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[JCZ]

As we continued south out of Ely, Nv. headed towards Cedar City, Ut. the sky begin to clear…..





For those in the Zion or Bryce Canyon area, the Best Western Town & Country Inn (there’s another BW just a few blocks down) is a great place to stay at a reasonable price…and just remodeled last year.  Indoor pool and spa in a glass enclosed building.

 



The next morning we were off to Monument Valley, Ut.  I’d laid out the scenic route past Jacobs Lake Inn, Az. and through the Navajo territory.











 



We met a number of CVO owners in the parking lot of Jacobs Lake.  Don was sure to give them all a card for the forum.

This guy, however, was not on a CVO.  Out of eastern Canada, sorry, don’t remember his name but he had an interesting color in that paint scheme….wasn’t the “orange” that we’re used to seeing on a Harley.

[JCZ]

We continued east on Hwy. 89 past the Vermillion Cliffs and the Navajo Bridge…








THIS BIKE IS FOR SALE!





Down below is the highway that we’re about to head across.  It runs parallel to the Vermillion Cliffs, past Cliff Dwellers and across the Navajo Bridge.

 

 

 













The Navajo Bridge Interpretive Center….





 



The old bridge from the middle looking back to the parking lot….

 

[JCZ]

Don & Carol…..it’s 467 feet to the water….

 

The old on the left…..the new bridge on the right….





To put 467 feet deep in perspective…..those are 12 man rafts down there on the water.  While the water looks nasty in the pics, it was actually clear and the green is on the bottom.  This, my friends, is an undisturbed, unpolluted Colorado River.





Elevation check…..



Looking back across at the Vermillion Cliffs and the valley that we’d just passed through.  Notice the gorge of the Colorado River cut deep in to the valley floor….a much longer ride across there than what it looks in this picture.

 



The Navajo’s selling their handcrafted wears at roadside stands all across the southwest….also another perspective of that valley we’d just came across.



Don, this lady’s tired…..take her to the house!





 

A glimpse of Lake Powell, Az.

[JCZ]

Richard led for a couple hours….





 

Monument Valley…..next stop!







That’s our house for the night….straight ahead, at the foot of the cliff…



 

Goulding’s Lodge…. where I rented the house for us….3 bedroom, 3 bath with a bonus room that has a hide-a-bed.  It’s just a ¼ mile down the road from the lodge.







The view of Monument Valley from the balcony of the master bedroom….





We took a tour of Monument Valley in a 4x4 truck.  We got lucky, got about the best truck out there (some were pretty scary lookin) and the best guide and unlike most of those trucks that were packed three to a seat…..it was just us seven.  We also had a great tour guide, Patsy or Pat.  Get this tour at Goulding’s Lodge. 

The tour will be my next entry to this ride report.  I took over 3,000 pictures in 11 days and the hardest part about doing these ride reports is deciding which pictures to post and which to skip……….don’t want you to miss any of this great ride!

[JCZ]

We arrived at Goulding’s Lodge 20 minutes prior to our guided tour of Monument Valley.  We really had to hustle, get checked in, drive over to the house, unpack and throw everything inside and get back to the Lodge for our tour.  Come on now……you know we made it.

We got a decent truck with decent upholstery and a metal shade top….huge in this area!





John Wayne’s cabin…..open for tours.  This is where he’d stay when he was out here filming.



Monument Valley Tour finally begins….



It’s not a national park but a Navajo Tribe Reservation….





The left and right mittens on the left of this photo (they all have names)….









That’s Patsy, our tour guide, next to me….

[JCZ]

Yuca plant…..edible….they also make things out of it and use it for dye to color their blankets, etc.


This is the monument that they set the car on, in the commercial.  I believe it’s a Nissan commercial.

 

It’s been a hard days ride just to get here…….and continues to be a hard days ride…..

 

The three sisters….

 



A Navajo scout….



And the ponys…



Director John Ford’s Point…..his most favorite spot in the whole valley…



Feeding a real pappose….





When the tour is guided by a Navajo……you go past this point and see what those on a self tour don’t get to see….

 











 

[JCZ]

The hoppas…..



This lady is in her 90’s, been in several movies, and they said….she’s “world famous”.  Although they didn’t tell us famous for what.  However, she is the head of one of the very few families that still live on that reservation.



 





A giant ant hill.  They were all over out there.  The biggest ant hills I’ve ever seen.



Our ride….

 



 

Petrogliphys…





 



 







 



Amazingly, this tree was still growing and green….





 

[JCZ]

HUGE ants!

















A skeleton of some kind of animal…



 

 





It was a great tour…..well worth the money!  Now, let’s eat!!

 



Don, ringing the dinner bell….



It was truly a great day in Monument Valley!

[ak]

taken wit IPHONE

[Jock]

THIS BIKE IS FOR SALE



SAY WHAT?

[DDavidson]

Looking for my Monument Valley pics.

My Canon PowerShot camera couldn't handle the dust in Monument Valley and the lens locked up on me. (P'd me off big time.)

[JCZ]

Looking for my Monument Valley pics.

My Canon PowerShot camera couldn't handle the dust in Monument Valley and the lens locked up on me. (P'd me off big time.)

That would be camera #1 of this trip?                    

[JCZ]

Our view from the restaurant….



We run in to Bill (Sklywag) & Trudy when we returned from our tour.  They came up to the restaurant to join us.  Haven’t saw them since our Ariz. tour last year during Ariz. Bike Week.




Richard (rbaker)  That milkshake made his face light up…..

 







The John Wayne cabin…..where he stayed when filming here in the valley….

 



The real mc coy!

[JCZ]

Back to the house for the evening…..





For those traveling to Monument Valley, if you go to Gouldings Lodge web site and view the homes they have for rent, this is the house called “Monument Valley House”.  It’s listed as a 3 bedroom, 3 bath however, it has another small room that has a hide-a-bed.  There’s a base rent up to six people, then it’s so much per head beyond that.  It was a great deal for us and a great location.

The M/bdrm. & balcony…



The M/bath with the deepest and strongest jetted Jacuzzi tub I’ve ever been in….



The living room with big screen TV and cable….

 

 

The kitchen area…



Richard bought cookies for everybody for the bedtime snack…..

[Panhead_Jimmy]

You all are an amazing group.  Knowing the weather conditions at the start, it's impressive that you even got this far.  The photo tour was outstanding.  And, I think we all learned the benefits of showering with our rain gear on and multiple uses for motel cups to dry our gloves.  So, Don, are you sure you didn't have your camera dangling around your neck in the shower?  Soap on a rope?

Very cool report!!!