Arizona February 4, 2020 Canyon de Chelly National Monument/Monumnet Valley

Back on the road and it feels good.  I miss the casual drives and nearly unlimited time to listen to books, podcasts or heavy dialog Netflix.  I spent the night at my favorite Flying J in Winslow and started north first thing in the morning.  It was a two hour drive and I finally arrived at the Canyon de Chelly National Monument around 11:30am.  Talked to park rangers to get the lay of the land and a map.  There is both the north rim and the south rim of the canyon to explore.  Kost of the driving is off the NM but side roads pull you back onto property at a number of scenic spots.

The canyon itself is beautiful, but the draw is the Ancient Publoen ruins spotted throughout the canyon.  I was able to see them all except the White House Ruins, which disappointed me.  The photos show a really unique photo spot, but the hike was 1.5 miles downhill followed by 1.5 miles back up and I wasnt sure my knees could pull it off.  I miss having knees that dont hurt.

Finished exploring with enough sunlight left to get to Kayenta AZ and enjoy the view getting there.  The drive was stunning and I pulled over a number of times to take photos.
 Just as I was coming into Kayenta, I saw a sign for Monumnet Valley!  Quick google search showed it was a 20 mile drive and I had 1 hour left of sunlight,  so I indulged in another beautiful drive, taking lots of photos.  Got back to Kayenta just as it was getting dark.

Kayenta is a tiny town within half an hour of Navajo National Monument and has needed things such as food and gas and hotels.  I was going to sleep in one of the hotel parking lots but Burger King advertised overnight parking allowed for trucks and RVs behind the building.  I was super happy.  Knowing you have permission to sleep somewhere is always a relief.  My excitement ended around 2:30am when a panhandler knocked on my window and wouldn't stop.  He had to know o was sleeping.  He kept knocking.  I finally crawled out of my pillow fort and cracked the window.  He just wanted money.  He wanted food and shelter and it was a cold night. Below 10°.  But the jackass thought it was smart to wake up a person sleeping in their car to ask for loose change.  I informed him the Burger King parking lot had signs against panhandling and I wasnt about to positively reinforce his bad behavior.  Then told him he woke me up out of a dead sleep, its almost 3am and now I'm awake and really angry and I sure as shit wasnt going to give him any money.  He apologized and wandered away.  I wonder if he woke up the people in the RVs and semi trucks?  Or just me.  I was seething and was awake until after 5am listening outside to make sure he didn't do something to my car.  I think he was too high to think that way, but you never know.  Needless to say, I'm sleeping at a hotel parking lot tomorrow.

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