Arizona trip….Edition One
On Sunday of last week, we flew into Phoenix,Az. Picked up a rental car at the airport. The salesperson suggested that we go with an SUV due to the area we were heading too. Boy……she was 100% correct! We left Phoenix and drove North, out of the valley. Stopped in Flagstaff for dinner then continued on to Kayenta,Az. I need to mention that as we were having dinner, at the Cracker Barrel in Flagstaff, the State closed Interstate 40 East of us. Seems that there was a sandstorm blowing strongly and cutting visibility to zero.
In our inexperience, we merrily continued North only to run smack dab into the same storm?? Nearly being blown off the road a couple of times and having great difficulty in seeing….we finally made it to our destination. In the morning there was still some wind but not as much. We forged ahead thru the Four Corners area. This is where Utah,Colorado,Arizona an New Mexico meet. Actually we were going to Telluride, Colorado as we had heard good things about the area. As we traveled to our destination, we stopped at Mesa Verdi National Park to see the cliff dwellings of the “Ancients” as the Navajo Nation calls them.
Absolutely fantastic park with spectacular views and so much history! Truely worth the stop. Continued on our way over to Durango then North again over the San Jaun Mountains…..sometimes reaching elevations of over 11,000 feet. Where I come from, we are at sea level so the air was rather thin! The drive, thru the mountains was terrific. So much beauty around every turn.
This is the long way to Telluride but was more than worth the time….Telluride was a mining town from the late 1800’s and of late has become one of the premier ski resorts. It is set in a valley surrounded by huge mountains on three sides. The town is a step back into the early 1900’s as most of the architecture is of Federal Design Period.
Hope you enjoy the pictures….More to come. Paul
