May 26 - On to Hopewell Lake Forest Service Campground

Day 15 - We arrived early at a Forest Service Campground at a small lake known as Hopewell Lake, 9800 ft. altitude.  Tall pine trees, aspen trees, and a very friendly campground host.  Once again we are living off the grid, using our generator when needed and our holding tanks, but the price was right.

While sitting around the campfire, these two individuals with beards and backpacks wandered into our campsite to ask directions to the lake.  We gave them proper instructions and on their return to their campsite, they stopped again briefly to chat.  We had just finished dinner and asked them if they would like to share it.  They were very happy and went back to their campsite to put on jackets and bring a third party with them to dinner.  This proved to be a very positive experience for all of us.  They were "extreme long distance hikers" and opened up a whole new world for  Joe and I.  They were hiking the Continental Divide Trail from the Mexico border to the Canadian border and expected to finish their hike at Glacier National Park in Montana.  After dinner they entertained us with tales of how they got ready for this hike including the food they ate, where they slept and, in short, how they survived.  "Chief", the hiker from Israel lived on dry Raman noodles and Snicker bars; Jason (the big talker) spent all of last winter dehydrating his own food and making all his own camping gear (sleeping bag, packs, etc.)  Jack spent the winter working hard to finance his hike.They had a tent but they seldom used it, preferring to sleep in the open.  Below is a picture of the three young hikers.  From the left - Jason, Chief and Jack.

May 23-24-25 - Navajo Lake State Park, New Mexico

Days 12,13,14 - The plan this morning is everyone rides by truck to Navajo Lake State Park.  This was due to terrible dust storm (60 mile and hour winds, dust and debris).  On the way our faithful truck developed a cooling problem, so every few miles we had to add anti-freeze, water, branch water and anything else we could think of.  Of course, we were climbing up a steep grade going over a mountain range, it was Sunday and it was HOT.  We had to turn our wonderful air-condition off and rough it into Bloomfield, New Mexico.
We spent the night at The Desert Rose RV Park (cannot recommend but it worked in an emergency).  The next morning, the 24th, we found a wonderful truck repair place, Sweetland's Truck & Auto Repair Service in Farmington.  Randy Sweetland replaced hoses, etc., added the proper mix coolant and I am out of there by noon and on our way to new destination of Lake Heron State Park where we registered for two night.  We all needed a day of rest.
The kids rode their bikes as far as Dulce, NM and spent the night in a Best Western Motel and rejoined us on the 25th at Heron Lake.

May 22 - Canyon de Chelly

Day 11 - We drove from Monument Valley to Canyon de Chelly in a dust storm and high winds.

The beginning of the storm

In many ways Canyon de Chelly is more picturesque than Monument Valley.  It has an interesting history and I would urge you to check it out via the internet at your leisure.  We are still on Navajo Tribal land and the bottom of the canyon is farmed by Navajos in much the same way as it was done in days gone by.  They also raise sheep, fruit and other crops to sustain themselves.

These are pictures taken randomly while at Canyon de Chelly of some of the valley farms, ruins and rock formations.  Enjoy!

May 21 - Monument Valley

Day 10 - Director John Ford and actor, John Wayne, put Monument Valley on the map back in the 1930's.  John Wayne made about 8 or 9 of his famous western movies over a period of years here.  The pictures say it all about this "monumental landscape."

May 20 - Navajo National Monument

Day 9 - We are now in the Navajo Nation Tribal Reservation in north central Arizona and will be for the next 3 days. Indians reservations are seperate entities, however, they do observe state and federal laws.  We spent last night on this beautiful plateau at 7000 ft.  It was a campsite in the Navajo National Monument.

Living off the grid and loving it!

View of Navajo National Monument from campsite

The next morning we broke camp and set out for Monument Valley.

This is where we are headed!

May 19 - Buckskin Canyon Side Trip - Page, AZ

Day 8: Destination Page, AZ (Lake Powell). This was to be a short day (only 64 miles), as Jerry had planned a side trip for us to participate in. We met them at Mile Marker 26 on Highway 89 at about noon. We dropped the trailer due to the rough, gravel road across public lands we were going to be driving . We drove 4 miles to Buckskin Gulch Trailhead, lathered the sunscreen all over our bare skin, loaded Jerry down with our water and began a hike into the canyon.

Happy hikers just starting their hike.

Our goal was Pirea Slot Canyon. Jerry had hiked into this canyon a number of years ago and remembered that it wasn’t too far. After 1-1/2 hours through rugged, beautiful terrain we gave up and headed back to the truck. However, we still saw some beautiful land formations.

Lou had reached the point if she went any further they might have to carry her back. We were all disappointed but exhilerated also at the beauty we had beheld on our hike.

Lotus was a good trooper and had such a good time.

Monarch of all she surveys.

It had been such a long time since she had been able to run free. She slept so good that night. After our hike we returned to our trailer, rehooked and went on our way to Page, crossing the Glen Canyon Dam which creates Lake Powell, a major recreation facility for this part of the country.