After doing some research while in Las Vegas I had determined that my original route wasn’t going to work out due to weather related closings. I will just push it to sabbatical part two. So while I was in Vegas I loosely reformatted a portion of the trip, leaving space for WHATEVER. That worked out pretty well.

I ended up revisiting Pipe Spring National Monument. The visit this past summer was nice, but this time I got a personalized tour of the fort. It was the perfect distance to take a break from driving too. I took a quick refresher round in the museum, then headed on my way.

I made a few stops along the route when there was some remarkable scenery (sometimes every mile or so) or a point of interest. I did have to put some limitation on myself when I was stopping more than I was moving. Since I had over a hundred miles to travel, I set a 5 mile minimum interval. That is unless I HAD to stop, but it had to be compelling. I arrived at Lake Powell and walked the bridge to get some photos of the dam and the river that flows below. This is part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. I made sure to go into the visitor center to watch the dam film. It answered the question I had; “How’d they do it?”

I continued on my way to the night’s sleeping spot, which was supposed to be Monument Valley. I couldn’t find the camping spot so I had to keep it moving and find another place to go. About 20 miles later I found the perfect spot for the night. Mexican Hat Rock BLM was great, despite the overcast sky that didn’t allow me night photography practice. I also met Nader and Sarah, as they pulled in shortly after I did. Perhaps we’ll hike to the top together in the morning.