From The Valley Of The Sun To Monument Valley And The Valley Of The Gods

What an amazing time I had in Scottsdale. It was great to be there again. I got to reconnect with my cousin and his lovely wife, saw some old friends, and met some new ones. It was very tough to leave.

Some of the coolest things about Arizona are the wide differences in climate and geography. Saguaros in the Sonoran desert, pine forests in Flagstaff, the Painted Desert, red rocks, soaring mountains, soaring eagles . . .

Moose crossings . . .

. . . Deer crossings.  Arizona has something for everyone.

This sign was tempting.  I love LA.  But summer in New England has too strong of a pull on me.

Historic Route 66 in Flagstaff while looking for a good place to eat.

My cousin mentioned a coffee place called Late For The Train.  Found it and checked it out.  It was a really cool spot on San Francisco street.  Right next to it was a funky medicinal herb store.  Since I'm trying to do this leg of the road trip without my usual 4pm Red Bull Power Hour, I thought I'd stock up on some natural alternatives: ginseng tincture and adrenal tonic.  Caffeine tweaks my adrenals. 

Chili burger at the Downtown Diner.  A favorite of travelers and seekers of all kinds.

The open road through the Painted Desert.  Majestic.

I was doing my own painting . . . with sound.  Love listening to William Orbit when bombing through the desert.





The wrong camera for such an amazing place such as Monument Valley, but I tried to push it.  Nearly got flattened by a RV.

Utah.  Life Elevated.

The Utah side of the Valley.

Roads carved through rocks.

The rock formation that gives the tiny town of Mexican Hat its name.

The tiny sign for the Valley Of The Gods.  Blink and you miss it.  A 13-mile dirt road to one of the most beautiful spots on earth.  Someday I will overnight there.

And about two years ago (post here), at this very spot, I saw the first of these rocks tumble from these cliffs, seconds before I drove by.  It was terrifying.  It looks like it's gotten worse too.

Speaking of rocks, time to hit the rock shop in Moab just up the road.  I'm looking for some more magnetite (lodestone), and the shop has some great ones.