Hanging with the Mormons

After a restful 4 hour nap (that’s being generous), Erin roused us this morning. I’m impressed with the technological advances in rvs over the years. The satellite dishes were my favorite. It’s like being in nature, only without having to sacrifice any comfort from home. I’m ready to buy one. So yeah, there are a lot of rvs in national parks. The local diner had an advertisement for all-you-can-eat pancakes. We showed up, and realized that ad really meant that was the only thing they served. It took quite a long time to explain to the cook/server that I only wanted tea and Erin only wanted a regular order of pancakes. Apparently nobody makes changes to the standard order in these parts.

Mesa Verde is pretty damn cool. For those that don’t know, this ancient society a thousand years ago built these elaborate cliff dwellings in these remote locations, then left. A thousand years later, they were discovered by an army officer who was going through the canyon. Anyway, I can do hikes if there’s a good reward at the end, and this was definitely a good one. As I found out a little late, Mesa Verde is actually at 7000 feet, so I spent much of the hike gasping for air. I also spent a good deal thinking those mile-high people in Denver were wimps.

Another long haul was in order after that, through the Four Corners and into Navajo country. That’s 13 states there, people, and three reservations (does that count as foreign travel? Are Native Americans on reservations citizens? Can they vote? Anyone?) However, I found that sales tax on reservations is 2.5%, so I’m a fan. That and Monument Valley is amazing. I kept waiting to see John Wayne fighting the Injuns off in the distance.

We stop briefly in Page, Arizona, on the edge of the Navajo Reservation. I get a phone call from my mother, and find out that the giant electrical plant that we passed by a few miles ago is where my dad worked for awhile in the 70’s, helping with the evaporation system. It’s a small, small world. I don’t think Page has grown much since those days. I stopped in at the local hostel briefly to check their rates. I had to go around back to the run-down patio, where a guy wandered outdoors after a minute of me ringing the bell, gave me a hug, and told me to come in. He showed me the rooms they had, and then demonstrated them by lying down and almost falling asleep. I nervously mentioned that we might go on to Kanab tonight, and he got really excited. He took me to the other room and gave me brochures for hostels in 5 other states, then asked me if I knew about the hostels in New York. I wanted to tell him that this is why I pay a lot of money in rent, so I don’t have to put up with crazy people in hostels in New York, but I didn’t. We decided it would be good to spend the extra hour going to Kanab, Utah, that night.

Which was a great decision, because seeing the canyons and mesas by sunset is a sight to see. We’re currently in Kanab, which is a town only because it’s a couple hours away from all of the national parks in Utah and Arizona. The menu at the restaurant helpfully listed all of the Westerns that have been filmed in the area. We’re now at a much-needed hotel to recharge our batteries (literally and figuratively) before going on to more nature. Help me.