What happened here is one of those stories you don’t tell because people won’t believe it anyway. I will save this memory for myself.
I will say it is hands down the most magical place I have been in the US. I’m not sure how to explain it, there is something in this place that tells your soul to smile and be still. The old gods of the Pueblo and Hopi people must still be living here to watch over their people.
While no one really knows why this place was suddenly abandoned, even the petroglyphs seem to be telling a story of happiness.
And I found a later park brochure that descbribes the meaning of the image above! Some Hopi men provided their thoughts in 1942. It appears to be a tribal origin story if you will.
An unplanned stop on the roadtrip turned out to be one of my favorite finds. We saw a sign that read “cliff dwellers” and we had to go.
Cautionary camping tales…
I let my daughter wander a bit while I took some photos. Ummm… don’t do that. I found her chasing this bright orange fuzzy ant thing. Fortunately she did not touch it before I got there. Bright colors are a bad sign in nature, so I told her to stay clear. I Googled later. This GIANT insect of doom and destruction is called a “Cow Killer” ant. It is not an ant at all. It is a wingless wasp which is named after its powerful sting. So yeah. Pretty guy. Big nope.
Only made a short stop to the Grand Canyon. I think it would have been a more interesting visit if we had gone hiking in the Canyon, but we did not have a lot of time. We stopped for a scenic overlook just to say we did.
We arrived early enough to set up camp and aventure a little. You have to drive through a mountain tunnel to get into the park and it is so amazing. Checking in took a little longer and the drive into the park was a bit slow with traffic. But that is to be expected this time of year.
This is maybe the most beautiful place I have been in the United States.
The park is walled around, by steep cliffs and makes an oasis in the middle of the desert. I think my favorite spot was the Weeping Rock. I spent so much time sitting there in the cool, calm, alcove listening to the water dripping overhear.
For another cautionary camping tale…
When camping in the desert in summer, stay hydrated, be careful, and watch your friends for signs of strange behavior. I think my friend nearly had heat stroke during this trip. The temperature was up to 45C (113F) in the early morning. This was the direct temperature, and not the heat index. During breakfast, he started behaving a little strangely. I watched him take the rain fly off the tent and walk across it while mumbling. Ever the boyscout, always so careful with his tools, I knew this was incredibly out of character for him. Although a subtle sign to anyone unfamiliar with the person, I can say that after 20 years of friendship, this was enough of an indicator of confusion for me that I knew he needed to cool down ASAP. My Tiny Grown Up was red in the face already and acting tired. So I packed them up some bottles of water and marched them immediately down to the river.
I sat them in the shade, told them to put their feet in the water and drink the water. I returned to camp for towels and snacks and whatever else we might need to spend the day in the stream. When I returned, there were two completely different people waiting for me. Both were energized and refreshed. I told them to stay in the water anyway. We played in the water until the midday heat had passed.
Still on a road trip… So… here are more car photos for you. You’re welcome.
This is highway 70 leaving Moab and Arches National Park headed toward Zion.
And from there we made our way onto highway 12. I attempted driving highway 12, but absolute noped. Beautiful twisting winding road… with less than a meter space between your tires and instant death.
PigTailz 