My Trails

Day two of cellular blackout found me doing a little exploration of the surrounding area. I rode several forest roads that branched off highway 67 out of Jacob Lake and each of them had a few nice, dispersed campsites. Several times while exploring these roads I would come to a parking lot where the Arizona Trail crossed. Apparently, the AZT parallels highway 67 through the Kaibab National Forest on its way to the Utah border.

I built a fire in the evening. It has been quite some time since I’ve had a campfire, mostly due to the fact it has been too hot, and partially because I didn’t know if there was a rule against it. With all the rain moving through the area fire danger is pretty low right now.

Hotdogs were on the menu, so what other way is there to eat a wiener than roasted over a fire on a stick? I ate two dogs and enjoyed the warmth of the fire until bugs drove me back inside. Even sitting directly in the smoke from the fire would not deter these tiny nits from diving at my head and neck. They must have been desperate for human blood and held their breath as they attacked.

A lot of my blogs posts end up on some point I have been pondering. Today I have been debating the pros and cons of traveling with a dog and whether I should get one or not. A dog can be a great companion for the single traveler. They can also hinder some of the things I like to do. If I wanted to take a long ride on my bike, they would have to be tied or locked in, if I wanted to tour an attraction, dogs are usually not allowed; if I wanted to take a cruise or fly to Hawaii (granted, this is a stretch), I would have to find a dog sitter.

On the other hand, a dog can be a great companion. I can see myself in rapt conversation with Fido, conveying my opinion on many subjects pertaining to itinerary and activities. But more importantly than deep subject matter like, “Go get the stick!”, when you have a pet it is essential that you become a good listener.

I carried on a lot of intimate dialogue with Wilson on the AT, but man’s best friend doesn’t need or want any of that. They are just thrilled with the simplest of questions: Do you want to go for a walk? Do you want your supper? Do you need to go out and poop?

Dam

At a place called Navaho National Monument, sometimes referred to as the gateway to Monument Valley, is a marvelous park and campground. What makes it so good is the fact that it is free. There are actually two campgrounds, one with water, flush toilets, and paved parking, and the other high on a ridge with great views into the surrounding canyons. I chose the one on the ridge, even though it was more primitive, and spent four days there.

There was some heavy rain that came through on Saturday so I didn’t do much the first day. I found out on Sunday that they have a guided tour to the cliff dwellings every morning so I signed up on the Monday list. Back at camp I met a nice couple traveling in a VW campervan. They had also signed up for the tour and we had a nice visit that continued into a nice friendship for the next two days.

The tour to Betatakin cliff dwellings was quite a hike. It is only 3 miles round trip but you descend over 700 feet into the canyon on I don’t know how many 100’s of steps to the bottom, until the trail delivers you to the front of the ruins. No one is allowed in the ruins but they do take you close to the site. The guide was very good and interesting. Betatakin is the second largest cliff dwelling in AZ., the largest being Keet Seal, which most people hike to from the campground as an overnight backpacking trip.

Today I stopped at Glenn Canyon Dam to take the tour. The elevator was broke so all they had was a walking tour of the top of the dam. It was really quite interesting to hear the history of the construction and mind boggling numbers of tons of concrete, miles of shoreline, volumes, watts of power, and politics of water distribution to the various states. The whole area around Lake Powell and the recreation area was swarming with tourists so I decided to go on over to the west to find a campsite. Just outside of Page AZ, I found a Walmart with several RVs already parked for the night. So I joined them.

It is amazing how many people are traveling in rental Class C’s. A lot of the travelers are from overseas. They fly into LA, pick up their rental motorhome, tour the southwest and return the rig to someplace on the West Coast a few weeks later. I’m sure they could rent a car and stay in motels a lot cheaper, but I guess they want the experience of roughing it American style.