Gallup, NM

Moonrise over North/South Window Arches

Our last night at Moab was very serene - until about 11:00pm when 3 young couples decided to start playing some board game outside and it had a timer that binged for time limit on answering ?.  I am all for people having fun, laughing, but not at my sleeping expense and my ears.  Seems this beeping thing was at a pitch that my ears really hurt from it.  So - at 11:50pm I was the bad guy and yelled - QUIET! which broke up the party and they went to bed. Most campgrounds have a policy where quiet time is from 10pm to 7 or 8am.  They were talking and laughing so loud that we heard them 5 sites away.  I heard the RVs near them turned on their A/C units to block out their noise instead of just telling them to go inside, or go to bed.  Anyhow, I'm bad.

Wilson Arch

The full moon came up over the North Window and South Window arches Saturday night and we got some great pictures to remember this by.  When we got up and looked out the window Sunday morning, the moon hadn't set so Dave was able to get pics of it setting over Canyonlands National Park.  When you have ever seen a moon rise in one national park and set in another?


Left yesterday morning and headed south down Route 191.  About 25 miles south of Moab we passed Wilson Arch - we didn't need to go to Arches - right here!  LOL.

Shiprock - Tse Bit'a'i

Traveled south until we got to Monticello and turned southeast on Route 491.  From Utah into Colorado into New Mexico.  Most of the day was spent riding through Navajo Indian Reservation which doesn't have any campgrounds.  Passed Shiprock, Tse Bit'a'i, which in Navajo means Rock with Wings. This name refers to the legend of the great bird that brought the Navajo from the north to their present lands.  Shiprock, a huge rock mountain, is located in the center of the Ancient Pueblo People, or Ancestral Puebloan civilization, a prehistoric Native American culture of the Southwest United States often referred to as the Anasazi. The town of Shiprock is all Navajo - signs are in their native language then subtitled in English.  Had reservations at this campground in Gallup, NM - a tad disappointed because we don't have full hookup, and we are in the main path of comings and goings.  There are over 35 Airstream RVs with another 16 coming in today.  They are staging here to go to Albuquerque Wednesday when they all converge at the Hot Air Balloon fest.  Remind me never to be in this part of New Mexico next October - second year in a row we are caught with limited camping opportunities due to the balloon festival.

We thought we would do some sightseeing while here but as it turns out, the nearest 'thing' we wanted to see is at least 95 miles away.  There are two Navajo Indian Casinos around the areas we wanted to go to - so maybe this winter we will just do a little side trip and head back in the car and stay at the casino. So - today instead we will go shopping, get some cat food, the bed frame up-lift mechanism broke so have to go find a hardware store.  We will leave tomorrow morning, heading south again, this time going west and picking back up Route 191.  Will take that down into Alpine, Arizona.  Getting closer!