We literally bumped our way across New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, but we finally made it to the cool stuff! Holy moly, my bottom is sore, my stomach is a mess and we had a gruesome gnome casualty along the way. Poor Mr. Totters! He didn’t make it.
If you’re ever on the journey to Goosenecks State Park, I’d recommend avoiding Highway 64. It’s a pee your pants, lose your cookies, gnome killing kind of road, that seems to go on for DAYS. And Lord help you if you’re in the questionable territory of needing to do a number 2! One because it’s dang bumpy and two because there’s NOTHING out there. Nothing! Well ok, there’s something somewhere out there, but I didn’t see it unless it was a giant rock. 🫣 But, on the other hand, if you do find yourself on Highway 64 by mistake and need to do any of the above, just pull on over and do what you need to do. No worries because you can see another vehicle coming from 10 miles away and the scenery is interesting. In our case, we were dragging a potty along behind us so we were good.
It was on my way to the Airstream potty, while parked on the side of what NO ONE should call a “road,” I came across the gruesome Mr. Totters crime scene. One quick look and I had to pronounce him dead. There was no reviving him from that assault. Poor Mr. Totters was the greatest traveling gnome, but he met his match somewhere on Highway 64 and obviously his seatbelt failed him. Now we just have a broken “Weekend at Bernie’s” version of a traveling gnome.
So besides riding a lot of bumps, we did get to see some pretty cool, rugged terrain. I guess I should mention I’m scared of heights. Terrified actually, so this was the beginning of some major, personally inflicted “vacation stress.” However, for the sake of the 2.500 miles my butt has invested in this trip, so far, I put on my big girl panties and parachute and sat on the edge of Goosenecks, a mere 900 ft above potential death. For comfort, I inflicted the same or more terror that I was feeling on my comfort companion and smiled pretty for the camera.
Then we quickly got back in the truck and I soothed my height anxiety issues by giggling at every phallic-like rock formation we came across. They truly do come in all shapes and sizes. Haha!
Ok. Enough with my dirty mind. I do wish I would have been around when they named these formations, many many moons ago. I have some pretty decent suggestions if anyone is looking for a fresh new name. Isn’t it cool to rename things that have been around for centuries ++++ now?
Not only did we get to see exciting rocks, we also pulled over down on Forest Gump hill (Monument Valley). Even though Forrest wasn’t there running at the moment, I felt like loudly cheering him on, just to see what all the other tourists would do. Forrest wouldn’t have survived that run and he was right to puss out. That road is way longer and hotter than it looks and that hill is sneaky and deceptive. He was 100% in his right mind to say he was tired and going home!
I honestly can’t believe this it’s possible in the modern USA, but we drove for almost six hours without cell service. At one point our GPS stopped working too! 😳 There’s something to be said for having a dorky atlas with you! Reminds me that I need to teach Hannah and Chris how to use one. Those “old fashioned” ways still come in handy!
In addition, I also took note that if Ben and I need to disappear and I mean REALLY disappear , we’ll just head back to Utah in Navajo territory. There seems to be plenty of scary places to hide. My Apple Watch seemed extremely concerned as every 30 seconds it was letting me know I could report my location by satellite because I had no freaking cell service. LOL They really want to keep track of us!
So in summary, after 8+ hours in a bumpy rig on bumpy roads, we finally made it to Page, Arizona to the Page-Lake Powell Campground, last evening. Pepper found a way to chill out pretty fast. I know it looks like she’s pulling a Mr. Totters but she’s just asleep. I swear!
I promise to tell ya’ll tomorrow, about the adventures we had today, in Page. There’s quite a bit to tell, but I’m out of gas. I tried to leave my Lupus and other autoimmune issues back in FL, but my Lupus definitely hitched a ride with us (sigh). We’ve been planning this trip for way to long to let that little nuisance stop the fun.
Here’s a sneak peak/teaser of one of our stops today. It’s a Pepper photo shoot on the very highest rock at the very edge of Horseshoe Bend… that’s her punishment for barking the entire 1.5 miles path, to the canyon ledge. LOL
TaterTotTales 