3rd June 2025

Before I begin, I would like to give a shout out to good friend Dot who noticed a mistake in last night’s blog. I had posted a photo with the wrong caption! Ten points and a gold star to dearest Dot!! ⭐️

Today has been a long day!

We left Capitol Reef Resort at 8.30 a.m. for the long drive to Williams, Arizona, calling into Monument Valley , home to the Navajo along the way. In the end the total drive was about 7.30 hours.

We had a lovely surprise today when we discovered Glen Canyon, another first for us. We had heard of it but never visited and my, my had we missed out on something grand. It was magnificent.

The landscapes from Capitol Reef to Williams have been so different it’s hard to imagine they are in the same country. From canyons and towering monoliths to flat ranges. From red rocks to white and grey.

At one point we had a cows being herded by wranglers on the open ranges.

Just before we reached Monument Valley we passed the famous Mexican Hat. The nearby town called Mexican Hat is named after the rock formation that resembles the sombrero, or a Mexican Hat.

We visited Monument Valley (Navajo Nation’s Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park) about halfway into our journey. The views were as magnificent as ever but the passage of time has changed things!

One point of excitement was when we reached U.S. Route 163 near Monument Valley. This road is commonly referred to as “Forrest Gump Point“. In the film, Forrest Gump, as he runs up the road he comments that he has run for three years, two months, 14 days and 16 hours and then says “I’m pretty tired … I think I’ll go home now” and then “and just like that my running days was over”. 

Ever since then when you reach that part of the highway, there are cars and people everywhere just trying to recreate that same shot.

Most of the roads we travelled today were single lane and at one point we had to travel on a gravel one down the side of a mountain for some distance. It was quite terrifying as on my side it was a sheer drop. That was the famous Moki Dugway!

The Moki Dugway is a dramatic, unpaved switchback road carved into the face of Cedar Mesa in southeastern Utah, forming part of Utah Route 261. It’s known for its stunning views and challenging drive, especially for vehicles with trailers. The 3-mile stretch climbs 1,200 feet with an 11% grade, offering a unique experience of the American Southwest. 

This video makes it look as though we were flying along but we weren’t!!

At one point the sky became very dark and down came the rain. At least it gave the dirty car a clean! 🧼🧽

We have arrived at the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel but will save all the details to incorporate into the blog tomorrow when we have completed our trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Very excited! 👏🚂

As always, thanks for following our adventures.