Did You Hear the One about the California Couple Who Perished in the Arizona Mountains?

We left Winslow around 5 p.m. and figured it would take 3.5 hours to get to Monument Valley straight up highway 87. We’d be able to check in around 8:30 p.m., have a nice dinner on the way and relax. This was our last leg on the vacation and we were starting to feel the miles.

What we didn’t take into account was the fickle mind of the stupid Google map woman! I should have realized something was wrong when she crisply said “turn right” at the next intersection which would have taken us off the highway. But I was busy knitting and thought all was in hand so I didn’t look at the phone. I did think it was a little odd that we were going off the beaten path.

Word to the wise, Arizona is full of “Indian Roads” and we’ve discovered the hard way, the higher the number the less likely it will be paved.

So, Miss Google told us to turn right off the highway onto an Indian Road 4. Okay a shortcut. Then suddenly Miss Google had us go on Indian Road 8031 which looked like it went straight north, so still okay. But then it turned into a dirt road. I had flashbacks to the time I took a side road in Newfoundland only to realize it was an abandoned railroad track. That was a nightmare and it seemed to be coming back to haunt me. (I’ll have to tell you about that little adventure later.)

But we foraged on, we were in an F-150 so it could handle the dirt road quite well. But then the road started getting smaller and very rutty. I really knew we were in trouble when Miss Google told us to turn left onto a road that wasn’t there. And, that was about the time we lost cell service.I was getting tired of that bitch's condescending tone anyway. 

Did I mention too that the sun was starting to go down, we were heading into the mountains, and the houses were few and far between? I had visions of those people that get lost and perish in the California mountains in the spring snow. Well, at least it wasn’t snowing.

Luckily the map was still on the phone so I thought I could guide us manually only where we were was just a big blob of land on the map. I had to zoom in to see any roads, they were that small. So I told Bruce to turn around and I found an Indian Road that went to Pinon which was thankfully paved. Pinon was east of us so we were going in a big circle.  

From Pinon we headed west on a nice paved road that last for about 2 miles and then turned into yet another dirt road. By this time, I had gotten cell service back and could see our progress. And, thankfully even though this was a dirt road, it was well traveled. Luckily we were behind this a car the whole way. Still it was a nasty drive as by this time the sun had gone down and we could barely see the car’s rear lights because of all the dust he was kicking up. Then suddenly our road ended at a highway, a real paved highway, hallelujah! It was the road we were on before we had made the turn right. I kid you not.

We took that highway to Tuba City where we could turn onto the major highway that went north. I was intrigued how Tuba City got its name. Did a band of marauding German tuba players settle there in the 1800s? Nope, it’s named after Tuuvi a Hopi headman who converted to Mormonism. How Tuuvi was changed to Tuba is beyond me. 

By the time we got to Goulding’s Lodge at the Monument Valley it was midnight. Our 3-hour drive lasted well over 7 hours. Naturally it was pitch dark when we arrived so we didn’t realize the sights around us. We stayed in an amazing cabin at the lodge. I would highly recommend the cabins and not the hotel although they are a bit pricey, but we were only staying one night. We just fell into the bed exhausted. We did discover as we pulled out our overnight bags that everything in the back of the truck was absolutely covered in red dust. Everything. 

The view from our cabin.

The next morning Bruce woke up before me and was having a smoke out on the patio. I came out and he said turn around. Holy crap! It was so dark that we didn't see any of these huge monoliths as we drove right past them.

The drive to Monument Valley was an adventure in itself so I will post my photos of the Monument Valley in the next blog.