no more bedhead

We backtracked today to Four Corners. It was about an hour back toward Kayenta. I guess the theme of this part of the trip could be “going backwards”. But I digress...

The thing that surprised me the most about the Four Corners Monument was how many people were there. We actually had to stand in line to get to the marker. The thing is that you really have to be going there to be there. It's not “along the way” in any sense of the word. It is 6 miles from the nearest town, and as far as I can tell, that town (Teec Nos Pos) consists of a trading post, and that's about it.

The monument is really cool. It's pretty much what you think, just a marker in a slab of concrete, but the concrete has the names of the states, and the flags for the states and the nations fly over the monument (in the proper quadrants, of course). The cool thing is that you can say you were in six places at once: Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, the Navajo Nation, and the Ute Nation.

Circling the parking/monument area is a host of stalls where Native Americans sell all kinds of arts and crafts. We wandered up and down the booths, and purchased a few things. Ellen got a beautiful corn maiden pottery piece, and a gorgeous necklace/earring set. Beenie got an arrow, while Stewie got a pottery turtle. Keke got a turtle necklace, and Munchkin got a bracelet and barrettes.

Part of our search when we set out today was to find a place that served Navajo Tacos. Ellen was jonesing for one big time, and she also wanted the kids to be able to try them. We had heard that the KFC in Farmington served them (believe it or don't), and that there were some places in Shiprock where we could get them. Fortunately for us, there was a Navajo Taco stand at Four Corners.

We got our Navajo Tacos and lemonades, and sat in the shade to enjoy them (did I mention that it was 107 degrees?). While we were eating, two dust devils blew up and their paths came right through the area where we were trying to enjoy our food. After that, some of us enjoyed our food, but with a little more (sand) crunch to it. Stewie lucked out, as my plate blew across the table and propped itself up against him. While that may not have been the most desirable, it did serve to cover his food, so he had the least sand going forward.

After leaving the monument, we worked our way back to Farmington. While I was at General Convention, I went to the Navajoland booth in the marketplace and asked about a church in Farmington, as I anticipated us being there on a Sunday (the breakdown threw that plan all off, though). I was given directions to a church that is part of the Navajoland Diocese (the other one nearby is part of the Diocese of Rio Grande). On our way back from Four Corners we followed those directions, and found the church. Then we went to the grocery store, loaded up on supplies, and spent the rest of the evening in the hotel swimming pool (and the jacuzzi!).

We got up this morning, and very reluctantly (very reluctantly) left Flagstaff. But, not before hitting the Flagstaff Visitor's Center. Noting the irony in stopping there on the way out of town, we picked up some souvenirs and some information about cool things to do in the area. So we'll have to come back. And, if you get a chance, check out the Visitor's Center's website. It rocks.

After dragging our feet, we were a little behind in our schedule for the day, which was to take us ultimately to Farmington, NM. We headed out of Flagstaff and stopped in Cameron at the Navajo Arts & Crafts Center. It is a store owned and operated by the Navajo Nation, and all jewelry and crafts are guaranteed made by Navajo, and the money spent goes directly to them. If you want to buy authentic Navajo arts & crafts, and aren't in the Navajo Nation, I suggest purchasing through them. Quality is excellent, price is fair, and there is no middleman.

We also stopped at the Cameron Trading Post, which is the antithesis of Navajo Arts & Crafts. Tacky tourist schlock abounds! Sadly, the Trading Post was packed full of people, while at NA&C we were the only customers.

A short drive up the road, and we turned from Route 89 onto 160 and headed into Tuba City. On a “potty break” we passed a modified short school bus that had the “sch” spray painted out and a “C” in its place – Cool Bus. On the side of the bus was an intriguing website address that we took a look at tonight, and it turns out that it's this group of guys who modified a school bus and are trekking around the western half of the country from now until the end of August. I heartily recommend following their exploits as they continue on their “Golden Summer”.

Our own trek continued on to Navajo National Monument. We walked along the trail to view the Betatakin ruins, which the kids found fascinating once they understood what they were looking at. The idea that people lived there really intrigued them, as did the fact that the people just up and left after a while. We also found out from the Park Ranger that we have been pronouncing the name incorrectly for the last 15 years. We've been saying bet-a-TAK-in, while it's actually pronounced beh-TOT-a-kin. Good thing we stopped in.

We got there late in the day for the Visitor's Center, and had about 10 minutes left when the kids discovered that they could do a Junior Ranger program here, too. Quickly zipping through it (fortunately not as complex as the Grand Canyon One), the kids became Junior Rangers at Navajo National Monument, too. I think this is even cooler that the Canyon, as I doubt they will find many, if any, people who have been to Navajo National Monument.

The plan from here was to go to Four Corners, then on to Farmington, where we would spend the night and leave tomorrow to head east. Well, by the time we got to the turnoff for Four Corners it was so late that the monument was closed, so we just continued on. Our plan now is to head back to Four Corners tomorrow, and stick around the Farmington area for one more night.