When we left Durango, Colorado it was 52 degrees. 20 minutes out we hit a blinding snowstorm and 34 degrees. The view was definitely not spectacular for about 20 minutes. Neither was our driving speed but we had a quest…getting to the point where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet. There’s a monument there. Or at least we thought there was a monument there. Unfortunately, there has been some dispute as to whether the monument is in the correct place or not and while the government sort of denies any error , but I have my suspicions because after driving all that way we encountered this:
Four Corners Closed
We both felt like Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Vacation, but I was also a little relieved that I didn’t have to force this old body to play “Twister” and try to backbend to have one extremity in each state. Jim would have laughed way too much, and I would have ended up badly bruised, I’m sure.
Somewhere on the road to Flagstaff we went through Teec Nos Pos on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona. Jim needed to use a restroom so when we saw a Navajo Health Center facility, we figured that was a good place to stop. He rushed in ahead of me and when I walked in, I was suddenly aware of my freckled skin and blue eyes. So were the Native Americans in the health center. I’ve never felt so many eyes on me. I headed to the restroom and as I was washing my hands a woman came in and went into one of the stalls. A few seconds later the door opened and a tiny voice said “mama?” I turned around to see the most adorable little girl ever who promptly started screaming and running back out the door when she saw me. I finished washing up and left the restroom to find a sobbing little girl and a security guard staring me down. Luckily, Jim came out just then and we got out pretty quickly. He called me the “evil white devil” for the rest of the day.
The land along the road to Flagstaff was populated by many packs of wild dogs. In Kayenta we stopped at a Burger King to grab a bit of lunch and had to walk in a wide circle around fighting dogs in the parking lot. Of course, Jim, who has a way with animals, ended up feeding the wild dogs parts of his hamburger then part of mine. I stayed in the car. Snarling dogs kind of scare me.
We pulled off the road at one point to take a look at two great rock formations. There was a Navajo woman there selling jewelry out of her car and I bought a malachite and hematite necklace. Indian lore says that malachite is the guardian stone of travelers and hematite is a healing stone. It sounded perfect besides being pretty. The rocks, according to the woman, were called the Elephant Feet and they were fabulous, but even better was the “sun dog” above the rocks.
The Ellephant Feet
Sun Dog Over The Elephant Feet
We checked in to the Hilton Garden Inn in Flagstaff for 2 nights. Here’s Jim’s Duck posing there:
Jim’s Duck Visits Flagstaff, Arizona