Sunday 7-21 Killed time until 11 o'clock, the only Mass time at Bloomfield's little church. After church we hit the road without knowing where we'd stop for the day. Had aimed for Page, at the Glen Canyon Dam, but sounds like no room at the 2 RV parks and no public parks with campgrounds. S was worried we'd end up with no place to stop, but I promised if we couldn't camp we'd find a motel.
The whole day was spend travelling through Navajo land (size of W. Va.) A lot of poverty and litter. Scenic but desolate terrain.
It turned out the worry about a stopping place was for nothing: we spotted a "brown sign" (some kind of park ahead) pointing to Navajo National Monument 9 miles to the right. A second sign referred to a campground there. At the end of the road we found a National Park Visitor Center with an adjacent campground: no electric but no need for air conditioning since we were at 7000' and it wasn't very hot. And the campsite was free! And our old $10 lifetime senior pass to National Parks exempted us from the entrance fee. What a deal. After we set up camp we walked about a half mile on a trail to a view of ancient (1300's AD)pueblo dwellings built into a depression in the cliff on the opposite side of a narrow gorge. Still in very good condition since it was sheltered from rain and most sun. After dinner we enjoyed a very clear starry and moonless sky. 3 satellites, one shooting star.
Monday, 7-22 Water heater working only intermittently, and it took the morning off today. Cold showers doesn't make it. Called ahead to St. George Utah to arrange an RV space and mobile RV service. More Navajo land this morning. Hoped to buy a Navajo blanket, and after a couple of inquiries were directed to a store a few miles off our route and did buy a very nice small blanket hand woven by an elderly Navajo woman. Dresses up our little camper but no current need.
We stopped at Pipe Spring National Historical Monument, an 1870's Morman fort built to defend against U.S. Government enforcers of the bigamy laws. The attack never came, and overgrazing turned the area into a desert. Our tour guide was a Paiute indian. Their numbers in the area were about 4000 until successive slavef raids by Spanish and Navajos. The local band is now only about 400 and they have a very small reservatio with no economy.
On to St. George. A good sized city, and enough Mormon stuff to make me feel like a minority. We've actually been at this RV park before. It was the gathering spot for a bike tour of the Utah parks in 2006. That was in the fall of the year; this time It was 103 when we arrived, and 100 as late as 7 p.m. Once again, thank God for air conditioning. Oh, and for not living here.
Tues. 7-23 at St. George, UT. The RV service people arrived at 8:30 and quickly fixed the water heater: a bad thermostat. They also replaced a leaking water drain valve. No other camper issues now; we're good to go. Spent the rest of the day shopping, doing laundry, and avoiding the 107 degree heat. Cooled off to 95 when a rain cloud blew over, but no rain fell.
We went out to dinner at a place the RV park recommended, called Red Pony. Had one of our best dinners anywhere ever. We split phillo baked brie, a rack of lamb with mustard crust, cornbread pudding, and creme brulee, and a glass each of wine. Great leap forward for morale, which wasn't bad to start with.
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