes searching for a rabbit that we stumbled upon at one scenic over look, but had no luck in locating him. When the sun finally set we headed back into Chinle and relaxed a bit at the motel. They had a nice indoor pool and sauna, and so we took advantage of these for an hour or so. Afterward drove around the couple of main streets in Chinle, avoiding the horses and dogs that walked freely through town. We made the error of driving off into the desert at night, and we had a difficult time turning around. I know this sounds silly, but the speed limit is 65, it is a two lane road, flat, it was pitch black, and the only places to turn around were gravel roads that you could not see as they approached. Adding in the factor of enough cars to make maneuvers a little difficult made it quite intimidating. After heading 15 miles in the wrong direction we finally came upon a "town" called Many Farms where we turned around at a service station. Upon getting back to Chinle we picked up some burgers and fries at the A&W and headed back to the Best Western to chill out.

Ahhhhh scary 800 ft drop!!!!