2008 Western Adventure

Day 17 - July 6, 2008

Today was a short day from a riding standpoint.  I decided to head south, first to Four Corners and then to Shiprock in New Mexico.  The terrain was basically desert, but there were a number of impressive rock formations in both Colorado and New Mexico.  It was a warm day, but it felt just right when I was moving.

Just before I arrived at Four Corners I saw another river coming  up.  To this point all of the river's were dry.  Much to my surprise this river was quite large and flowing very fast.  It was the San Juan River 

Four Corners Monument is where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona meet.  The Navaho Indians have built a monument there and have a number of vendors selling everything from Indian jewelry to T-Shirts.  They also have a little concession stand where you can buy Fry Bread and soft drinks.  The facility are fairly sparse, and I didn't see air conditioning in any of the structures.  There was a fairly long line waiting to stand on the monument and take pictures. All of the people in front of me had multiple family members, so one of the family could take a picture of rest.  I had to do my own picture taking, so I took a picture of each of the state plaques and of my feet (with big stomach in the way) in all four states.  There wasn't much else to see, so I didn't stick around too long, just long enough to have a drink and some Fry Bread with powdered sugar, cinnamon, and honey on it  (yum). 

I had to back track about 15 miles, and then head south into New Mexico towards Shiprock.  Shiprock is an impressive rock formation that's supposed to be shaped like an old sailing ship.  I had a hard time envisioning a ship, but if they say so.  The formation was some distance from the town, so I had to use my zoom lens.  Thank goodness I have a good zoom lens or I would miss out on a lot of neat stuff, including animals.

The trip back to Cortez went by quickly, even if it was familiar territory.  It was already past 2pm and I was hungry for some Chulupa's, so I stopped at Taco Bell and chowed down.  After I got back to the motel, the "White Eagle Inn", I arranged to do my laundry.  This is a chore that I have to do every 5 or 6 days.  Not much room to carry a lot of clothes on a bike.  After I did my laundry I worked at getting my pictures and trip journal up-to-date.

Good Night!